As we head into fat bike season, a new trend has been steadily gaining momentum. Even though 27.5″ fat bike wheels and tires have been available for about a year now, 26″ still seems to be far more prevalent. But with more and more brands stuffing 27.5″ wheel and tire combinations into their current fat bikes, we felt it was time to see what all the fuss was about. But in order to test out tires, first we needed some wheels…
Enter the new Whisky Parts Co. No. 9 80w carbon wheels. Utilizing their new No. 9 carbon rim in a 27.5″ diameter and 77mm internal width, the complete wheels are built through QBP’s custom wheel division.
Laced up to DT Swiss 350 Big Ride Centerlock hubs, our wheelset is built with a 150 x 15mm front and 177 x 12mm rear hub to fit into our Otso Voytek test rig. Each wheel is built with 32 Dt Swiss Competition Double Butted black spokes with brass nipples.
The rim measures 77mm internally and features a special tubeless bead profile to keep the tire engaged at low pressures. Maximum psi is listed at 30, and the maximum rider weight is 240lbs.
On our scales, the wheels came in at 1069g and 1164g with tape, but no valves. Available i a set for $1,599.99, you an also build your own with the rim only at $499.99 a piece. We’ve got our hands on most of the 27.5″ fat bike tires on the market, so stay tuned while we put together a piece on the actual sizes of the tires and what it will mean for your (26″) bike if you decide to convert.
