Vision Metron 45 SL Review: Why Did I Never Notice These Wheels Before?

The Metron 45 SL is Vision’s flagship road wheelset, but this year, Lachlan Morton showed that it can do a lot more than win road races. He used a pair to win Unbound Gravel with a time of 9:11:47 — the fastest time to date.

Lachlan Morton's Unbound bike with Vision Metron 45 SL wheels. Photo: Vision.

This victory suddenly put the Metron 45 SL wheels on my radar. I even experienced a bit of a frequency illusion (also known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon), because I started noticing these wheels every time I watched a bike race! 

Richard Carapaz's TdF bike with matching Vision Metrons. Wait, have Vision wheels ALWAYS looked this good!? Photo: Jered & Ashley Gruber 

Pro World Tour teams like EF Education, Bahrain-Victorious, and Astana currently race on Vision Metrons (both the 45 SL and 60 SL). Some of my favorite riders — like Matej Mohoric and Mark Cavendish — use these wheels. Metrons even won a few stages at this year’s Tour de France. Holy crap, I thought. These wheels seem legit. 

Are these wheels "all that?"

It was like the pivotal moment in a teen romantic comedy where the nerd takes off their glasses and lets down their hair, and suddenly, the jock is into them. I knew these wheels existed. They were released years ago. For some reason, I never really paid attention to them. Now that I couldn’t stop thinking about them, I had to try them out. 

[button]Shop Road Wheels[/button]

What I Like About the Metron 45 SL

I’ve been riding a set of Vision Metron 45 SL wheels on two different bikes — a Specialized Aethos and a Cervelo Soloist. So far, I’ve put just over 1,000 miles on them. I have my wheels set up with a SRAM Force XPLR cassette, Paceline centerlock rotors, and 28mm Continental GP 5000 S TR tires that measure 29.3mm wide on the rim. 

Width

With its extensive background in CFD and wind tunnel work, Vision shaped the Metrons to not only be aerodynamically efficient, but stable in crosswinds. The 45mm deep Metron 45 SL has a hooked rim with a 21mm internal width. The rim bulges out below the bead to a 31.1mm external width that’s aerodynamically optimized for 28mm tires. 

The current Metron 45 SL is faster than its predecessor, even with wider tires.

If you’re familiar with the rule of 105, the external rim width needs to be at least 105% the width of a tire for optimum aerodynamic perfromance. This allows air to stay attached, reducing turbulence and minimizing drag. With my 28mm GP5000 tires measuring 29.3mm, the 31.1mm rim is just over 106% of my tire width — perfect. 

Of course, if you want to run something bigger, you can. Vision calls the Metron 45 SL an “all-around” wheelset that can handle cyclocross and gravel, and top gravel pros like Lachlan Morton seemed to prefer it to more gravel-specific offerings like Vision’s SC30 AGX. This is likely thanks to the low weight and the PRS hubs.  

Weight

Before I installed the valves and tubeless tape, I put the Metron 45 SL on my scale and they came in at 1,380 grams, a touch below the claimed 1,390 gram weight. It isn’t the lightest ~45mm carbon wheelset out there, but it’s pretty darn good. I consider anything under 1,400g very light. Richard Carapaz used the Metron 45 SL to nab a Yellow Jersey, win a stage, and win the King of the Mountains jersey at this year’s Tour de France, so they definitely have enough climbing chops to serve the world’s best.

Hubs

The Metron 45 SL also use Vision’s latest PRS (Power Ratchet System) hub, which employs a ratchet design instead of traditional pawls. 

When I went to Sea Otter this year, I met with a few engineers from big wheel companies. What I learned is that they all prefer ratchets to pawls because they have less drag. Pawl-type freehub systems can apply a transverse load to the axle, which can cause binding when pedaling hard, wasting precious watts. Ratchets are also much simpler and more reliable. This is why so many manufacturers jumped on the ratchet bandwagon after DT Swiss’ patent expired in 2020. 

The Vision PRS hub uses a 72T “Helical Clutch” ratchet for quick engagement. The 5-degree engagement angle the ratchet provides feels fast. It’s noticeably quicker than the 6.6-degree engagement provided by Vision’s previous 6-pawl freehub and DT Swiss’ top-end 54T ratchet. I also think it sounds awesome. It has the same attention-grabbing buzz you get from Chris King’s 72T ratchet hubs. (If you hate loud hubs, these might not be for you.)  

