Custom Falcon Pro AR565s: The Perfect All-Rounder

Cycling has been the one constant and steady hand that has guided me through life’s difficult twists and turns. I think of a bike as a therapist made up of lightweight carbon and aluminum, or in the case of my commuter bike, low-grade chromoly steel. Nothing can put aside a bad day more quickly than hopping on my bike and going for a ride. Pure bliss even when fighting traffic in downtown Toronto. But my joy for cycling is lifted even higher for recreational cycling and racing. As a ride leader for 10 years with my local club, I gained a huge appreciation for riding with others. Labelled an individual sport by some, I would say cycling is the most team-based sport around. Where else is every member of a sporting team so dependent on others for their safety, not to mention their performance and energy output? Get it right and you enter a flow state of pure exuberance.

My cycling adventures always have at least one perfect moment that remains etched in my mind for eternity. It could be the surroundings, the road, the company, anything. Where everything comes together and you think, “This couldn’t get any better.”

Stage 3 of last year’s Haute Route Pyrenees had one of those moments. Exhausted and having descended the last climb of the day, the iconic Col de Tourmalet, and with a flattish 25km run to the finish, everyone knew that it was essential not to be caught out alone. I was lucky enough to find myself forming within a group of six other riders just as we finished the descent of the Tourmalet. A few “Let’s go!” chirps by a couple of riders in the pack were all the positive reinforcement we all needed. Getting to the finish line as fast as possible is what we collectively wanted to do. Together. A perfectly rotating paceline averaging 46 km/h with every rider taking their fair pull. No bluffing or soft-pedalling from anyone. High fives at the end, and one rider yelling, “We were the perfect team!” sums up the end of stage 3.

Some of my greatest highs and lows have been experienced on a bike. And it is only by experiencing the pain and suffering through cycling that one can fully appreciate the highs. Greg LeMond’s famous quote is all so true: “One thing that cycling has taught me is that if you can achieve something without a struggle it's not going to be satisfying.”

After reflecting on my Haute Route experience, I had two immediate thoughts.

First, I must do the race again. Second, I want a better wheelset than what I have now. My search for marginal gains was born and I was off to find the perfect wheel optimized for the flats as well as the long, steep climbs of the Haute Route. I wanted a true, uncompromising all-rounder - something my Cannondale KNOT 64s fell a bit short on. Somewhere in there, I signed up for the 2023 Haute Route Dolomites. And I went from owning a Cannondale SystemSix to now owning a Cannondale SuperSix.

I don’t just love riding bikes. I love wrenching as well. Particularly building custom wheelsets. Having successfully completed wheel builds for road, gravel, and mountain bikes, I decided to go all-in, drop the big bucks, spec out, and build my dream road bike wheelset. I built all five of my custom wheelsets with Light Bicycle rims and quickly realized that these were something special. Carefully crafted, highly refined, and rims that punch well above their price point. Superior customer service and a sophisticated direct-to-consumer ordering process that I have yet to see anywhere else, even among the highly hyped, prestigious, North American wheel brands.

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Super light, lively, and responsive, yet reasonably comfortable for race-worthy wheels.

For rims, I decided on the Falcon Pro AR565 Disc model which utilizes the “BlackTek” molding process with their aero X-Flow rim profile. Their super stealth, laser-etched, logo treatment on the rim is the most impressive manufacturing treatment I’ve seen on any top-tier rim. I paired the rims with the new DT Swiss 180 hubs. For spokes, I went with DT Swiss straight-pull bladed spokes all around but used their Aero Comp for the front disc side and rear drive side, with the slightly lighter Aerolite spokes for the front non-disc side and rear non-drive side.

After putting 1,000 km on these wheels, I can confidently say that these are easily the best wheels I’ve ever ridden. Super light, lively, and responsive, yet reasonably comfortable for race-worthy wheels. The wheelset weighs in at exactly 1,400 grams (excluding rotors, tires, and the rear cassette). Based on the 56.5mm deep rims, I would have expected the wheels to roll well over flat pavement, and they absolutely did. What surprised me the most was how well they tackled steep climbs. When the grade went up, they maintained the liveliness and responsiveness I felt on the flats. You could easily mistake these for climbing-specific wheels. The wheels have remained true from day one and have shown no signs of wear. I can’t wait to try them out in the Dolomites later this year.

For those looking for more details on my Light Bicycle custom wheel build, please check out my YouTube channel @bikesbymike. I did a three-part series from start to finish on my whole wheel-building adventure.

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