Launched earlier in the year, the Halo Skelta wheels get the benefit of the new Supadrive rear hub which offers a ludicrous engagement rate.
Developed with the assistance of one Matt Jones, the Hao Skelta Supadrive wheels are designed to take a kicking and continue to be smooth and round.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- 6061-T6 seamless welded rim
- 30mm internal width
- Halo MT2 and MT Supadrive hubs
- Black ED coated brass nipples
- Black triple-butted spokes
- Boost spacing
- 6-bolt only
- Cro-Mo freehub
- Hand-built
- 2,150g (Pair, 29″)
- £530.00 RRP
- HaloWheels.com
Halo’s Skelta wheels aren’t new but carry with them a reputation for being sensibly priced and bombproof. The 29″ versions seen here are part of a comprehensive Skelta range that covers everything down to 24″. The 6061-T6 rim is 30mm wide internally and sports an ‘invisible weld’. Laced to the new MT Supadrive hubs are J-bend, triple butted spokes that are readily available. Freehubs are Cro-Mo units will follows the Halo mantra of strength. Swapping freehubs/bearings use spanner flats to get the end caps off.
In the hand, these are not the lightest wheels. At 2,150g for the pair, they are heavier than the competition, but if you want strong, durable wheels, weight isn’t likely on your priority list. The new shot-peened finish, combined with sealed bearings means these are tougher than woodpecker lips.
Whilst they don’t come with tubeless valves, the hand-made nature of the wheels means that the taping job is nigh on perfect. Slot some valves in, tyre on, sealant in and my a pair of WTB Verdicts went up with a hand pump no bother. The only grumble on setup was me needing to move wheels between bikes and the end caps need cone spanners or something of similar width to undo.
The new MT Supadrive hub is the newest addition to the Halo family and the three wedge pawls offer up 12 teeth per pawl, for a total of 3 degrees per engagement. This is pretty rapid and anyone looking for fast engagement will struggle to do better for less money. Also, with so many teeth engaged at once, Halo claim that this only increases durability and power transfer.
These were fitted to a Merida eOne-Sixty, and the latent lag in an ebike motor feels like it evaporates with the Supadrive hub. It’s almost like getting a good service on an old car, that power feels just that little bit more immediate, and all your input is driven into the ground.
On an ebike, the weight feels less important and I could set about slinging the bike into all manner of questionable trails without having to worry much about the wheels. Months down the line and the finish that I was certain would have faded barely looked like it had been out of the box. Both freehubs barely showed any sign of the human plus motor power than had been driven through it.
By the time they were due to head back to Halo, the Skeltas had barely a mark on them. Weight aside, if you’re after a set of wheels that will make the ground scared, you can hardly go wrong. If you’re a wheel-wrecker or just want something that will stay black and round whilst you razz it hard, then get yourself a set.
Hand built wheels are so much better than anything else and it shows. Yes the ingredients have to be right but de-stressing a wheel and putting the rim tape on properly means that the job of fitting and riding is just as straightforward as it should be.
You can check out the Halo Skelta 29″ Boost wheels over on their website here.
