There was one sticking point, however. With a £1,999.98 price tag, the ERC 1100 Dicut wheelset’s superb performance came with a top-end price tag, but DT Swiss has addressed that with the new ERC 1400 Spline coming in at £1,674.99.

That’s far from small change but it brings the new wheelset in line with the mid-market competition, as well as DT Swiss’ revamped range of PRC wheels, launched last year and reviewed by RCUK in September.

The key change concerns the hubs. While the flagship ERC wheelset uses DT Swiss’ Dicut hub design, the ERC 1400 utilises the Spline hubset. It still uses DT’s ratchet design, but swaps the Dicut’s ceramic bearings for steel, while the hubs themselves are slightly less aero (to the tune of 1.5 watts, apparently). The spokes are also a mix of DT Swiss Aerolite and Aero Comp, rather than exclusively the former.

The new design is said to be a little more comfortable (or, depending on how you look at it, less stiff), while the hub and spoke changes add a little weight – we’re looking at a 25g difference according to DT Swiss (claimed weight for the ERC 1400 Spline wheelset is 1,538g).

We were mightily impressed with the original wheels, which offered superb all-round performance regardless of the terrain, road surface or weather conditions, and can see these being popular as a more competitively priced alternative.

Website: DT Swiss
UK distributor: Madison