Originally Posted by
scottfsmith
Maybe I wasn't clear, I meant outlier for what they were optimized for, not what they allow. The ENVE AR is the only one I know which like the Zipp 353NSW is optimized for 28mm not something bigger. The rest allow 28mm but it is at the edge of the allowed tire size so was not aero optimized for it. Or so is my impression. I recently got some LB WR's and my impression is they were optimized (not just rated) for bigger sized tires and I have not tried 28s on them. Of course I would be happy to hear otherwise as it would make the rims more flexible for me.
You're gonna have to define "optimized" for me. Are you claiming that any of these wheels would be slower with 28s than with bigger tires? If you care about aero, you go with the narrowest tire that works for your application.
I'm sure some wheels are more focused on wider or narrower tires so that might factor into your decision of whether to buy a particular rim, though. Like I wouldn't necessarily want to buy a wide rim that's designed for gravel tires if I'm looking for a road rim. You're right that the LBs say "the WR50 features a deep Gravel Optimized Aero profile that cuts through crosswinds and decreases lateral resistance" but I wouldn't put too much stock into that. Nothing about that profile is different from every other aero wheel on the market.
I believe they said the same thing about the AR56 and that was one of the fastest wheels on Hambini's test. I bought the AR56 and use them with 25mm tires and they are extremely fast and stable. Regardless of whether you put stock in Hambini's test, it is a small piece of evidence to suggest that these wheels are fast with narrow tires.