Remember those crazy light one-piece carbon Syncros Silverton SL wheels with carbon rim, spokes & hubs – all molded together at one time? Well, Syncros has a new version with a wider 30mm internal rim, and they will be racing the XC World Cup under multi-time World, World Cup & National champions Nino Schurter, Kate Courtney, and the rest of the Scott-SRAM team…
Update: the 30mm wheels are even lighter than we thought – lighter than ever in fact!
Syncros Silverton SL one-piece carbon 30mm internal MTB wheels
Kate & Nino had already been racing on 2.4″ tires and 30mm internal DT Swiss carbon wheels since at least the start of 2019, plus integrated Syncros cockpits. Now that Syncros has widened their unique full carbon, one-piece Silverton SL wheels to that same size, it must have been a no-brainer for the team to make the switch for racing.
Claiming from the start that the Silverton SL’s construction results in 30% more lateral stiffness & 100% more torsional stiffness, it’s hard to argue with superlight weight, too!
Tech details & What’s new?
That much stiffer at a claimed 1280g – 1300g for the new 30mm internal wheels, they’re pretty hard to beat on weight, too.
Update: We initially figured that to be around 50g more than original claims for the 26mm internal originals, or +/- the same weight as the differing figures Syncros shares about those narrower wheels now. Syncros has now made clear to us that the original 26mm internal wheels were claimed at 1250g, but the updated resin they use now makes them officially 1290g now for the 26mm internal wheels available today.
But, Syncros has told us that the new wider 30mm internal Syncros Silverton SL wheels are actually about 10g lighter than the current narrower version. So, not only do you get wider rims for better support of bigger tires and lower rolling-resistance, but you’ll also save a few grams, too!
Sounds like we should try to get a set into test out as soon as they are available. Super bike builder and trail thrasher Dangerholm put the 26mm internal Silverton SLs on his recent super-integrated Hyper Spark build. After a season on them he says “they ride as good as they look”, having survived his punishing without even needing to have any paint scraped off to save micrograms.
The move to a hookless 30mm inner width seems to be in response to direct feedback from Scott-SRAM Racing riders who have prioritized the low-pressure performance of their pro-only One70 Maxxis race tires. With a more supple 170tpi casing (vs. the 120tpi standard), the team gets both lower rolling resistance and improved grip with wide 2.4″ XC race tires.
Besides the wider rim, the rest of the updated Syncros Silverton SL wheels seems unchanged. You still get more continuous fibers, including pre-tensioned, offset spokes crossing the hub flanges to join the rim on the other side.
One other small update, the new lighter 30mm internal Silverton SL wheels shift to alloy Boost-spaced DT Swiss 240 hub internals bonded inside. Versus the originals with DT 180/190 hub internals, the Scott-SRAM team requested the move to the newest Ratchet EXP 240s for their wider bearing spacing.
Syncros Silverton SL 30mm – Pricing & availability
No word yet on official pricing, but expect them to be pretty much the same as the expensive $3500 originals. As for when you can get them, the new 30mm internal version will be available to consumers in “Summer 2021”.
Until then, you’ll have to secure a spot on Nino & Kate’s Scott-SRAM Racing Team. Earning a European championship to add to his 8 World’s titles seems to have been Nino’s plan to get a new set of wheels, and a nice custom-painted frame to go with it. Word is that the team have both the current 26mm & new 30mm internal Silverton SLs to choose from, and may switch depending on courses?
