Italians are not the least bit shy when it comes to pouring as much passion as they do performance into their machinery. In this regard, Spada is no different when it comes to these racing hoops. While not an enormous company, they more than make up for their size with experience considering the owner/designer is the 3rd generation of his family in the bicycle business. He also happens to be obsessed with improving every detail of everything Spada makes.
Spada sent us a set of their colorful & crazy light Rapido SL 29er wheels to put through the paces, but the first thing I had to do was take a closer look and get these beauties on the scales! Check out the details and actual weights ahead…
At the helm, Corrado Spada is a 3rd generation craftsman in the bicycle industry who took on frame building like his grandfather and father before him. However, he took interest in making other components better and lighter… particularly hubs. Spada is located in Tirano Italy, a small town on the Italian/Switzerland border where racers have been climbing their way out of the Valtellina valley during the Giro d’Italia since the 1950’s. Since climbing is a necessity in the region, Corrado Spada saw a demand and started to develop some insanely light wheels for both mountain and road bikes. And when I say light, their Spillo road wheels come in at HALF the weight of Zipp’s Firecrest 303’s (830g)!
Spada sent us these lightweight green machines that, like many things Italian, stand out on their own in appearance (don’t worry, they also come in black for those not into all things flare). While not the out-of-this-world light like their Rapido Carbon XX 29er wheels (1250g!), the alloy Rapido SL (in 2016 World Cup Edition green), version is lighter than many of the much more expensive carbon wheels on the market.
The Rapido SL’s rim has a hookless bead and while thin, sports a lip on the outer edge to give the wheel a little more protection from getting hit as well as eliminate any sharp tire-cutting edges. I measured a respectable 25mm inner width which should become a nice home to much of the tubeless ready 2.1 – 2.2 inch race worthy rubber on the market. Spado used 6082 alloy which they claim is up to 20% greater in strength compared to 6061… and while these aren’t meant for endurotastic conditions, the 210lb weight limit on these wheels does exceed some of the competition’s sub 200lb maxes. The Rapido SL wheels come in every size, (26, 27.5 & 29er), so even those not on the wagon wheel train are good to go.
The rear wheel is laced asymmetric to better distribute spoke tension with 0.9mm Sapim double butted spokes. Visually the wheels look robust enough, but when you pick them up they feel almost scary light. All of Spada wheelsets come with their own made in-house hubs that increase the weight savings without what appears to be any sacrifice in durability. The rear is available in both QR and 142mm thru and with either a SRAM/Shimano 9/10 or SRAM XD 11 speed cassette.
Up front, the high flanged hub is available in QR, 15mm thru, and even Lefty configurations. The forged alloy hubs house bearings with a seal incorporating a triple protective lip and have very little drag when doing the customary spinning of the axle, (you know you all do it). While light, I do like that Spada built the wheels without having to use any proprietary parts or tools to maintain them. Sometimes keeping it simple pays off.
One of the lightest wheels in this price range ($900/£695), the Rapido SL wheels are nice to look at *(note: I thought these looked hideous… until I saw them in person), and don’t look dainty despite their weight. Coming in at 1,495g with tape and valve stems (claimed is 1,440g so that is pretty close since they likely weighed without anything installed). I’m looking forward to trying these out and seeing how things feel when I strap these on in place of the current wheels (which are about 300g heavier). While I know the benefits in the back of my head, I’ve never ridden a set of mountain bike wheels this light, so look for my impressions soon and whether or not they hold up under my near max (200lb suited up) weight limit.
