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New 1050g Easton E100 Full Carbon Tubulars Introduce Tuned, Tensioned Carbon Spokes

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2015 Easton E100 ultralight 1050g full carbon tubular road bike wheels

Easton has brought boutique levels of carbon to a mainstream wheelset with the new E100 to create 1050g tubulars that can easily be repaired.

Nothing about the E100s was pulled from Easton’s current parts bins. Instead, they spent more than five years developing all new technologies and designs to create something they say is not just incredibly lightweight but stiffer than other full carbon spoked wheels. And it can be repaired far easier than other completely carbon wheels.

The rims are a new “Fantom” shape, and the hubs get a full carbon body with two donuts on either end holding the spokes for that side of the wheel. Those spokes, which are indeed full carbon fiber yet thinner than what we’ve seen from others like Lightweight and Mavic, are then hand tensioned to properly build each wheel for the best performance.

2015 Easton E100 ultralight 1050g full carbon tubular road bike wheels

The carbon composite “Pultruded” spokes are ultrasonic welded to a carbon ring (aka “donut”) closing the end of each hub side. That keeps the drive and non-drive side spoke groupings separate, so if you did destroy one, only that side’s spoke group would need to be replaced. Still not as easy as a traditional spoke, but when you’re trying to create something that’s both super light and somewhat practical for frequent, hard use, then creative solutions are required.

Inside the hub are six individually sprung pawls providing a 6º engagement. Ceramic sealed cartridge bearings round things out. Specs include 20 spokes per wheel, 2-cross lacing on front and rear, 24mm width at brake track, and 45mm depth.

We’ll have more info on their features and construction once we’re inside Eurobike, update when we do.

EastonCycling.com

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Will Hilgenberg
Will Hilgenberg
10 years ago

Pultruded is actually the correct name for the technique for the spokes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pultrusion

This looks really cool though. I’m especially curious about he ultraosnic welding of carbon fiber.

Marc
Marc
10 years ago

Topolino wheels with new carbon rims? Sure looks like it!

Matt
Matt
10 years ago

Serious question, why aren’t tubeless tires more prevalent for road biking?

Chris
Chris
10 years ago

Serious answer (my opinion, of course): They’re a pain in the backside to fit and tyres are much less of an obvious performance gain on the road than in MTB. I’ve found clinchers to be very much ‘good enough’ (and I mean that I have zero problems) that going to tubeless seems like a solution to a problem that just doesn’t exist. Just my two cents. YMMV

wzrd
wzrd
10 years ago

anyone out there try their luck with the ec70 /ec90 wheelset easton currently offers? i havent seen a set stay on the road for more then a week.

these seem neat, but i wouldnt want to see these guys being riden hard for a while before even considering buying them.

paulpalf
paulpalf
10 years ago

I’m curious about the ultrasonic welding claim:
Aren’t most carbon fibre matrix materials epoxies, so thermosetting? You need a thermoplastic material to ultrasonically weld as it has to remelt.

Sean
Sean
10 years ago

@matt. regarding tubeless for the road. I personally find the tires on my tubeless Shimano wheels amazing. I haven’t had a flat on them ever. Add sealant once a year. I run them at 90psi or lower if I want and they feel amazing. I bought into the system right away. I decided to go with a high end clincher recently for racing purposes and have had 4 flats in 2 months. You start to realize how much you hate changing flats in a race or a training ride when you haven’t had one in 6 years. If people really knew the benefits of tubeless for the “ordinary” rider I think they would be more popular. Just my opinion.

goridebikes
goridebikes
10 years ago

I wonder if these will feature the same poor building technique, limited durability/lifespan, and questionable quality control as all of their other wheels…
Easton makes respectable bars, stems, posts… but wheels… nothing but trouble.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
10 years ago

Does anyone else find it a bit weird that Easton’s Aero 55 wheel (also tubeless compatible) has been out for quite a while, and yet there’s a vacuum where there should be reviews. Will the E100 be another Easton wheel that will be released and never heard from again?

Tim
Tim
10 years ago

@Matt. Are you confusing TUBULAR and TUBELESS? I think these are TUBULAR if I read the headline correctly.

@Sean. “Ordinary” road riders should probably be riding Gatorskins, Armadillos, or Duranos. I race on race day tires, train on bomb proof tires, and haven’t had a problem in over six years.

