DT Swiss just figured out how to make their lightest ARC 38 aero carbon road wheels almost 10% lighter, and even stiffer, by switching to aero carbon spokes. High-quality stainless steel spokes may be one of the brand’s three key wheel manufacturing pillars – alongside trusted hubs & rims. But the Biel, Switzerland-based company isn’t entirely stuck in its ways, it seems. And these new carbon-spoked wheels look like they are the first of many more to come.
But there’s something odd about them…
DT Swiss wheels get carbon spokes, made by someone else?!
This is the first complete wheelset that I can remember that does not use DT Swiss spokes!
DT Swiss as a bike industry manufacturer, may have recently celebrated just their 30th anniversary in modern guise. But their origins date back to the 17th-century as a steel wireworks, which gave rise to bicycle spoke production in the early 20th century. They’ve certainly evolved more high-tech spokes in recent years, but they’ve always been steel.
Does that change now?
The answer is probably not?
While DT Swiss’ communications on these new lightweight climbing wheels are quick to point out that the Carbon Spoke-specific carbon rims are in fact manufactured in-house by DT, there’s no explicit mention of where the carbon spokes come from. Then, deep down in the spec list, the spokes are listed as “VONOA aero carbon t-head” spokes with “VONOA hidden aluminum” nipples.
For those who have been following the development of wheels, conventionally laced with carbon spokes, Vonoa is a familiar name. They are the manufacturer who makes the carbon spokes that Newmen wheels builds with, and may also be a carbon spoke supplier for some Roval and Hunt wheels. They also appear to be a part of the same Chinese composite manufacturer who makes Stren spokes, the other carbon spoke brand we often hear about. So it sounds like DT is outsourcing carbon spoke manufacturing to save grams.
DT Swiss ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS wheels get carbon spokes
The end result is these new DT Swiss ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS wheels are their “lightest Aero wheels (yet)“. Coming in at a claimed 1174g for the pair, that’s apparently lighter than their lightest-ever Mon Chasseral wheels, even the 28mm deep or 38mm rim brake tubulars from a decade ago!
The lighter, stiffer carbon spokes allow DT to build with fewer front spokes – down to just 18 mixed radial & 2-cross on the front wheel vs. 24 2x Aerolite II spokes on their regular ARC 1100 38 front wheel. Interestingly, the carbon spoke rear still sticks with 24 2-cross spokes. But both front & rear carbon spoke wheels move to 2:1 lacing with twice as many spoke on the higher stress side.
Tech details
DT’s previous generation ARC 1100 Dicut 38, 38mm deep wheels weighed in at 1299g for the pair. Now the new ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS wheelset tips the scales at just 1174g.
- 3rd-party manufactured Vonoa aero carbon t-head spokes with bonded-on alloy heads & threads
- 3rd-party Vonoa hidden aluminum nipples, accessed from inside the rim bed
- 26mm wide external by 38mm deep aero PURE carbon rim made in-house by DT Swiss
- 20mm internal, hooked tubeless-ready bead
- custom 180 series Spline hubs for the oversized straightpull T-head carbon spokes
- SINC ceramic bearings
- 36T Ratchet EXP hub engagement
- includes both Shimano Road & SRAM XDR freehubs (Campy N3W available separately)
- 12mm thru-axles
- disc brake only
- max 110kg / 242lb rider+bike system weight limit
DT Swiss ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS – Pricing, options & availability
For now, there is only one carbon spoke DT Swiss wheelset available, and you don’t get to pick any options. The DT Swiss ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS wheelset sells for $3727 / 3199€ as a ready-to-climb Wheel Tire System (WTS) kit. That includes the ultralight carbon-spoked wheels, pre-taped for tubeless, but with a Continental Aero 111 26mm front tire & Conti GP 5000s TR 28mm rear tire installed with ContiTPU tubes inside. The wheels come with a Shimano Road freehub installed, an extra SRAM XDR body, tubeless valves, valve guards, and include a set of DT Swiss wheelbags.
Get yours now from your local DT dealer.
What’s next for DT Swiss and Carbon Spokes?
For now, there’s only one complete CS climber’s wheelset that gets these new carbon spokes, as well as a special aero-optimized Spline hubset and made-in-house Pure carbon rims for them to thread into. More details on the spokes themselves are pretty much nonexistent. But we’ve reached out for more clarification from DT. Vonoa’s Instagram sheds a little more light on the matter from 2.5 years ago. But with a non-functional website, we don’t know much more.
In any case, we can’t imagine that DT went to all the trouble to develop their own special hubs and rims, even to work with someone else’s aero carbon spokes, without a lot more CS wheel options in the works. In fact, we have it on good bike rumors that there are more CS compatible DT Swiss hubs in the works, and that other wheel manufacturers will be building with DT Carbon Spoke solutions in the near future. So, we’re curious to learn more about their collaboration with Vonoa.
Plus, DT Swiss’ own description of these new wheels is telling: “The first wheel of our portfolio being laced on carbon blades is a pretty big milestone” (emphasis added). Clearly, more are in the works.
