Reynolds wheels, helping you roll that bit faster when you need the strength of ten bears.

We’ve just received our first delivery of the 2011 Reynolds wheels and they’re sufficiently lovely that we thought them worthy of a closer look!  The Reynolds wheels range is split into two distinct groups: the Competitive Road Range which features the Attack, Assault and Strike wheels, this range brings carbon wheels with low weights and high end design and performance to a phenomenal price point. The high end Road Racing range features the Thirty-Two, Forty-Six and Sixty-Six wheels representing the cutting edge of wheel design using advanced aerodynamic features and composite technology tested in the pro peloton.  So without any further ado, lets get rolling with some key technologies and features:

CTg Braking System.

Reynolds CTg braking system uses a special carbon fibre laminate and brake track for more efficient braking.  It keeps the rim up to 100 degrees cooler than other carbon rims preventing you from suffering brake fade from heat build up on long, prolonged descents.  It raises the maximum temperature tolerance of the rim a 100 degrees above the 2010 models, drastically reducing the chances of melting or damaging your rim on big descents.  During prototype testing by AG2R, there was no brake fade, heat build up or rim failure during any of the three grand tours, so it does work.  Wheels featuring CTg also come with Reynolds Cryo Blue pads, which are specially designed to work with the CTg rim to give optimal brake performance, however steep and long the descent, by conducting heat away from the rim, thus keeping it cooler.  CTg is on both the Competitive Road and Road Racing ranges, making sure that whatever your budget you get the best braking system available.

Swirl Lip Generator.

The Swirl Lip Generator can be see just above the Reynolds decals.

The Swirl Lip Generator is a 0.9mm lip on the leading edge of the rim, it effectively widens the rim near the spoke interface.  The effect of this, in Reynolds Director of Technology Paul Lew’s words, is to:

“…assist air flowing around the rim to re-attach, thus minimising pressure drag.  In simple terms, it makes the air want to “stick” to the rim.

The real world impact of this is that the Swirl Lip Generator decreases the side forces on the rim, smoothing the pressure drag and turbulence on the low pressure side of the rim when you turn the wheel, thus making it easier to turn and reducing the impact of a side wind.  Feedback seems to suggest that the system works; in a recent VeloNews test, the test team reported fewer difficulties with crosswinds when using the Forty-Six wheel compared to other carbon wheels from the likes of Zipp and Bontrager.

Reynolds Assurance Program.

This isn’t a physical feature or technology, but the Reynolds Assurance Program (RAP) is one of, if not the best, wheel warranty/replacement policies out there.  It offers an absolute, no questions asked replacement policy.  For $200 you get two years of coverage on Reynolds road and mountain bike wheels, in the event of you writing one or both of your wheels off, Reynolds will replace one set of wheels (one rear and one front).  To register or find out more go to the Reynolds RAP website on the documentation which comes with your wheels and follow the steps there.  It strikes us that policies like this make all the difference when buying expensive, high end wheels – accidents do happen.

Reynolds Attack Wheelset.

The Attack front wheel, with a 32mm carbon rim and CTg braking technology.

The Attack is part of the ‘Competitive Road Range’, it has a 32mm deep full carbon rim laced with double butted DT spokes to a Reynolds hub.  The 32mm deep carbon rims have improved carbon layups and the CTg braking system to bring impressive levels of performance to an extremely competitive price point.  Ideal as an all rounder, the 32mm rim is shallow enough to accelerate quickly and turn sharply, yet deep enough to provide a distinct aero advantage without sacrificing manoeuvrability.  The wheelset weighs in at just 1498g (Manufacturer claimed) for the pair, making them pretty competitive weight wise.  Included are Reynolds Cryo blue brake pads and Reynolds QR levers.

Reynolds Assault and Strike Wheelset.

The Assault (front) and Strike (rear) combo wheelset brings a phenomenal combination of rims to a fantastic price point.  The Assault has a 46mm full carbon rim with CTg laced to Reynolds hubs using double butted spokes – this mid-profile front wheel gives the aerodynamic advantage that only a 46mm rim can offer without sacrificing manoeuvrability.  This makes it a very versatile and popular front wheel.  The Strike rear wheel uses a 66mm carbon rim, again with the CTg braking system, laced to a

Little and large.

Reynolds hub.  This 66mm deep profile rear will give you a significant aero advantage, although it sacrifices some manoeuvrability, this is less important in a rear wheel especially in disciplines like TT and Tri.  The entire wheelset comes in at 1656g (manufacturer claimed), competitive for a mid/deep profile wheelset.

This Assault and Strike combo wheelset gives you the same advantage as the Road race 46/66 combo wheelset, a wheel combination favoured by many because of its compromise between aerodynamics, manoeuvrability and response, but for the same price as top end alloy wheels.  Perfect for TT, Triathlon and those flat, fast races where you need the strength of ten bears.

Road Racing.

The Reynolds Road Racing range comprises of the Thirty-Two (1066g), Forty-Six (1180g) and Sixty-Six (1447g) wheelsets – these are named after their rim depths, 32mm, 46mm and 66mm respectively.  The Road Racing range differ in several ways from the Competitive Road range:

• They use the Reynolds high modulus carbon and refined resin composite structure which provides unparalleled rigidity and stiffness without sacrificing weight or strength;
• They also feature the Swirl Lip Generator, significantly improving the handling of these mid to deep rim profiles in crosswinds and during tight manoeuvres;
• The rims are laced to DT hubs using DT aerolite spokes, bladed and butted these spokes are light, strong and aero, DT hubs use their famous star ratchet system to ensure instant engagement and trouble free running mile after mile.

Like the competitive range, the Forty-Six and Sixty-Six are available as a front/rear combination (weighing just 1197g), a fantastic wheelset if you require slightly more manoeuvrability than the Sixty-Six front and rear wheelset offers.  The Thirty-Two gives you an amazingly versatile wheel that’s as happy being ridden to solo victory in the Tour de France Alpine stages as it is mixing it up in the flat lands. It’s an amazing all rounder!

So there we go, a quick look round the Reynolds wheel collection.  We’ll keep you up to date with the RZR 46’s, so keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook for images of them soon as they come through the door.  For more wheel based goodness check out our PBK Product Focus on Wheels.

Which set of Reynolds catch your eye?

The RZR 46 wheels are coming to PBK soon, full carbon 46.5mm rims with kevlar reinforcing, carbon fibre Torque Flange hubs and NACA Airfoil carbon spokes. All this and it weighs in at just 1198g...