Ascent Polaris wheels

[BigBoyND]

After a long time lusting over these wheels, I finally got them! Haven't seen anything else on the market that is this deep (69mm) and wide (35mm) at the same time. It's my dream spec, so very excited to finally have them.

First impressions about the brand and product are super positive!

Shoutout to QX at Ascent. Fantastic customer service! Had an issue with my order (not the product). Reported to Ascent and he called me within minutes to apologize and give me a few options. Once I picked one, he sorted it within a day. Best customer service I have experienced, and maybe a benefit of a small shop. I wouldn't expect this from any brand churning out wheels en masse.

Spec: Raw rims, DT180, CX-Ray, aluminum nipples

Weight: 1541g without tape, which is solid for such a big wheelset

Width: 35.0 mm max, 32.5mm at the center of where a brake track would be, 31.5mm at the very edge, and 23.1mm internal.

Appearance: Love a raw finish and the finish on these wheels is good. As with my Enve SES wheels and other raw wheelsets that I've seen, there are some tiny imperfections in the carbon, but they are only seen up close and I had to look really hard to even find them. I'd call it a 9.9/10, as good as it can reasonably be. The all-black DT180 hubs are a perfect match for the all-black rim.

Included valves, tubeless tape, and a neat solution to protect the rim around the valve hole. There's a round clear sticker to protect the rim and a curved adapter to distribute the force of the valve nut on the rim. I will share pictures of this and the wheels once I get them mounted, as I haven't seen this before.

Was waiting for Tufo Prima 32mm to launch but just pulled the trigger on their oversized 28mm tire (similar size as 32mm GP5k) because I can't wait to ride these!

General note for installing tape: Make sure to clean the rim bed. It felt and looked clean to my hands, but I gave it a wipe with alcohol and it collected some carbon dust.

The tubeless tape itself: zero complaints about the quality, but they're a bit heavy. Needs 2 layers like most tape and weights 45g for the pair. My yellow Stan's tape on other rims weighs 25g/pair. I ordered Schwalbe which only requires one layer and came out to 16.5g. After paying hundreds more for DT180 over DT240/AR-01 to save 25g, I certainly don't mind paying 17€ for a tape upgrade to save 30g.

[wheelsONfire]

How much were tariffs+VAT?

4.7% import tax + 21% VAT on top of it, together additional 26.7%

Well, we have even higher VAT so it's not cheap.

[Marinoni77]

Has anybody bought the rim brake version of those wheels? If so, how are they?

[AscentBikes]

Hello everyone!
We are conducting an end-of-season sale for the Polaris 42 and Polaris 69, with S$300 off a set of wheels.
Limited sets available. Until 17 Mar 2024.

https://www.ascent-bikes.com/pages/pola ... unout-sale
Use code WW300 to enjoy the discount. Taxes and duties not included in price.

Regards
QX

[BigBoyND]

Got the wheels over winter. Finally good enough weather to go for a ride.

Wheels are with their raw finish and DT180 hubs.

First time that I'm on Tufo Comtura Prima 28mm, so I can't isolate that variable.

To confirm what others have already measured: 35.0mm external at the widest point, 32.0mm external where the brake tracks would be, 23.1mm internal. As I'd expect with such tire volumes, they ride very smooth despite their depth. No harshness to speak of.

Despite being big boys, weight is 1540g with DT180 hubs and CX-Ray spokes. I think that is a really good weight for such a wide and deep wheelset.

This depth looks just right on size L bikes and bigger. 40mm wheels look like box sections on big bikes. Had some crosswind today and it was no issue at all with these wheels compared to other wheels I've owned in the 60-80mm range (Enve SES 7.8, HED Black 6, DT ARC 62 and 80, Reynolds, etc). I would rate these on the stable end of the spectrum among those wheels. Without going to a wind tunnel, the difference in aero is not something that can be figured out by feel and with a power meter outdoors. But they look fast which makes me push at least an extra 10W.

The raw finish looks nice and I have no complaints about the ride or specs, so I highly recommend these! You certainly won't find anything wider and deeper, if that's what you like. It's what drew me to these wheels initially, and I'm glad I came across this brand. As I've said in an earlier post, customer service I also top notch.

[AscentBikes]

Hey ND
Thanks for the review I'm really glad that you like the wheels.
Will be extending the WW300 promo till end of March here if anyone is interested.

Regards
QX

Got the wheels over winter. Finally good enough weather to go for a ride.

Wheels are with their raw finish and DT180 hubs.

First time that I'm on Tufo Comtura Prima 28mm, so I can't isolate that variable.

To confirm what others have already measured: 35.0mm external at the widest point, 32.0mm external where the brake tracks would be, 23.1mm internal. As I'd expect with such tire volumes, they ride very smooth despite their depth. No harshness to speak of.

Despite being big boys, weight is 1540g with DT180 hubs and CX-Ray spokes. I think that is a really good weight for such a wide and deep wheelset.

