Wilier has announced a new range of carbon-fibre wheels developed in collaboration with fellow Italian brand Miche. There are initially three wheelsets, two designed for road racing and one for endurance riding.
Wilier says that moving into the wheels market is a logical development in that it already has expertise in working with carbon.
The AIR50 KC (above) is a disc brake clincher with 50mm-deep tubeless ready rims. As the name suggests, this wheelset is designed with aerodynamics in mind. The internal width is 19mm and the external width is 26mm.
The carbon lamination varies around the rim, the thickness being greater where the spokes and nipples are inserted and thinner elsewhere to the point that you can flex the material slightly with your fingers in certain areas.
The 7075 aluminium alloy hubs use Ezo bearings and are designed for 12mm thru axles.
The freehub is compatible with Shimano HG and SRAM XDR while the spokes are from Sapim.
Wilier gives a total wheelset weight of 1,600g (+/-3%).
The NDR38 KC (below) is another disc brake clincher wheelset, although this time designed for endurance riding.
The tubeless ready rim is 38mm deep with a 17mm internal width and a 23.98mm external width. We can safely round that up to 24mm.
The thru axle hubs are 6061 aluminium alloy with stainless steel bearings.
Wilier claims a wheelset weight 0f 1,655g (+/-3%).
The final wheelset is the ULT38 KT (below), the 'ULT' being short for 'ultralight'. Again, it's for disc brakes although this time it takes tubular tyres.
The rim is 37.9mm deep and 24.2mm wide while the hubs are made from 7075 aluminium alloy and feature CeramicSpeed bearings.
This wheelset has a claimed weight of 1,390g (+/-3%).
The wheelsets will be delivered as original equipment on some of Wilier's 2020 bikes before being released to buy separately.
Although we've asked, we don't yet have UK prices or know when the wheels will be available.
We do have prices in euros:
ULT38 KT €2,400
AIR50KC €1,600
NDR38KC €1,300
www.wilier.com
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