“Don’t cha wish your mountain bike was light like mine.” That’s what weight-weenies will be singing to their internet friends when they have these babies mounted under their mountain bike’s feathery carbon carriage adorned with unobtainium parts from krypton. Okay okay, these are actually pure uber-light race wheels hand-built in Italy by a company with a strong heritage in bicycle racing… but really, these things are crazy light!
Check out the specs on Spada’s insanely light Carbon Rapido XX wheels as well as their other…. well, really light wheels including the wild looking World Cup edition Rapido SL’s….
Just to get it out of the way, these are a no holds barred set of wheels made to be stiff and as light as possible, therefore they come with a weight limit. The 1210 – 1250 g Rapido XX wheels (£1,349.00/$1,959) will suit most elite to pro level racers that fit within the 85 kg (187 lbs) weight limit. If you’re above that line but under 210lbs, the ones next in line weigh only 1440 g! Boasting robust 30 mm outer & 24 mm internal widths the tubeless-ready wheels are compatible with Shimano and SRAM XD cassettes as well as Lefty forks, (a few Canonndale fans will dig the next wheels coming up).
Specs for the Rapido Carbon XX:
- Weight: 27.5 1210gr & 29er 1250
- 30 mm wide rim and 24 mm channel, asymmetrical profile. 3k carbon fiber t800.
- Rider weight limit of 85 kg (187lbs)
- Tubeless ready
- Made in Italy
- Superlight forged hubs – Front 123 g, rear 238 g
- Quick releases included
- Compatibility Shimano-SRAM
- Shimano / SRAM 9-10
- SRAM XD optional 11
- Lefty also available
While it’s hard to believe a 1440 g wheelset is not a company’s flagship model, Spada is not your typical wheelsmith. The Rapido SL (£695.00/$1,005), has an asymmetric profile to balance spoke tension for a stronger wheel. At almost half the price of the Rapido Carbon XX’s, (when squeezing almost a 1/2 lb out of an already really light wheelset, you gotta pay to play), the Rapido SL comes in at a fair price and is available in the green, 2016 WC edition for no additional charge! It’s also worth mentioning both versions come in 26, (yup), 27.5, and 29er diameters.
Specs for the Rapido SL & SL 2016WC:
- Wheelset weight excluding QR of 1440 gr.
- Rider weight limit of 95 kg
- Asymmetric profile for an excellent balance of the right-hand spokes / claims for the benefit of the strength and performance over time.
- Alloy 6082
- Oriented holes to eliminate stress of nipples
- The tubeless ready rim has an optimized profile specifically for tubeless.
- Aero-spoke profile of 0.9mm
- 32 spokes front, 32 rear spokes
- Made in Italy
- Superlight forged hubs
- Front 123 g, rear 238 g
- Quick releases included
- Compatibility Shimano-SRAM
- Shimano / SRAM 9-10
- SRAM XD optional 11
- Lefty also available
The Spada Tananai Enduro Wheels, (£695.00/$1,005), weigh in at where a light set of XC wheels usually fall. At 1660 g, the Tananai wheels have a 25 mm internal width and come in all 3 popular(‘ish) wheel diameters. They are also available with up to a 20mm front and 150 mm rear axle leading us to believe these could be used as an overly light wheel option on a downhill bike, or that there may be a downhill version in the pipeline.
Specs for the Tananai Enduro Wheels:
- 1660 gr.
- Rider weight limit maximum 100 kg
- Rims Aluminium Black
- 29mm external and 25 internal rim width
- Suitable for all mountain enduro profile offset to optimize balance beams and resistance rim / wheel
- Differentiated Spokes
- 32 differentiated spokes:
- Forged hubs – Over Size
- Front: 15 or 20mm thru axle
- Rear Axle diameter 12mm
- Rear axle width 135/142/150 mm
- Compatibility Shimano-SRAM
- Shimano / SRAM 9-10
- SRAM XD optional 11
All Spada wheels are available in the US through their UK distributor, VAM Performance.