Ride Feel

On the road, the Metron 45 SL wheels are stiff and snappy without feeling harsh, which is exactly how good carbon wheels should feel. They feel light and responsive on climbs, just as you’d expect. 

I’ve even convinced myself that the aerodynamic and hub efficiency gains are actually noticeable on the road too. On some of the fast -1-2% downhills where I’m usually fighting tooth and nail to stay attached during a fast group ride, I seem to roll faster than I did my old budget carbon wheels. Is it actually the wheels or is it all in my head? It’s probably a bit of both. 

[newsletter]

Vision Metron 45 SL vs. the Competition

Let’s quickly compare the Vision Metron 45 SL to some of the other popular top-of-the-line road wheels on the market. These are wheels that many riders will likely look at if they’re searching for an “all-rounder” — i.e., something lightweight but aerodynamic. All of these wheels are also used by top pro teams and riders. 

Some notes:

• Zipps and ENVEs are hookless. 
• Visions, Reserves, and Rovals are hooked. 
• The Zipp 303 Firecrest is technically NOT Zipp’s top-of-the-line ~40-45mm wheelset. The 353 NSW is, but it retails for $4,220 so that’s in a different category to me.  
• The Roval Rapide is deeper than I want, but Roval doesn't currently have a top-end wheel in the 40-45mm range. 

Ultimately, choosing the right wheels for you comes down to what qualities you value most. The Vision Metron 45 SL works for me because:

• I wanted to satisfy the rule of 105 with 28mm tires
• I wanted hooked rims
• I wanted top-of-the-line hubs/spokes
• I wanted a sub-1,400-gram wheelset
• I didn’t want to spend much over ~$2,000

Of its competitors, the Reserve 42|49 TA with DT Swiss 180 hubs comes closest to satisfying all of these requirements too. I’d definitely consider it! Though they might be too wide for me. The 34.4mm external width is likely better suited to 30-32mm wide road tires. 

Want something more affordable? All of these brands also offer more budget-friendly alternatives:

• Zipp 303 S - $1,400
• Vision SC 45 - $1,199
• Reserve 42|49 TA w/ DT Swiss 350 hubs - $1,799
• Roval Rapide CL II - $1,750
• ENVE 45 - $1,400

These reduce cost with lower-end hubs and spokes that add weight. The Zipp 303 S and ENVE 45 also use a lower-end rim. In the case of the Vision SC 45, it uses the same rims as the Metron 45 SL but has a pawl-type freehub. 

Do I Like You For the Right Reasons?  

I have a history of lusting after blingy wheels, and despite the positives of the Vision Metron 45 SL, I’d never call them blingy. People in my riding circles don’t really talk about them. I never see riders online talking about them. If Lachlan hadn’t won Unbound on a set of Metron 45 SLs, I probably would have never given these wheels a second glance. 

Vision doesn't have the bling factor of brands like ENVE and Zipp. It doesn’t have a strong brand connection like Roval does with Specialized or Reserve with Cervelo. Something else about the Vision Metron 45 SL captured me: a race performance. 

Will this last?

Lachlan’s win was my teen movie makeover moment. My attraction to these wheels was sudden and hard to understand. I wasn’t sure it was even real at first. I was still flying high on my own Unbound finish and dreaming about upgrading my bike for next year. Copying the winner seemed like a solid move. But I’ve also learned from the movies that relationships that start under intense circumstances (like finishing Unbound or escaping a bus bomb) never last. Would I get these wheels and regret it by next season? 

Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Like any good relationship, things only improved as I got to know my wheels and spent more time with them. I actually found myself falling more in love. I’ve come to love how my Metron 45 SLs look, how they sound, and how they feel. The ENVE 45 and Zipp 303 S wheels I had before… I don’t even think about them anymore. 

Everyone was looking at Lachlan's new bike. I just see the wheels. Photo: EF Pro Cycling

I also just like seeing pro bikes equipped with the Metron 45 SL and feeling a sense of kinship. When Carapaz rode the Metron 45 SL to win a stage win and the KOM Jersey at the Tour, I felt a little ping of satisfaction. When I saw a photo of Lachlan Morton starting his 14,200 km (8,823 miles) lap around Australia on a set of Metron 45 SLs I thought: heck yeah, those are the right wheels. Those are MY wheels!

[button]Shop Road Wheels[/button]