Review: DT Swiss FR 1500 Wheelset

The redesigned edge has a wider surface area. When tested with an undisclosed leading tire brand, the new rim proved to reduce the number of pinch flats by up to 17%, compared to the FR 1950 Classic wheels.

Design & Specs

Understanding DT Swiss’ naming scheme can be complex, but it makes sense once you know the code. High-end alloy rims get two letters, and the lower the four-digit number, the higher the hub quality. Following that series, a word is used to describe the spoke type.

To de-code the wheels reviewed here, they use their premium mountain hubs, “Classic” J-bend spokes, alloy nipples, and aluminum rims featuring a welded seam versus a pinned join.

At the heart of these wheels are 240 hubs that run on DT’s Star-Ratchet system. The two clutch plates have opposing ramped teeth and are pushed together by a spring on each side. They rotate with little friction and put out an identifiable hum.

At the rear wheel, the 157mm wide option is built to the Super Boost specification, not the regular 157 DH option. The difference here lies in the spoke bracing angles. Super Boost 157 maximizes the hub width and moves the disc-side flange further outboard for more lateral stiffness. 157 DH uses a narrower flange width but the same spoke length per side and therefore the same tension.

Changing drivers or rear hub ends caps is a tool-free process. The front hub caps take a bit more muscle to remove and press of sorts to replace them – a socket or similar sized cylinder will do the trick.

Moving outward, the spokes are DT Swiss’ J-bend, double-butted type and thread into aluminum ProLock Squorx ProHead nipples. Compared to brass nipples, you’ll save about 25g per wheel. The end of the nipple that rests in the rim eyelet can be tightened with six-sided Squorx tool, in addition to a regular four-sided spoke key. The nipples are not the longest that DT makes, so some attention is required when fitting a spoke key on there to avoid stripping them.

Aluminum is still DT Swiss’ preferred rim material for gravity riding but the big talking point is the new rim bead profile. During development DT Swiss observed that the wider lip reduced flat by up to 17% when using control tires.

Pricing and weight

There are a ton of numbers being thrown around here, however, the 1500 refers to neither the price nor the weight. With a price tag of $1,152 USD, the gravity wheelset weighs in at 2039g (as tested).

Cost-wise, that’s not too far above another popular alloy wheel chosen by multiple World Cup teams, Stan’s Flow MK4 wheelset, which goes for $995 USD. Those come in all the same hub widths as the FR 1500, plus they include a 3-year warranty and 1-year crash replacement too.

Both wheelsets use double-butted, J-bend spokes and welded rim joints. The one upside to the DT Swiss is that you can upgrade the hub to a quicker engaging hub, but that can be a rider preference.

Test Setup

These wheels from DT Swiss are aimed at the freeride and downhill racing crowd so fitting them to a mixed-wheel Nukeproof Dissent Carbon that was in for testing seemed most appropriate. It wouldn’t be out of line to consider mounting them to enduro and E-bike bikes either, however, DT Swiss has specific wheels for those segments too.

The hub dimensions used were Boost DH (20x110mm) and 12×157 Super Boost with an XD freehub body.

Mounting everything went as planned and even the stiff sidewalls of Michelin’s DH tires inflated easily using a regular floor pump for a tubeless setup. These were primarily set between 22-25 psi, depending on conditions. That might seem low, but those tires have a much stiffer casing than Maxxis or Schwalbe downhill tires. When Maxxis DH casing tires were installed, the pressures went up by 2-3 psi.

Ride Impressions

Carbon rims aren’t all built to the same stiffness, but what about aluminum hoops? Aren’t those basically all the same? No, but the differences can be less apparent. I’ve also found that aluminum wheels can also rely on spoke tension to provide certain ride characteristics more than carbon. That could be because a carbon rim naturally retains its shape – aluminum will do that too, but to much lower degree.

The DT Swiss FR 1500 wheelset gives a comfortable ride that is fairly stiff yet sends very little force from rim strikes through the bike. When the tire does bottom out against the rim, the noise and feedback is damped and dull, in a positive way. There were a few more of those than I’d like to admit as they were put through their paces during Whistler Crankworx.

Carving through turns, I never felt the rear wheel was too noodly at the stock spoke tension. They also tracked well across off-camber sections of trail without bouncing me offline or chattering through brake bumps.

Durability

The FR 1500s have lasted the better part of a season with regular bike park abuse, including both dry and rainy weather stints. At the center, the hubs still spin freely and quietly. The Star Ratchet never skipped a beat and hasn’t shown signs of wear. In fact, the stock grease is still looking pristine.

Generally, I’d say I’m not overly abusive on wheels, keeping in mind that accidents do happen. However, I did manage to put a moderately small flat spot in the rim without recalling any poor line choice during the particular lap. That led to a very slow leak at the bead, but after pouring some extra sealant in and swishing it around, the problem was resolved. Other than that minor setback, no tires were blown off or pinch-flatted.

In terms of maintenance, I never experienced any sudden loss of spoke tension after the first few rides, and the wheels only required one or two quick visits to the truing stand throughout their use. During those jobs, you’ll want to use DT’s square spoke key that captures three corners of the square nipple. Those aren’t always on hand, which is why I’d prefer brass nipples for the sake of a small weight penalty. For the price, it’d be swell if the precise spoke key was supplied.