This depth looks just right on size L bikes and bigger. 40mm wheels look like box sections on big bikes. Had some crosswind today and it was no issue at all with these wheels compared to other wheels I've owned in the 60-80mm range (Enve SES 7.8, HED Black 6, DT ARC 62 and 80, Reynolds, etc). I would rate these on the stable end of the spectrum among those wheels. Without going to a wind tunnel, the difference in aero is not something that can be figured out by feel and with a power meter outdoors. But they look fast which makes me push at least an extra 10W.

The raw finish looks nice and I have no complaints about the ride or specs, so I highly recommend these! You certainly won't find anything wider and deeper, if that's what you like. It's what drew me to these wheels initially, and I'm glad I came across this brand. As I've said in an earlier post, customer service I also top notch, too.

[Marinoni77]

Finally got the rim brake version. I have DT 240 hubs on them.

I am 82kg, and run them with GP5000 S TR 28mm with Vittoria Air Lines (in M). I also installed Fillmore valves (which are labelled for wheels as deep as 68 mm, but just barely work with the Polaris 69).

The ride is very, very comfortable. Before that I tried GP5000s in tubeless 28mm and Pirelli P-Zeros 28mm on HED Jets RC5 and there is no comparison that can be made. The Polaris wheels really smooth the ride. The tire is perfectly round, and the transition with the wheel is perfect.

I mostly ride and race on worn pavement, with lots of cracks and some potholes, and I do not feel the need to get any wider tires as the ride is already so soft. It feels like pillows. It's their greatest quality. The 23mm inner width is perfect for the 28s, I did not expect that big of a difference coming from wheels with 21mm inner width.

I had two races recently that were really windy. One of my teammates said we had 70 km/h wind gusts (coming from the front and the side) in one of them. Wheels that deep were probably not the best choice, but I did not feel really disadvantaged. The front wheel did not feel twitchy. I felt a few times being pushed sideways, but it was manageable as the pressure was felt evenly on the wheels. It's a if a gentle giant was pushing me towards the side.

In normal conditions the wheels are really fun. They are stable, and provide me great confidence in a straight line. They feel aero, but I am obviously not able to quantify it.

Coming from grooved aluminum wheels, the braking is obviously not as good, but it's all right. One of my two races was also rainy, and gritty as the roads have not yet been cleaned this spring, and they did well. I also managed to escape from a crash in my other race by braking enough that my read wheel locked and my rear tire skidded. It's not disc or grooved alu performance, but way better than other carbon wheels that I tried before (like Reynolds Strike). It might be similar to normal alu wheels. I'd be curious to try them with other pads than the SwissStop Flash Evo Black Prince they are coming with, but I don't know of any other brake pad that are as thin as them.

There is around 1-1.5mm each side between the wheel and the brake pads, with the washers installed as Shimano says (ie without changing the order of the washers).

Overall I am very satisfied! I would recommend them to a friend. QX is also really helpful. They also look really good, which is a must!!!

[BigBoyND]

I agree, it's surprising how stable these feel for their depth.

I'm also using Fillmore. Works with all my pumps but just barely! Glad because I really like those valves.

[TobinHatesYou]

I agree, it's surprising how stable these feel for their depth.

I'm also using Fillmore. Works with all my pumps but just barely! Glad because I really like those valves.

Really tricky with some push-on minipumps like the Topeak Micro Rocket. The valve nut has to be removed to get a firm hold.

[Marinoni77]

I agree, it's surprising how stable these feel for their depth.

I'm also using Fillmore. Works with all my pumps but just barely! Glad because I really like those valves.

Really tricky with some push-on minipumps like the Topeak Micro Rocket. The valve nut has to be removed to get a firm hold.

Yeah, I have an old TopPeak Joe Blow and I need to hold the pump's head and the valve together while pumping, otherwise it doesn't work.

[AscentBikes]

If you're facing difficulties with valves and the Polaris 69, I would like to recommend this particular pump head replacement:
Lezyne ABS-1 Pro HP Chuck
https://ride.lezyne.com/collections/inf ... chuck-v111



It screws on and even if the protrusion from the rim is short, can usually attach without issues.
We use it in the shop and it's been really helpful!

Regards
QX

[BigBoyND]

I agree, it's surprising how stable these feel for their depth.

I'm also using Fillmore. Works with all my pumps but just barely! Glad because I really like those valves.

Really tricky with some push-on minipumps like the Topeak Micro Rocket. The valve nut has to be removed to get a firm hold.

Yeah, I have an old TopPeak Joe Blow and I need to hold the pump's head and the valve together while pumping, otherwise it doesn't work.

I have a newer Topeak JoeBlow with SmartHead and it works, but it's close.

The Lezyne threaded head works easily.

Most obvious solution is a longer valve or extenders, but I really like the Fillmore valves.