In his first season as a pro, 23-year-old Stefan Bissegger of EF just won the time trial stage of Paris-Nice on a new early-production prototype tubeless Vision Metron TFW disc rear wheel. Calling it The Fastest Wheel, the Vision development team has been refining the perfect balance of lightweight and aerodynamics in their next-gen tubeless-ready carbon TT wheel for the last four years to create what they say is the lightest disc wheel in the peloton. It’s essentially ready now, tested & proven by the pros, and you’ll be able to buy yours soon… if you can stomach the high price tag!
Prototype tubeless Vision Metron TFW disc time trial wheel
Last winter at the start of the season the EF Education First already committed to racing time trials on tubeless tires, winning a unique TTT on standard road bikes at the Tour of Colombia on Vision’s newly-tubeless deep carbon Metron wheels. Now EF are back again, but winning on their rim brake SuperSlice time trial bikes, this time Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger taking the Paris-Nice Stage 3 TT win on the new lightweight tubeless-ready disc rear wheel.
Italian carbon TT wheel – Tech details
Tubeless-ready and lightweight are the big buzz words around the new disc TT wheel, but of course aerodynamics, power-transfer stiffness, and ultimate speed were the final goal. Vision’s aerodynamic engineering in the USA refined the profile of the disc, fine-tuning it for drag reduction in the San Diego wind tunnel.
Vision coats the next-gen wheel with an ultralight 4g finish using supposedly unique paint chemistry that actually improves aerodynamics by manipulating boundary layer airflow when the wheel is spinning. The wheel is entirely made in Italy, including alloy hub internals and waterproof Italian hybrid ceramic bearings that spin on specially-coated, aerospace-developed steel races.
The Vision Metron TFW disc wheel features a locking hooked-tubeless bead with a 19mm internal width optimized for 25mm tires. Weight claim for Vision’s 3K carbon disc The Fastest Wheel in its rim-brake variant is just 969g.
FSA & Vision also sponsor another equally-pink pro team racing on Cannondales, the Valcar-Travel Service women’s team who ride the even harder to come by SuperSlice Disc time trial bikes. So of course there’s a disc-brake version too. All of the tech details are effectively the same, plus the addition of a rotor mount, hub spacing, and thru-axle compatibility. Weight claim for the Vision Metron TFW Disc DB TT wheel is even the same at 969g.
There will even be rim-brake and disc-brake tubular versions that share the same aero-optimized shape and lightweight carbon construction for traditionalist hold-outs.
Vision Metron TFW Disc TT wheel – Pricing, options & availability
If you are feeling the need for speed in triathlon or time trial racing, the new Vision Metron TFW Disc tubeless-ready TT wheels will be available to consumers starting in September 2021. But it will cost you a whopping 4820€ for the lightweight carbon rear wheel, in either its rim brake or disc brake variant – both in tubeless-ready clincher or tubular options!
