Our wheels are pre-stressed and ready to ride out of the box. We also use Nylock spokes to keep the tension where it should be. We've found this to last longer and stay in place better when adjustments are made later on.

However, like all wheels there is a bedding-in period, so be sure to keep an eye on spoke tension after the first few rides.

Because the bike industry likes to invent new standards by the hour, there are different freehubs to choose from depending on which cassette you run.

HG is typically for older drivetrains and SRAM NX.

XD is for newer SRAM.

Microspline is for newer Shimano.

The R4 is compatible with HG, XD & Microspline, so if you do decide to change your drivetrain, all you need to do is switch out your freehub.

Available here.

Wheels come pre-taped with tubeless valves installed.

All you need to do is install tires and sealant.

If you got our wheels on a complete bike from us, tires and sealant will already be installed and seated, just inflate to desired pressure.

Provided the rim does not have a crack, you can use an adjustable wrench to gently bend it back to help your tyres seat properly. (One of the benefits of alloy over carbon)

Use a rag or an old inner tube to prevent scratching your rim, and be careful to avoid puncturing your rim tape!

You'll likely need to adjust spoke tension if your wheel has taken a hit hard enough to dent it.

Having fewer points of engagement leads to more backlash in the system, this is apparent predominantly in climbing gears and technical situations. That being said, from our experience you very quickly become accustomed to the hub you are running and it rarely crosses your mind when riding after the first ride of a new component.

The more points of engagement, the smaller the area of contact between pawls and ratchet ring, along with fewer pawls engaging at the same time. This is in order to fit more into the same space, often leading to reliability issues especially as parts start to wear.

With the R4 we have tried to strike the happy middle ground of having enough points of engagement to feel sharp but also leave room for long term reliability.

Of course there is also the topic of pedal kick back and suspension interaction, which could be a full article in itself.

To keep things simple, a higher engagement hub has the potential to give more feedback due to less backlash before it engages. In general, we think there are a myriad of more important things to worry about in how a bike rides.

If you notice any play in your wheel when your axle is tight its time to check things out. Similarly if you can hear or feel the bearings grumble when spinning, an investigation and likely fresh set of bearings would be a good move.

If you are doing a pre-season refresh or just giving your bike a thorough going over then cleaning and re greasing your freehub body is a good move, removing any contaminants and adding fresh clean grease is a good way to reduce long term wear.

All spare parts available here.

The Phase and BA are fusion welded, and post ground which makes the join the strongest part of the rim!The Ally is pinned at the joint, which is more simple and less labour intensive, but not as strong. The Ally is also slightly heavier as the alloy used has slightly less strength than that of the BA and Phase.