- 3-Year Worry Free Use
- EN17481 Passed: Racing Bicycle – Safety requirements and test methods
- X-Rim Shape
- Torayca® T800 Carbon Fiber
- X-Layup Technology
- X-Ceramic Brake System
Full Version
“V” Shape
In early aero carbon wheel designs, “V” shape were the classic standard. This shape reduced the aerodynamic drag from zero angle but proved to be highly unstable in crosswind conditions.
“Toroidal” Shape
Then “Toroidal” shape showed up as a new design. The “Toroidal” shape were wider apart between brake track and spoke wall. This shape further reduced aerodynamic drag than the “V” shape did and contributed to better crosswind handling.
Hybrid Toroidal+U Shape
We use the most advanced design available today, we call it X-Rim Shape. While maintaining the “Toroidal” shape, the X-Rim Shape increases the spoke wall side to make it wider and shaped like “U”. On a “U” shaped wheel, the leading edge on the front half of the wheel is nearly symmetrical to the leading edge on the back half of the wheel.
X-Rim Shape wheels keep the advantages of the “Toroidal” shape and further improves the stability on the back half of the wheel thus providing the ultimate in rider control.
Why Wider Tires Make You Faster
One thing people may not have considered is that tire shape plays and integral part in the overall wheel aero system. This is due to the tire facing forward air when in cross wind.
A wider tire with the right tire pressure will provide better crosswind aerodynamic performance. A wider tire creates a curved teardrop form. Not only is the air turbulence around the U-shaped rim less, but the bike is also easier to handle in crosswinds, given that the wind curls around the surface. Older deep-V sectioned rims were almost always a struggle in a crosswind and subjected riders to unpredictable handling characteristics. This is not the case with wider rims and tires.
Photo Courtesy of Continental
It is obvious from the above photo that less energy will be wasted on material deformation with a 25mm tire at equal pressure. In other words, you’ll go faster, and get more speed, comfort, and handling.
Needless to say, carbon fiber material is the first and most important thing for a carbon wheel, it determines the strength and stiffness of a carbon wheel. In other words, if we want to make a high performance wheel, we have to choose the right carbon fiber.
There are several manufacturers supplying carbon fiber but as we all know in the cycling industry, Torayca is considered the best. Torayca’s carbon fiber are used in the tail of the Boeing 777 and the fuselage of the Boeing 787, as well as various types of high end sporting goods further adding to the testament of their strength and popularity across disciplines. We also choose Torayca as our exclusive supplier.
The chart below consists of data from Torayca. Basically, higher Tensile Strength makes a wheel stiffer and higher Tensile Modulus makes a wheel stronger (not easy to break).
As you can see from the chart, T800 Tensile Modulus is 36% higher than T700. When carbon fiber is layered in different directions, a T800 wheel will be at least 36% stronger than an identically layered T700.
Additionally, T800 is 10% stiffer than T700 thus providing an increase in power transfer you can feel.
By using T800 material, we are able to achieve higher durability by applying the same amount of material. This allows us to reduce 2 layers of carbon fiber in certain low key areas to provide further weight reduction all while not effecting the overall integrity of the wheel. This leads to our ability to create a wheel that is stiffer but lighter.
In X-Balance Design technology, each joint inside the rim is perfectly handled and doubled reinforced. The force from the tire, braking, and spokes are spread throughout the whole rim. X-Balance design is the base foundation to our rim durability.
35+4 Layer Spoke Hole Wall
Spoke holes account for most of the weight. By using as many as 39 layers on the spoke hole wall, the rims take on an extremely stiff and durable form. Our strict testing standards require every spoke hole on the X Series Rim take 300kgf strength without cracking.
Extra 4 Layers on the Brake Track
4 extra layers of carbon material are added to the brake track to further increase durability and safety while hardly effecting overall wheel weight.
We have been constantly testing and improving the performance of our braking surface. The Basalt Fiber material used in our Pro wheels line proved to work much better than the original carbon fiber. Now we have found an even better solution by applying Ceramic Fiber on the brake track. The Ceramic Fiber maintains much better heat resistance than Basalt Fiber.
Most importantly, Ceramic Fiber’s heat radiance is much better than the carbon fiber and Basalt Fiber thus putting an end to Carbon Clincher braking issue.
CX-Ray are the best aero spokes in the world, weighting as light as titanium spokes all the while providing the best results in fatigue testing.
The article below from Sapim® describe the features of this spoke very well:
Its unique strength and flexibility make the CX-Ray suitable for most bicycle disciplines. The middle section of the spoke is drawn then pressed in a special mold to form its specific profile. CX-Ray spokes are used by top bike racers and triathletes around the world. Even downhillers use them, recognizing their strength and flexibility. Special alloy treatment and sophisticated production make this all possible. The CX-Ray fits is all standard hub holes.
Ref.: http://sapim.be/spokes/aero/cx-ray
The newly patented Secure Lock nipple of Sapim is a locking mechanism that prevents nipples from untightening.
Highly precise and accurate machines have specifically been developed to produce this type of locking system. They ensure stable and well defined deformation on the thread.
Ref： <http://sapim.be/nipples/aluminium/secure-lock-nipples>