What better way to show off a new wheel than with Peter Sagan wheelie-ing across the finish line on his Vision Metrons? That was the case when Sagan wheelied across the line with his new Metron wheels, a new line of aerodynamic wheels from Vision that was introduced last year and are slowly trickling out to the public. Originally known for their aerobars and tri accessories, Vision is expanding into the road and even a bit of cross with the new Metron Disc wheels. Like a number of other companies at this point, there was a high degree of CFD used in developing the aero profile of the rim, but the wheels are really designed as a complete wheel system with the hubs and spokes contributing greatly to the design.
One unique aspect of the Metron hubs is their PRA or Preload Reduction Assembly that keeps the bearings spinning smoothly once you clamp down on the skewer. The hubs use a specially designed cone and a locking collet to ensure that once the preload is set, the skewer won’t increase the load on the bearings. The PRA system is available on all of the Metron hubs with the exception of the disc hub for now.
The carbon Metron line is offered in both clincher and tubulars in 40, 55, and 81mm heights as well as a UCI compliant Disc and a Tri spoke wheel. All of the spoked wheels use a 2:1 lacing pattern with 14 drive side and 7 non driveside spoke for the rear (again with the exception of the disc wheel). Excluding the Sapim Cx-ray bladed spokes, everything is made in house to Vision’s specifications. Designed specifically for high cross wind situations, the wheels are developed to handle 0-30 degrees yaw in normal use.
Available in both red or the more subdued black color way, the wheels are all 11 speed compatible and retail from $2199 to $2799 for the set.
In addition to the wheels, Vision is introducing the Metron road cockpit set which includes the 4D compact bar, road stem, and seatpost. The 4D bar is a sculpted work of art with almost every section of the bar tweaked for ergonomics. In addition to a slight rise, the bar has a 10 degree forward sweep from the stem to put your hands in a more natural position when riding on top of the bar. You just stuck out your arms to see how your hands naturally rest, didn’t you? The 4D also offers a cut out where your palms would normally rest while riding the hoods, and a second cutout on the drops, all to give your hands more surface area and fewer pressure points. Finally, the drops themselves are kicked out just under the hoods to put your fingers in a more natural position when using modern shift and brake levers – especially the larger hydraulic options.
4D bars are offered from 40-44cm in Black or Red for $369.
The carbon stem is a full monocoque design that ships with Ti hardware. The interesting bit here is that the stem is sized for 1 1/4″ steerers like Giant’s Overdrive 2 but it includes a spacer to run on a 1 1/8′ steerer. Stems are only offered in 100-130mm lengths with -6 degree rise in red or black for $319.
Finally, the Metron seatpost uses a two bolt head and will be available in a Di2 battery version or a standard post. The battery mount is not interchangeable. Posts will be sold in 27.2 or 31.6mm diameters with a 0 or 25mm offset and in 350mm or 400mm lengths for $219.
On our scale the components came in at 240g for the bar (42cm), 154g for the stem (100mm), and 234g for the post (25mm sb, 31.6, 350mm, Di2).
