When new wheels were spotted under triathlete Andreas Raelert at Ironman Austria, the lack of hiding them suggested an imminent release. Well, here they are, along with a whole lot more. Not only have the 55mm EC90 Aero wheels been completely redesigned, the road line up gets a boost with new hubs, tubeless compatibility, wide rims, and more freehub selections!
Ratchet past the break for more details…
While most of the new developments are wrapped up in the all new EC90 Aero 55, other wheels in the line up benefit from the technology trickling down. Called the Single Wheelset Arsenal, the new Aero 55 seems to have all the bases covered – they’re light, aero, clincher, tubular, and tubeless, and have much improved hubs.
A big part of the new design is the Fantom rim – a much wider rim that improved drastically over the previous shape which is now found on all EC90 wheels. Now 21mm wide, and 19mm internally, the rim is 6mm wider than the previous EC90 Aero 56, while 1mm shallower.
At least according to Easton’s data, the Fantom is radically better than the 2012 Ec90 Aero, while also appearing to be quite a bit better at yaw angles of 12.5 degrees than the competitors. Due to the blunt nose of the Fantom rim, it is also more stable in cross winds – something that becomes more important the more aero you go. The result is a more rideable, aerodynamic wheel for all conditions.
In addition to tubular rims, the Aero 55 will be offered in a tubeless clincher version as well. Using Easton’s Eyelet Nipple system, the nipples thread into the eyelets allowing for a sealed rim bed, therefore tubeless. Certified for Road Tubeless even without sealant, the Aero 55 is one of the first carbon tubeless road wheels on the market.
Along with the rim, big changes have been made to the hubs as well with the introduction of the all new Echo system. While the performance of the previous R4 system wasn’t exactly stellar, the Echo looks to address all of the previous issues with an intriguing design and a host of improvements. The biggest of which would be the positioning of the bearings which resulted in an all new freehub design.
