The Strada 48 is the point in DUKE's Elite road range where the priorities tilt openly toward speed. It's the wheel for riding fast and attacking whenever the road invites it — aerodynamic efficiency, precise handling, and finely tuned inertia in a package that still weighs just 1,201 grams the pair in the Mad Max build. Toray T1100 carbon, DUKE's SLR5 layup, laced by hand in their Vendée, France workshop.

This is the depth for fast courses, racing, and KOM hunting: enough rim to hold a high pace and reward every surge, not so much that crosswinds start dictating your line. Run it as a pair, or — as DUKE themselves suggest — as the front wheel ahead of a Strada 56 rear for a mullet aero setup that keeps the steering light while the rear carries the inertia. The 25mm internal width is shaped around a 28–30mm tire, DRC damping filters road buzz, and DUKE's Offset asymmetric lacing balances spoke tension for lateral stiffness and durability.

Construction is the full DUKE playbook: SpokeCore molds every spoke hole into the layup rather than drilling cured carbon, and the VFP finish skips clearcoat entirely — lighter, more scratch-resistant, cleaner to produce. Hooked and tubeless-ready, each set arrives taped and valved with spare spokes, nipples, and a build certificate, and every DUKE carbon rim carries a lifetime, transferable crash-replacement program.

We build these with DUKE's own Mad Max 3 hubs with black Sapim spokes, or Tune's Nano hubs in silver with silver spokes, and your choice of XDR, HG11, or N3W freehub. If you're looking for a custom build around these rims — spoke counts, decals, a hub we don't list — reach out for a quote.