Having partnered with DT Swiss to help improve the aerodynamics of DT’s top ERC & ARC tubeless carbon wheel lines, the aero specialists of Swiss Side are still improving their own wheels. Their flagship aero race Hadron Ultimate wheels get a complete overhaul for 2018, and are joined by the new, more affordable aero Hadron Classic wheel line.
Now even faster, and manufactured with partner DT, the wheel range becomes fully tubeless-ready with full carbon rims. The two wheel lines are now available in three depth options – 485, 625 & 800 – and for either rim or disc brakes.
Hadron Ultimate carbon aero triathlon race wheels
Swiss Side calls the Hadron Ultimate the “world’s fastest wheels”, backed up by being ridden to a 2017 Kona Ironman World Championship by triathlete Patrick Lange. Developed to both minimize aerodynamic drag and maintain stability in real world, changing wind conditions, the newest Hadron wheels are designed for speed.
New for 2018, the Hadron Ultimate get a now full carbon, tubeless rim manufactured by DT Swiss. The Ultimate wheels also further take advantage of Swiss Side’s strategic development partnership with DT Swiss, being assemble by the DT team and using DT’s most recently exclusive aero 240s hubs.
Hadron Ultimate 800 & 800 Disc
The Ultimate 800 wheels are the deepest on offer, designed for triathlon & TT racing in low-med winds. They get a 80.0mm deep rim with a max width of 28mm and 23mm wide at the rim version’s brake track. Internal rim width is 17mm with a hooked bead design. The disc brake version of course drop the braking surface, but otherwise share the same rim profile.
Like all of the Hadron Ultimate wheels, they use DT 240s hubs that work with 10/11 speed Shimano/SRAM/Campagnolo, and a mix of DT Aerolite & Aero Comp straight pull spokes. Rim brake wheels get radial lacing up front paired to 2:1 2x/radial rear lacing. Disc brake wheels get 2x lacing front & rear, and a Centerlock interface.
Hadron Ultimate 800 wheels claim weights of 1727g (791g front, 936g rear) and Ultimate 800 Disc wheels at 1785g (826g front, 959g rear.)
Hadron Ultimate 625 & 625 Disc
Useful in wider ranging wind conditions, an therefore crossing over to road racing, the Ultimate 625 wheels get 62.5mm deep rims, with the same 17mm internal, and maxing out at 27mm wide at their widest point. All the tech details are the same, with claimed Hadron Ultimate 625 weights of 1613g (724g front, 889g rear) and Ultimate 625 Disc wheels of 1626g (746g front, 880g rear.)
Hadron Ultimate 485 & 485 Disc
The most shallow of the group, the Ultimate 485s are specifically designed to get aero gains even on really windy race courses, on the road or against the clock. They use a 17mm internal, max 25mm external, and 48.5mm deep aero carbon rim. Again with the same tech, the Hadron Ultimate 485 wheels claim weights of 1529g (691g front, 838g rear) and Ultimate 485 Disc wheels that are even lighter at 1507g (687g front, 820g rear) thanks to much lighter shallow rims for disc braking.
Hadron Ultimate wheelsets in any depth retail for the same 1998€, and are all UCI approved. Alternatively they are available separately for 1159€ for the rear wheels & 839€ for front wheels, so you can put together whatever aero combination makes the most sense for your riding/racing.
Hadron Classic carbon aero triathlon & road wheels
The new Hadron Classic wheels share the same aero tech and the exact same rim profiles as the Hadron Ultimates, with a more affordable construction.
Instead of 240s hubs, the Classics get more affordable DT Swiss 370 Classic hubs and j-bend Aero Comp bladed spokes.
Hadron Classic 800 & 800 Disc
The 80.0mm deep, 17mm internal Classic 800 wheels claim weights of 1865g (861g front, 1104g rear). It is the only wheelset out of the grouping that isn’t currently offered with disc brakes, although that seems to be only temporary.
Hadron Classic 625 & 625 Disc
The 62.5mm deep, 17mm internal Classic 625 wheels claim weights of 1748g (795g front, 953g rear) and Classic 625 Disc wheels at 1764g (808g front, 956g rear.)
Hadron Classic 485 & 485 Disc
The 48.5mm deep, 17mm internal Classic 485 wheels claim weights of 1691g (772g front, 919g rear) and Classic 485 Disc wheels at 1645g (749g front, 896g rear.)
Price for the new Hadron Classic wheel family comes down to €1498 for a wheelset, or 629/869€ if bought separately.
Differences vs. DT Swiss ARC/PRC wheels?
The big question here is how these compare to the aero ARC 1100 wheels that DT Swiss introduced last year. Designed by the same aero specialists and produced by the same DT manufacturing with the same 240s aero hubs & spokes, the DT Swiss wheels are even available in similar 80, 62 & 48mm depths. The spec sheets are very similar between the Hadron Ultimates and the ARC 1100s.
I think it is probably fair to say that these wheels will probably perform almost identically to the DTs. The DT wheels are for the most part marginally lighter, but otherwise almost indistinguishable from the Hadron Ultimates which look to be about 20% cheaper.
The new Hadron Classics on the other hand are one step more affordable and yet almost equally as aero. DT Swiss only offers the best Swiss Side aerodynamics on their top-end ARC 1100. On the more everyday/affordable PRC wheels the rim profiles are not as optimized. Here the Hadron Classics look to offer big aero gains at the relatively affordable <1500€ pricepoint.
Oh, and the Swiss Side wheels now share the same support with DT Swiss wheels making them a sound, and well-supported option now. The new Hadron wheels are available for pre-order now direct from Swiss Side – get them each in some simple color combos too. The first limited batch of wheels will ship out first-come-first-served at the end of March 2018, with more to follow later in the spring/summer.
