Quick, what’s the most Minnesotan wheel you can think of? That’s probably not something you’ve given much though to, up to this point. But being a wheel company based in Minnesota, HED Cycling certainly has. In and effort to make the most ‘Minnesota’ wheels possible, HED recently teamed up with two other Minnesotan companies, Berd Spokes and Onyx Racing Products, to create the ultimate fat bike wheelset (which in itself is pretty Minnesotan).
For the starting point of this Limited Edition wheelset, HED offers their Big Deal 26″ or Big Half Deal 27.5″ carbon fat bike rims. These are still the crazy light, ribbed, single wall carbon rims that allow you to run tubeless tires without any rim tape – which cuts the overall weight down even further. Instead, each nipple has a washer with its own seal to provide the air tight rim channel. The rims also still use their Inflatobam system which uses Inflatobands (big rubber bands) to allow you to adjust the diameter of the rim channel to get different tires to seat properly.
While the rims haven’t changed much, they do include limited edition decals meant to convey the magic of the Northern Lights.
To go along with those graphics, the special edition Onyx ‘Black Aura’ hubs include a speckled, color shifting finish. The Minnesotan touch to put these wheels over the top is a set of Berd Polylight spokes in black. Often referred to as “the world’s lightest spokes”, the spokes are made from a braided polymer that results in a super light spoke with high strength and excellent vibration damping.
The result is a complete wheelset that weighs in at just 1,740g for the 26″ Big Deal or 1,800g for the 27.5″ Big Half Deal. And remember, for the true weight comparison you’ll need to compare those weights against other wheels with the necessary rim tape included.
Sold in a “Flannel Print” box, the Big Deal and Big Half Deal Made in Minnesota Limited Edition wheels are priced at $3,200 per set, and they’re available until January 15th. Options include a 177 x 12 or 197 x 12 rear hub with Shimano HG or SRAM XD driver. Front hubs are only offered in 15 x 150mm.
