We got a sneak peek at one set of the new tubeless carbon clinchers from Vittoria last fall, but details on the then unannounced wheel were scant. But now Vittoria has debuted the three rim Qurano Carbon Clincher lineup that will cover premium road tubeless needs from everyday riding, up through long race days in the wind. Employing their Graphene+ carbon tech (more on that later in the week), and paired with their new low resistance tubeless Corsa Speed tires, the deeper wheels in this set offer some pretty fast rolling claims. Spin past the break with us for a more detailed look at the new wheels, their projected weights and pricing, and a peek at what may be a new tire in the pipeline as well…
Vittoria showed the Qurano Carbon Clincher wheels in Taipei last week, but also was showing them around at the Strade Bianche race this past weekend where they run neutral support. While Vittoria only has one 23mm wide tubeless tire in their line-up available at this time, and with no anti-puncture protection to boot, racing over the white gravel roads of Tuscany seemed an appropriate place to talk up road tubeless. While we will have more news soon on new tires on the way, the studio shots Vittoria sent us at least hint that the Corsa Speed tubeless tire that is currently only available in a tan sidewall, will have a slate grey sidewall option in the near future as well.
The new Qurano carbon clinchers add 60mm and 30mm depths to the 46 we saw in the fall. That provides a good bit of ride flexibility for all types of terrain. The incorporation of Graphene also claims to add a good bit of strength and stiffness to the layup, so Vittoria is able to keep the weight rather low for tubeless clinchers. The 30mm deep wheelset weighs in at 1460g, with just 50g extra for each step in depth to 1560g for the 60mm wheels.
We are still curious given claims of exceptional fast rolling performance paired with the Corsa Speed if Vittoria will build an 84mm clincher to match their tubular offering for more dedicated timetrialing and triathlons.
The big tech innovation of the Qurano carbon clinchers is Vittoria’s use of Graphene+ which they incorporate into the resin that holds their carbon fibers together. That addition means that heat can actually be transferred efficiently from one fiber to the next instead of having the resin act as an insulator. That’s a big deal for a set of carbon clinchers, as the resulting heat dissipation means you don’t get heat buildup at the brake track like with most other carbon clinchers, that can result in blowing a tire off the rim after sustained braking on extended descents.
Vittoria calls the rim’s post-machined, hooked bead Speedlock, and has designed the interface to securely hold a tubeless tire in case of a puncture. Much like riding out a flat tubular, Vittoria’s goal was to create a bead connection that would be safer to ride to a stop even from high speeds without tire separation from the rim.
Vittoria’s new carbon clincher Qurano wheels will be available to buy in May 2016. The lightest one is cheapest coming in at 1850€ for the Qurano 30C. The Qurano 46C will set you back 1950€, and the 60C 2100€. All wheels will come with tubeless tape pre-installed, but not with valves. Even though Vittoria sees tubeless as the way forward for clinchers, they imagines most buyers will still ride with tubes for a while. But the Qurano carbon clinchers are a bit future-proof being tubeless ready from the start. And if you plan to set the wheels up tubeless from day one, Vittoria will be happy then to sell you a set of tubeless valves to do it.
