Spied aboard the team edition of the new Niner BSB 9 RDO cyclocross bike were prototype wheels from Kappius Components, put there by team rider and hub brand president Brady Kappius.
They are some pretty early test versions that helped them develop their own rims, and the final shape is going to be a good bit different. Brady says every contour and dimension were designed in house. They’re laced here to Kappius KH-1.5 hubs, which we saw at Sea Otter. We also saw their first production rims there, aimed at mountain bikers, with their take on bead hook design. That same design is mimicked on these rims, which they say are ready for both road and cyclocross.
Roll through for cross sections and more pics and details…
The as yet unnamed rims will come in tubular and clincher, both sharing the same 25mm width and 35mm height. The clincher has an 18mm inside width. The bead hook is designed to let the tire’s bead nest gently in the bed and hold securely once inflated, but not so deep inside a hook that the sidewall shape is deformed when wrapping around the edge of the rim.
They are disc specific with no brake track. Other specs are:
- 24, 28 and 32 hole drillings
- 35mm deep
- 25mm width, 18mm internal
- 2.3mm offset spoke bed
- “U-Shaped” cross section
- External Nipples
- MSRP $599 tentatively
The complete wheelset will run $2000 with DT Aerolite spokes and DT Pro Lock nipples. Available for cross season, Brady says he’s hoping to have them in stock and ready to ship in late July.
Hubs are convertible from QR to thru axle, making them fairly future proof. The KH-1.5 version uses a standard freehub body and continuous (not integrated and perforated like the KH-1.0) carbon shell.
