INTERBIKE 2009 – Besides all the new components, Ritchey was showing off lots of new wheels for mountain and road.  The top of the road wheels use a new Trifecta lacing pattern that’s a mix of radial and cross lacing, and there’s carbon rims all around for MTB.
The SuperLogic Carbon Tubular mountain bike disc wheels now reign the Ritchey roost for off road hoops.  They have 30mm deep rims, use standard 6-bolt rotor mounts and weigh in at just 1204g for the set.  These wheels won 1st and 3rd at the World Championships this year.  The set is $1,950 and you can get 9mm QR or 15mm thru-axle front hubs.
Check out the rest of the lineup after the break…
Close up of the SuperLogic mountain tubular rim.  The deeper rim profile means slightly shorter spokes for a laterally stiffer wheel.
It’s nice to see some superlight wheelsets that don’t rely on the smaller Centerlock rotor mounts to achieve the low weight.  However…
If you’re not ready to jump on the mountain bike tubular bandwagon yet (and seriously, unless your an elite or pro racer, why would you?), there’s the SuperLogic Carbon Clincher mountain bike wheelset.  You still get the 9mm or 15mm front axle and it comes with Ti skewers.  Wheelset weight is 1304g with Centerlock rotor mount.  MSRP is TBD, but they should be available by end of year.
60 psi max, but if you’re running 60 psi in your mountain bike tire you’re probably riding it on the road and would be better off spending the coin these things will likely cost on a road bike.  The rims have a very nice UD carbon finish on the outside…
…and look pretty good on the inside, too.  Tom Ritchey raced a set of carbon-rimmed wheels this year in the Cape Epic in Africa and other than one small chip (structurally non-threatening, you can watch the video interview with him talking about it here), they held up fine during the notoriously brutal event.
2010 RITCHEY ROAD WHEELS
The 2010 Ritchey Zeta road bike wheelset is their top of the line alloy wheelset for the pavement.  Featuring a new hub and rim profile, it also gets their “Trifecta” spoke pattern on the rear driveside spokes. Check it out:
Two spokes cross on either side of a straight, radially laced spoke to increase lateral rigidity.  The spokes are a combination of Sapim CX and CX-Ray spokes, and they’re mated to a hub with German bearings for less friction and longer life.  The rim is a Vanadium alloy, which Ritchey claims is lighter and has better braking characteristics.  Ti skewers included. MSRP is $699 – $709 for the set, and they’re available with either Shimano/SRAM or Campagnolo freehub bodies.
Another view of the Zetas.  Rim depth is 24mm.
The Ritchey WCS Carbon Apex is a new wheelset featuring 50mm deep carbon tubular rims and the Trifecta lacing pattern on the rear driveside.
The Apex wheelset weighs in around 1350g and retails for $1,560.  It uses a combo of Sapim CX and CX-Ray spokes, has a cold-forged / CNC’d hubshell and the Ti skewers have CNC’d cams with a blind pivot hole which, unfortunately, you can’t really see in the pic below. There are also Apex Carbon 38mm tubular (WCS) and clincher (Pro), but the 50mm WCS tubular is what’s new for 2010.
Also new is the SuperLogic Full Carbon Clincher and Tubular wheelsets (above).
The Clincher model (shown above) is 1420g per set and retails for $3,000.  The Tubular model weighs in a lot lighter at 1180g per set and comes in a bit cheaper at $2,800.
They’re built with 20 / 24 spokes (front / rear), come with Ti skewers and have a 46mm rim depth.  Rims are High Modulus carbon fiber.
