Jason Schiers has made carbon wheels socially acceptable. As co-founder of the American high-end forge Enve, he even brought carbon fibre rims to downhill racing. Now the American works for Crankbrothers and presents his first major work. Carbon wheels, of course. "Just throwing another carbon wheel on the market is not my thing," says Jason. He wanted to find a new approach. The result is the Synthesis Wheels.
The special feature: the front wheel is less stiff than the rear wheel, making it more comfortable. The crew around Schiers claims to have discovered that this combination provides an optimum riding experience. At the front, it forgives mistakes and absorbs harsh impacts, while at the rear it ensures full acceleration and a defined cornering feel. These properties are achieved using differently designed rims. "That's the big advantage of carbon. You can orientate the material as you need it. Stiff or elastic," explains Schiers. Specifically, the rims differ in terms of wall thickness and fibre orientation - but also in terms of width. The rim is two millimetres wider at the front wheel than at the rear. The number of spokes also varies: 28 at the front and 32 at the rear.
We have already been able to try out a set of Crankbrothers Synthesis E 11 wheels and put them through the BIKE lab. Unsurprisingly, without a direct comparison to other wheels, the Synthesis wheels cannot create a completely new riding experience - that would be overstating the case. In the lab, the different stiffnesses on the front and rear wheels are clearly measurable. The weight of our 29-inch wheelset is 1836 grams. A good value for a 29er wheelset that is supposed to withstand serious enduro loads in the long term, but it will probably not convince lightweight construction fetishists.
The Synthesis Wheels are available in three versions: CC, Enduro and DH. Two price variants are offered in each case.
The facts about the Synthesis XCT (Crosscountry):
- Weight: 1490 g (XCT 11 with Synthesis 11 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes / 1575 g (XCT with Synthesis standard hub and Sapim D-Light / Race spokes)
- Price: 2399 Euro (XCT 11) / 1699 Euro (XCT)
- Internal rim width front: 26.5 mm
- Internal rim width rear: 24.5 mm
The facts about the Synthesis E (Enduro):
- Weight: 1760 g (E 11 with Synthesis 11 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray / CX-Sprint spokes / 1845 g (XCT with Synthesis standard hub and Sapim D-Light spokes)
- Price: 2399 Euro (E 11) / 1699 Euro (E)
- Internal rim width front: 31.5 mm
- Internal rim width rear: 29.5 mm
The facts about the Synthesis DH 11 (Downhill):
- Weight: 1945 g (with Synthesis 11 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray / CX-Sprint spokes)
- Price: 2399 Euro
- Internal rim width front: 31.5 mm
- Internal rim width rear: 31.5 mm
The rims are also available separately at a cost of 699 euros. Crankbrothers gives the original purchaser a lifetime guarantee on all wheels. This covers all damage caused by biking, including falls.
Florentin Vesenbeckh
Editor CvD
