Sure, most new road bike tech we see these days focuses on disc brakes, but DT Swiss’s new aero carbon ARC rim brake wheels remember that most bikes out riding the roads still need to squeeze the rim to come to a stop. Promising aero gains like those from their latest disc brake iteration, these new ARC rim brake wheels will make your current road bike faster, and probably still lighter than most disc brake setups.
DT Swiss ARC rim brake aero carbon tubeless road wheels
The faster new rim brake ARC wheels owe their aerodynamic improvement down to several small upgrades throughout the entire DT Swiss system, ultimately leading to 0.5W less drag in the wind tunnel, and out on the road. DT breaks their ARC rim brake wheel upgrades down to four main improvements to make you go faster…
Tech details – What’s new to make you go faster?
A new Dicut Aero rim brake specific hub shell with lower drag has been refined for the new wheels, to transition smoothly with the new spokes to make the new ARC wheels faster. To-tier ARC 1100 wheels get premium SINC ceramic bearings in 180 series hubs, while the more affordable ARC 1400 gets 240 hubs with steel bearings.
Another hub upgrade delivers DT’s latest lighter, more durable Ratchet EXP star ratchet engagement internals, their first so far in a rim brake wheelset. The new wheels feature 36T ratchets standard, but are easy to swap for faster engagement if desired, and they work with all freehub bodies. The move to Ratchet EXP also means wider bearing spacing in the rear wheel for improved durability and wheel stiffness.
Better aerodynamics with more refined spoke shaping, using the same new bladed AeroLite II & AeroComp II spokes as found in the ARC disc brake wheels. DT says their newest aero spokes are up to 28% thinner & 39% wider than the originals to better cut the wind, and they are always perfectly aligned thanks to the T-shaped spoke heads we first spotted on their ERC wheels a few years back.
One thing that hasn’t really changed are the proven blunt U-shape carbon rim profiles developed alongside aerodynamics specialists Swiss Side. Essentially DT & Swiss Side decided not to mess with the already wide & fast rims, since many rim brake bikes don’t have much extra room to play with, leaving it to the rest of the wheel build to make the new wheels faster.
The wheels are still 17mm internal, with full carbon hooked, tubeless-ready beads. And they are available in the same three aero-optimized depths: 48, 62 & 80mm.
DT Swiss ARC rim brake – Wheelset pricing, availability & options
The new DT Swiss ARC rim brake wheels are available at two price points. The top ARC 1100 Dicut RB wheels with red labels all sell for $3025 / 2389€, with claimed weights of 1519g for 48mm deep, 1589g for 62mm deep & 1699g for 80mm deep.
The slightly more affordable ARC 1400 Dicut RB wheels with gray labels and the original generation AeroLite & AeroComp spokes all sell for $2479 / 1957€, with claimed weights of 1573g for 48mm deep, 1630g for 62mm deep & 1728g for 80mm deep. All are pre-taped for tubeless and include tubeless valves, RWS titanium skewers, Swiss Stop Black Prince brake pads, and both Shimano HG & SRAM XDR freehub bodies.
The new wheels are available now from DT Swiss dealers, and include a lifetime original owner warranty against defects, plus a 10-yr Fair-Share replacement policy that will replace a damaged rim for $250€ even when you run over them with your car or take them mountain biking.
