The HED Ardennes is already a very popular wheelset thanks to its durability, width, and relatively light weight. But as tires continue to grow, rims are following suit. Because of that, HED will soon have a new option that should offer everything you love about the Ardennes, but in a wider, disc specific rim without a weight penalty for going bigger…
Called the Eroica, the new rim measures 26mm internal, and 29mm external compared to the 21/25mm of the original Ardennes. Because the Eroica is disc specific, HED says that they were able to keep the weight the same as the narrower rim, or right at 450g. To be available in 650b or 700c sizes, initially rims will be 24h.
We got a chance to check out the No Big Deal at Interbike, but the 65mm wide carbon rims are now shipping. Not only are the rims lighter thanks to their size, but they’re also more durable thanks to increased layers of carbon on the edge with the expectation that these will be more of a summer fat bike rim so they need to hold up to more aggressive riding and rock strikes. Wheel sets start at $2100, while single rims run $700.
HED also had this carbon front hub floating around which hinted at things to come. HED already makes their carbon rims and even the new Cervelo P5x in house, so why not make some hubs while they’re at it? Instead of just using a carbon shell with aluminum ends as they’ve done before, this new hub shell appears to be full carbon and should be plenty light.
Also in the HED booth were a number of Peacock Groove bikes (including the winning Prince bike). Displayed prominently at the corner of the booth was this Team Issue Cake 24 fat bike. Erik Noren so strongly believes in the 24″ fat bike concept for adults that he plans to go all in – not only with his custom bikes out of Minneapolis, but with a more affordable range made in Taiwan. Just like manufacturers have used 650c wheels and tires for smaller riders for years, Erik believes in a similar concept, just for fat bikes. His 24″ creations include HED BAD aluminum rims along with lighter tires, and a shorter wheel base to offer size appropriate fat bikes for riders of shorter stature.
