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Interbike 2004
Las Vegas, USA, October 4-8, 2004
It's the wheel thing
One of the factors allowing the substantial reduction in bike weights over
the last few years has been lighter and lighter wheels and once again we're
looking at our friends in the carbon fiber industry as the source of a lot of
those weight savings. But low weight isn't the only thing that's going on in
the world of hoops, as this year's show demonstrated.
If you can use aerospace materials to make a wheel lighter, then you can also
use them to give you the leeway to add function without adding too much weight.
That seems to be the thinking at CycleOps where the latest version of the PowerTap
hub uses carbon fiber to save weight so you can have power-measuring functions
without paying a big weight penalty.
In the 'pure gram count' space, Germany's Lightweight wheels are now available
in the US through Javelin and Airo International. Lightweight has gone from
being a tiny operation to now being owned by a larger composites company and
production capacity has increased accordingly, so it's now possible to get these
super-exotic, all-carbon wheels without making a trip to Europe.
One of the most interesting prototypes of the whole show was Shimano's Dura-Ace
tubeless wheel. Shimano is working with several tyre makers on this project,
with the object of the exercise being to produce a road wheel that has the resistance
to impact punctures of mountain bike tubeless set-ups or tubulars. Michelin
and Hutchinson are both known to be working on the rubber side of the combination,
and there are whispers of 'tubeless-ready' wheels from Bontrager. Shimano also
announced new ten-speed wheels at the Ultegra level to go with the new 10-speed
Ultegra group.
Finally, back in County Light-and-aero, HED introduced versions of its H3 and
Alps wheels with all-carbon rims, saving weight over previous incarnations.
Photos
CycleOps displayed its new Powertap
hubs.
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Here is a complete wheel
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Lightweight Wheels
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Lightweight uses carbon/Kevlar
spokes
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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No holes barred
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Lightweight pulled this wheel
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Dura-Ace tubeless wheels
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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The Dura-Ace tubeless wheels
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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XTR wheel
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Shimano's tubeless rims
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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HED wheels
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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Also on display was the Alps wheel.
Photo ©: Jon Devich
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