At the end of last year Velocity USA debuted a new road rim designed to bring the benefits of their more recent developments for the trail and disc brake crowds over to more traditional road bikes. Keeping a machined rim brake surface, the new Quill rims grow to a healthy 21.1mm internal width to offer a smoother ride and an overall stiffer wheel build. The Quill was essentially built to replace their long running A23 rim, and manages to improve on weight, stiffness, width, and aero characteristics. Take a closer look after the break at the rim, pricing, its many available iterations, and the possible wheel builds available through Velocity’s in-house The Wheel Department custom wheelbuilders…
The new rim builds on road rim tech that Velocity worked out on the Aileron disc rim, and ends up with an even lighter and more aerodynamic cross section. The new Quill has a blunt aero shape that is 24.5mm wide and 24.5mm tall. That leaves a base that opens up and widens most conventional narrow tires, and supports the growing catalogue of high performance wide road tires. At just 415g it remains reasonably light, shaving about 35g off its predecessor. Velocity say that it is easy to setup tubeless with their 21mm wide Velotape. The machined-sidewall 700c rims are available now in 20, 24, 28, 32 & 36 drillings in both anodized black and polished silver for $127 a piece.
The Quill is being made available in 3 complete wheelsets, handbuilt by their own The Wheel Department in Grand Rapids, MI . The Quill U.S. wheels are built from all American-made parts with Industry Nine Torch Road hubs, 20/24 DT Swiss Competition spokes, and alloy nipples at 1,460g for $1,050. Quill Pro wheels use Velocity Race hubs, 20/24 lacing with Sapim CX Ray spokes, and alloy nipples to come in at just 1,395g and only $830. The Quill Comp wheelset also uses Velocity Race hubs, with a 24/28 DT Swiss Competition spoke lacing and brass nipples for a more durable build at 1,595g and $600 retail price.
