While Cory’s eagle eye spotted Hunt’s as-of-yet unreleased 36 UD Carbon Spoke Disc prototype wheels at the Tour de France this week, we happened upon an off-road prototype wheelset from the British manufacturers.
A catch up with Orbea Factory’s Isla Short at the Glentress 7 endurance event in Scotland (pro bike check coming soon) gave us a glimpse of the prototype Hunt Proven XC wheelset with bladed carbon spokes…
Spotted: Prototype Hunt Proven Carbon XC Wheels
Hunt aren’t being overly generous with details on the prototype Proven wheelset, but we do have some details we can share with you. This is a 26mm internal width carbon rim laced to the hubs via bladed carbon straight-pull spokes; 24 on the front and 28 on the rear.
We weren’t able to ascertain exactly what hubset they run; they may simply be Hunt’s 5° Rapid Engage Hubs built with Ceramic Speed coated bearings especially for Isla’s World Cup offensive.
If they make it to market, these will be Hunt’s first ever carbon XC wheels. They will also be their widest, with the alloy XC Wide and Race XC Wide rims measuring up at 25mm and 24mm internal width, respectively.
We probed the guys at Hunt for more details on the Proven wheels:
We’ve been quietly working on a new range of wheels with racers like Isla, each of them with an exciting new technical development for us. We’re still testing and won’t be signing them off till our athletes are happy. Keep an eye out on social as things develop! – Sam Meegan, Brand Manager at Hunt Mountain and Privateer Bikes.
