Italian component maker Columbus just leapt into the high-end carbon wheel market with 4 all-new wheelsets in three families: Cento, Gara, and Spirit. All are lightweight and feature aerodynamic, 23mm internal carbon rims designed for modern road riding. All three even feature aero carbon spokes, starting at a pretty competitive 1600€ pricepoint for this tech. And they go up from there, with the top-tier Spirit 50mm wheels weighing less than 1250g thanks to a fully integrated carbon hub -> spoke -> rim construction.
Columbus Cento, Gara & Spirit aero carbon-spoke road wheels
The heart of Italian bike building, Columbus has been making steel tubing for a century. Then, tianium, too. They’ve also made the carbon forks spec’d on tons of bikes for decades. Plus, plenty of carbon handlebars, stems, seatposts, and more. Now, Columbus Components adds high-end carbon wheels to their lineup.
Naming comes over from their historical offerings. Cento is their road all-rounder. Gara is their higher-performance family. And Spirit is the lightest they offer.
All three families share CFD-optimized aerodynamic rims, developed in Milan and each validated in the wind tunnel. 23mm hooked tubeless internal widths, 30mm wide outside for all to go fastest with modern 28-30mm road tires. Then, either 50mm or 62mm overall depth for various riding conditions.
“For over a century Columbus has been a champion of Italian engineering and quality. We were an early pioneer in Carbon tubing and now after years of study and rigorous testing, we are excited to expand our range of Columbus Components to meet the exacting needs of performance brands, the frame building community and exacting riders across the world. Our goal is as always superior performance with uncompromising Milanese Design.”
– Victor Luis, Columbus Chairman
Cento 50 & 62 all-rounder road wheels
The new Cento wheels are meant to be the high-performance, everyday baseline for the all-new Columbus wheelset offerings. Light, aero, and durable, they feature CNC-machined alloy Columbus hubs with a 36-tooth ratchet engagement, ceramic bearings inside, and straight-pull Vonoa carbon spokes.
- 50mm or 62mm aero carbon rim depth options
- 23mm hooked tubeless internal, 30mm external width
- 21 aero Vonoa carbon spokes, laced 2:1 front & rear
- 9° / 36T ratchet freehub engagement in alloy centerlock disc Columbus hubs
- ceramic bearings
- 1440g 50mm & 1470g 62mm claimed weights
Gara 50 road wheels combine DT Swiss hubs with Vonoa carbon spokes
While the Centos are surprisingly affordable road all-rounders (affordable for their carbon-spoke & ceramic bearing spec), the Columbus Gara 50 wheels opt for industry benchmark DT Swiss hubs. In fact, Columbus is the first-ever wheel builder we’ve seen to combine DT Swiss 240 hubs with carbon spokes. Even DT themselves has only made one wheelset so far with carbon spokes, their 3200€ ARC 38 wheels with special 180 hubs.
Well, Columbus collaborated with the Swiss to craft much more affordable everyday carbon-spoke, aero carbon road wheelset prioritizing the reliability/durability of DT 240 hubs and a wider internal rim width for modern road and endurance riding.
- 50mm aero carbon rim, with the same wide D-shaped profile as the Cento
- glass-fiber-reinforced polymer nipple seats molded into the carbon rim for accurate spoke alignment & reduced stress
- 23mm hooked tubeless internal, 30mm external width
- 24 aero Vonoa carbon spokes, laced 1:1 front & rear
- titanium nipples at the rim & hub
- straightpull DT Swiss 240 centerlock disc brake hubs
- 9° / 36T DT Swiss Ratchet EXP freehub internals
- sealed stainless steel bearings
- 1315g 50mm claimed weight
Spirit 50 ultralight fully-integrated carbon road wheels
Lastly, to get the absolute lightest wheel system total, Columbus created the <1250g Spirit wheelset as a molded-together monocoque carbon hub and spoke construction. The wheels feature an all-new high-flange carbon ‘Integrated Aero HUB’ design that captures the 18 flat aero carbon spokes at the hub. But the spokes are actually connected to the rim with a slightly more conventional solution that uses integrated nipples, inset into the body of the rim.
Undeniably worthy of climbers at this ultralight weight, Columbus built them with the same all-rounder aero rim profile for speed on the descents and rolling rides, too.
- 50mm aero carbon rim, with the same wide D-shaped profile as the Cento & Spirit
- 23mm hooked tubeless internal, 30mm external width
- 18 fully-integrated flat aero bladed carbon spokes, 2:1 lacing front & rear
- high-flange carbon hubshells, bonded directly to the carbon spokes
- 9° / 36T ratchet freehub internals
- ceramic bearings
- 1249g 50mm claimed weight
Columbus carbon aero road wheels – Pricing, options & availability
The new Columbus Cento wheels are the most affordable of the bunch. The Cento 50 & Cento 62 sell for the same 1600€ retail price, for either depth. The Gara wheels with the upgrade to DT hubs are the next on the pricing list, selling for 2400€ for the Gara 50. And unsurprisingly, the ultralight, fully integrated, bonded carbon Columbus Spirit 50 wheels are the most expensive, at 4000€ for a pair.
All four carbon-spoked, aero carbon Columbus road wheelsets are available now. You can also pick from low-key or brighter silver team graphics on the Centos. All black-on-black for the Gara & Spirits. And Shimano HG, SRAM XD, or Campagnolo N3W freehub options for all.
Buy them directly from the Columbus 1919 e-commerce site, or through local retailer bikeshops.