Andrew
Andrew
10 years ago

@paulpalf – I wondered the same thing. You can’t ultrasonically weld epoxies. Continuous-fiber reinforced pultruded thermoplastic spokes would be pretty darn cutting edge…

Another issue with pultruded tubes/rods is that they can be pretty splintery. It varies from resin to resin, but you have to be very on top of your quality control. Then again, it’s Easton, so we know that they never have problems with their spokes. Cough, cough.

Chris
Chris
10 years ago

@Tim
I think tyre choice is very location dependant.
Here in Singapore I use Schwalbe Ultremo ZX and haven’t had a puncture in 3 years, that being the only puncture I suffered here.
When I go ‘home’ to Melbourne, Australia, each years for vacation I’m using Spec Roubaix 23/25s as the roads there just cut up tyres quickly. I haven’t settled on these, but they’re the latest as each one is gone through each winter.

Dazza
Dazza
10 years ago

Welded Carbon fibre? Please explain

Jugi
Jugi
10 years ago

@wzrd
I’ve been riding a set of EC90SL tubulars with 22mm Schwalbe Ones from middle of June, I think I’m approaching 3000km on them. At first the freewheel made some weird klonking noises. I took it apart and discovered there was plenty of thick grease in there, which basically did not let the pawls engage like they should. I wiped some of that off and after that they have worked like a dream. Stiff, light and very accurate and informative in riding feel. Braking performance has been satisfactory in dry conditions, not so much in the wet. Definetly not the most comfortable ride, but I quess that’s what you get with a 38mm deep stiff carbon rim.

The only big downside are the hidden nipples inside a tubular rim. In a week or two I’ll change back to a cheaper clincher aluminium set for the winter months and rip the tubular off the rear rim, as it has a couple of spokes in need of more tension.

ff
ff
10 years ago

I “train” daily on “race day” tubeless tires. Add sealant once every 6 mo. Change tires once a year.
No flats. Lower pressure for comfyness. No issues. And its light and rolls well.

Dont understand ppl who use “race day” stuff. Most high end stuff is stronger than the cheaper and heavier stuff. I ride for fun. Dont wanna settle for crap stuff just because “its not race day” thats dumb.

As for tubular… Just as fine. Except when its that one day of the year you change tires and want to die.

Patrick
Patrick
10 years ago

More Easton vaporware. Their EC90 Aero 55 clincher won a Eurobike award last year and STILL is not available. Easton customer service for the last couple months has been anything but as well. Keep dreaming.

And yes, road tubeless is everything it’s cracked up to be if you actually use sealant and run lower pressures.

steven
steven
10 years ago

2 cross front??

thesteve4761
thesteve4761
10 years ago

Rafe Schlanger is everywhere.

Kyle
Kyle
10 years ago

I’m really surprised that so many people are still riding tubulars. I’m somewhat surprised that so many people are still running tubes.

FYI for the tubeless skeptics – Schwalbe one tires are easy to fit should you have a roadside problem. I carry a patch kit, but haven’t needed it on the road since going tubeless. I have used it a few times to repair large cuts after getting home on the sealant.

Speedy
Speedy
10 years ago

@wzrd – I have a clincher EC90SL wheelset. It has held up well for 1000 miles under my 215 lbs. The braking performance is pretty much the worst, and I wouldn’t dream of riding them in the wet (using a Campy SuperRecord 11 breakset with single pivot rear for what it’s worth) the first set I had, had issues with the carbon brake track de-laminating on the front. After I contacted Easton they replaced the set and I have had no technical issues since. But, I would not recommend these however due to the awful breaking performance. Maybe they have fixed that with their newer rim builds?

Dean
Dean
10 years ago

So the EC90 Aero 55 is not even available to buy?

Ripnshread
Ripnshread
10 years ago

Nice to see Topolino’s Technology finally made it through Easton’s R&D. @Paulpalf @Andrew, yes it is as cutting edge as you think.

Dominic
Dominic
10 years ago

as for the Aero 55. it is/was most definitely available, but it is practically speaking way too wide. I mounted a set on a BMC racemachine or teammachine, recently and the TRP R970 brakes would simply not open wide enough without taking off a fair bit of brake pad material. Pity i haven’t had a chance to ride them but they seemed pretty decent. Probably better than the previous generation. They do have an interesting mathoud of preloading the bearings, so if you do happen across a set make sure you spin the axle, and if it’s too tight, have someone who knows what they’re doing, reset the preload.

Patrick
Patrick
10 years ago

@Dominic

The tubular version of the Aero 55 was released. I haven’t found anybody that has seen the clincher version in the wild.

Donald
Donald
8 years ago

riding the new SL Alloy wheels, zero issues

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