Bike Ahead showed us what they think may be the lightest production mountain bike wheelset ever made. The cross country AC One wheels are based on the company’s standard 6-spoke carbon wheel design, and using the strongest fibers currently available they were able to shave the weight down for this race-bred wheelset, while keeping strength and stiffness. Sure it is limited to a 85kg rider (187lb; including all their gear), but they have plenty of other options for more aggressive trail riding, heavier riders, and even road discs. We actually spotted their new road wheels in the Haibike booth on their new Affair road disc bike. Check them all out below the fold…
The new AC Ones come in at just 1000g (2.2lbs) for the 27.5″ variant with a fairly standard 23mm inside width. The 29er set adds just 80g (0.2lbs) but uses a slightly more narrow 22mm inside rim. Both wheelsets get 6-bolt hubs available in QR, 15×100 & 12×142 thru-axles, as well as Lefty and RS-1 versions. The wheels can be spec’ed with either a standard freehub or an XD driver, and both sizes retail for 3700€.
Also new for 2016, Bike Ahead has introduced a wider cross country and trail wheelset, the Biturbo RS. Again based off their carry over Biturbo S (which is available in 26, 27.5 & 29″ in the 22/23mm widths), these new wheels are still just rated for XC, Marathons, and regular trail riding. With the move to 27mm wide rims for better low tire pressure handling and still using Bike Ahead’s standard hookless tubeless-friendly bead, the RS wheelset also gets a a new sharp-edged design meant to suggest their more aggressive capabilities. The RS wheels get a 95kg (209lb) rider+gear limit (the same for the entire Biturbo wheel line) and weigh 1100g (2.43lb) for the 27.5″ versions and 1189g (2.62lb) for 29ers, all for 3300€. In addition to their standar 2900€ BitrubroS wheels, Bike Ahead also builds a reinforced set called All Mountain for heavier riders. Pricing is the same, as are rim widths, but they get rated for up to all mountain or light enduro riding and max rider+gear weights of 105kg (231lb).
With road disc taking off, Bike Ahead had a new version there too, the Biturbo Road, that gets more aero-optimized sculpting than the mountain wheels. (Haibike was calling it the RoadRunner in their spec sheets.) With weights from 1100g (2.43lb; all weights vary a bit depending on axle types), the new disc-brake road clinchers get a 20mm internal width. Available with either Shimano or Campagnolo freehubs and QR or 12 &15mm thru-axle options, the new road wheels will sell for 3700€.
Bike Ahead do some other interesting parts besides wheels too. We featured a prototype of a new seatpost head back in the spring on the World Cup circuit that used an elastomer for a bit of give, but didn’t get any word on it coming to market soon. Bike Ahead did have their new clean and simple 19g Thechainguide which sells for 70€ and mounts in place of a top direct mount front derailleur for 28-36T single setups. The also now sell a Di2 ready flat carbon bar with channels and holes for smooth routing setups, in addition to standard flat and riser bars and the standard carbon seatpost.