Reynolds TR 309/289 XC 157mm Wheelset

The Reynolds TR 309/289 XC 157mm Wheelset is built for the rider who wants a lightweight race wheel that can also survive a season of trail miles. Reynolds has built its reputation on carbon wheel manufacturing, and the TR line carries that experience into a more attainable price point than the brand's Blacklabel wheels, without asking you to give up much in return. At $1,449.99, this cross country and trail wheelset is priced for riders who train and race seriously but don't need the absolute top of the Reynolds catalog to do it. Every Reynolds wheel, including this one, ships with the brand's lifetime guarantee, which says something about how the company expects its carbon construction to hold up over years of use.

The 309/289 name refers to the wheelset's asymmetric rim widths: a wider rim up front paired with a narrower one in back. The wider front rim broadens the front tire's contact patch, which steadies the bike through loose corners and rough, unpredictable terrain, while the narrower rear rim keeps the back end efficient and quick to spin up out of corners. Both rims run a low profile rather than a deep aero-style section, favoring light weight for climbing and quick handling over marginal aerodynamic gains that matter less off-road. Reynolds builds the rims using its TSS/PR3 construction, a rim layup and molding approach aimed at pushing impact resistance and durability higher without adding the weight penalty that usually comes with reinforcing a carbon rim. On a cross country course, where a rock strike is a matter of when rather than if, that durability margin is the difference between finishing a race and walking back to the pits.

Power reaches the trail through Reynolds' own TR MTN hubs, built around a 10-degree engagement angle. That's tight enough to matter in the moments that decide a race or a technical trail section — a short, sharp effort out of a switchback, a sudden dig to clear a rock garden — where any slack between pedal input and wheel movement costs momentum you don't get back. The wheelset is built specifically around Super Boost 157mm rear spacing, a wider hub standard found on trail and enduro-leaning frames that pulls the spokes out to a steeper bracing angle for a stiffer, more durable wheel under load. Reynolds offers the TR 309/289 XC with a choice of freehub body — Shimano Microspline, standard Shimano/SRAM HG, or SRAM XD — so it's worth confirming which one matches your drivetrain before you order, since RA Cycles carries it in Black with all three freehub options available.

Tubeless compatibility is built in from the start, which means lower rolling resistance, fewer pinch flats on rocky trail sections, and the option to drop tire pressure for extra grip once the terrain gets loose or loamy — the setup most serious cross country and trail riders already want to run. That combination of a wide, supportive front rim, a quick-spinning rear, and a hub built for instant response is what makes this wheelset equally at home lining up for a cross country race and putting in a long day on singletrack afterward. It rewards riders who ask their equipment to do double duty rather than sit in a garage between race weekends.

The Reynolds TR 309/289 XC 157mm Wheelset is a fit for cross country and trail riders who want carbon-level performance and a hub built for quick reaction times, without stretching into Blacklabel territory to get it. It's a wheelset built to be raced hard on Saturday and ridden hard again on Sunday.