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Interbike 2011: Crank Brothers Cobalt 29 11 wheelset

Written by Marc Basiliere
7 Comments
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Though that company usually does its new product releases at Sea Otter each spring, Crank Brothers were showing a new 29er version of their Cobalt 11 wheelset at Interbike last week. With their now-proven redesigned hubs and boasting massive stiffness, 29er Cobalt 11s should be plenty functional- while the company’s trademark Twinpair spoke lacing pattern, two-tone gold and black hub annodization, and raw carbon rims mean that they won’t be mistaken for anything else. Hit the jump for more photos, weight, and pricing…

The claimed 1,530g weight is reasonable for a top-flight 29er XC/trail wheel, and the $2,200 price is on par with competing carbon wheelsets. In a change for Crank Brothers, the rear hub will come standard with a 142mm thru axle, a forward-looking decision made based on the number of 142mm upgrade kits being sold. Adapters for standard QR frames will be available separately and the front is 9mm QR and 15mm thru axle compatible out of the box.

www.crankbrothers.com
Marc Basiliere
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Jake
Jake
13 years ago

I wonder who is making their rims for them…

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Greg
Greg
13 years ago

well you certainly wouldn’t buy this wheels soley for wieght, given the Stan’s ZTR Crest wheelset weigh pretty much the same (for 1/5th the price!!!!) But I can only assume then that they are really stiff and really durable??
Begs the question, if you need a light wheelset, do you pay for the increased stiffness/durability, or do you buy 5 sets of the Stans???

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Anthony
Anthony
13 years ago

For $2200 ya can’t even throw in the standard rear adapter?

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Cody
Cody
13 years ago

I can speak to the durability of the original $1000 26″ cobalts that I have had since Nov 08 and put thousands of miles on. They’ve held up and are super stiff as advertised. I would get a set of these… I run Bontrager RXL on my 29er and they are around $1300 or so right now, tons of lateral flex though. Same approx. weight as these wheels.

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fanboy
fanboy
13 years ago

geezus…

$2200… and with CB’s “famed” quality no doubt?

and here https://bikerumor.com/2011/09/21/ritchey-logics-carbon-29er-wheels-get-axle-options-updates-to-road-wheels-handlebars-more/ is a similar weight 29er carbon wheel, for a hell of a lot less $$$$

Hello!!! does no one remember the joke with the Crank Brothers cranks? How about the continued issues with bearings on the pedals?

Fashion over function is the Crank Brothers motto. They live by it.

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Gillis
Gillis
13 years ago

@ Jake: who cares who makes the rim? It’s probably Chang Shen Wheel Enterprises (I made that up). They have a totally unique spoke attachment system which renders similarities to anything else useless. The fact is there are factories in Asia that make stuff for multiple, competing, brands. Hell, most companies contract most if not all their production and are nothing but design houses. Apple and Foxconn are a prime example of this relationship. Foxconn makes iphones and ipads, but they make stuff for a bunch of Apples competitors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn#Clients

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velvet
velvet
13 years ago

Who cares about the weight if the freehub fails and leaves you stranded in the backcountry. Oh yea…racers that quit and walk back to the start- finish area with their flat. Then there’s the Joplin that fails on your trip to Moab….and then there’s those pedal bearings…and then…..

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