It's getting to that point in the year, where both roadies and mountain bikers start looking towards the next season. Not necessarily 2011 but that rogue season that somehow brings both segments of cycling together in a joyous union; that is Cyclo-cross. In what can only be seen as a huge year for us in the cyclo-cross arena with:
- the A23 rim and wheelset making the cross over from the crit circuit to the mud and barriers
- a brand new cross specific rim set to release in the coming weeks
What's so special about our Road Disc hubs? Well, for one they are instock, serviceable, durable and did I mention light? How light?
The front road disc hub comes in at 154 grams. The rear road disc hub comes in at 348 grams.
We offer the road disc with both Campy and Shimano compatible freehubs. 6 bolt, 130mm spacing in the rear and 100mm in the front, both with sealed cartridge bearings. At this point we only offer this in a 32 hole drilling. Oh, did we mention that the A23 is comes in black 32 hole Non-machined sidewall and Sapim CX Ray spokes, colored alloy nipples are all available? Dare we say, hot wheelset? Yes!
For the weekend I'll leave you with the trailer for one of my favorite films on the sport, a must to check out on a rainy day...
In what might rival JBolt's write up last week, Matt has our next installment, with links and videos and all, for our '...because we ride' series. Enjoy.
Sometimes you have to ride fast. Really fast…really really really fast. That’s what this bike is for.
My fast bike is a Schwinn Circuit - built in Greenville, Mississippi in December of 1989. This is the one that got me hooked. This is the one that got me going 40+ mph. It was on this bike, that I first cried while cycling. Not because I was sad, not because I was elated, but because I was going so damn fast that the wind pierced my eyeballs until they welled up with tears. I’ll never forget that feeling. I’ve had more saddle time on this bike than any other in my stable, by far. By FAR. We’ve been through a lot together.
Wheels: Velocity A23Prototype 24/32. Radial front, radial non drive rear, two cross drive rear.
These are the finest road wheels I’ve ever had the pleasure of “rocking”. They replaced a set of 60mm carbon tubulars and I don’t miss them. They roll just as smooth and they’re almost as good at cutting wind. I’m using Hutchinson Fusion 2, 23c tires filled to 90 psi front, 85 psi rear. I’m in love with this setup. I can’t properly express in words how amazing they feel. They make me want to ride more. They’ve made me a better rider. I’ve never been more emotional about a set of wheels and I’m not ashamed to tell you about it. Get yourself a pair and your life will get better.
All totaled this rig is a hair over 22 lbs. Twenty two pounds of cycling bliss. Twenty two pounds of freedom.
Yesterday over on the Bike Jerksblog, Jeff threw out a little love our way on one of the prototype A23 Wheelsets that we sent his way to rage on. We definitely feel his words are golden, especially when he speaks on the equipment he rides. His thoughts are being echoed by everyone who has gotten ride time on these gems.
Enjoy Jeff's thoughts:
To be upfront about this, the wheels were freebies given to me to test by Dave over at Handspun, and as you may know I have a tight relationship with the dudes over at Velocity. Let's not beat around the bush, I'm a huge Velocity advocate. They support the hell out of the alleycat racing scene, make great products, and have amazing customer service. To say I'm a fan of the company is an understatement. They are a shining example of awesomeness in the sometimes dark world of the bike industry. As a fan of the company, I'm always eager to beat the hell out their new stuff, so here's how my experience has been with this A23 wheelset.
These are by far the lightest wheels I own, or have ever owned. They are low spoke count, bladed with alloy nips, the rear hub has an alloy cassette body and aggressive cutouts, and the rim is pretty light.
I have been riding this set since the end of February on my cross bike. I have ridden trails, pulled the trailer, commuted, ran them into potholes and generally kicked the crap out of them for three months. I have trued the front exactly zero times and have only trued the rear once. The rear had some pretty good side to side action, but you have to remember that I would never ever build myself a set of wheels two cross/radial rear, unless they were strictly for racing. So given that, I feel like the rear has stood up to the beatings pretty well given that these wheels were definitely not intended for what I'm doing with them. I was riding a fat tire (38c) which I'm sure helped protect the rim, but still, for a lightweight road racing wheelset they've taken the abuse very well.
They're rock solid, super fast, and I think pretty darn sexy. So sexy in fact that I plan on buying (with my own money) another pair (likely 24 hole front two cross, 28 rear three cross drive, two non drive) for my forthcoming Peacock Groove. Or I may just swap these over to that bike.
These things are amazing, and I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a lightweight road rim, that can be used as an all-arounder as well as for racing. As for the hubs I've had no issues with them either.
_
And I know you're wondering... yes, the wheelsets will be available soon! Be sure to check out all of the other posts on the Bike Jerks site. Stellar photos and a solid read.
This past winter, as we were dreaming of morning spring rides and warm summers, the head of our wheel department began to piece together a bit of a masterpiece. Slowly but surely, gathering the frame and parts of what became a beautiful complete bike.
That bike now graces us for today's '...because we ride.' Ryan's 'Nago, [some call the Lamborghini a Lambo' and being a work of Italian craftsmanship that it is, why not shorten it?]. Ok, fine... Colnago. Here's Ryan's write up:
I have needed a new road bike for some time now and this past winter it happened. The stars aligned and the deal of a lifetime fell into my lap. It came in the form of a Colnago Dream B Stay with a Flash carbon fork and Campy headset. A SRAMForce group makes the thing go and stop with the prototype A-23 wheelset makes it feel like a Colnago should. I owe a great deal of gratitude to all that helped make this bike a reality. You know who you are.
On a side note… How many people do you know with an Italian BB chaser in their tool box? Well, Paul Van Wesep has one and I’m glad he does.
For today, our '...because we ride' comes from our Master Wheelbuilder, Paul with his Orbea. The only certified roadie on the crew but he keeps us in check, enjoy Paul's write up on his rig:
Because We Ride... If you were a fly on the wall here at Velocity USA you might ask yourself why does Paul ride? On a daily basis you would hear comments that are a direct attack on the sport I love. You see, I am a skinny tire riding, XL kit wearing, leg shaving roadie and I love every minute of it. A great road ride for me is heading out into the wind 20-30 miles and when I finally get the tailwind I don't rest, I see how fast I can get home.
Yesterday was an exciting day here at Velocity, some of you might have seen a little of this on our Twitter. Some of you have already gotten your hands on the A23 rim and know what all the buzz is about with having a wider rim on the road. For those of you who haven't heard: The A23 is the continuation of our belief in developing and producing wheels and rims that are the best to ride with. Using aspects of our Aerohead rim, the A23 was developed to improve ride quality, cornering and aerodynamics without sacrificing weight, stiffness or durability. Coming in at 428 grams and 3 mm wider than the Aerohead, the A23 exceeded those expectations.
Although the 20mm rim has often been the bench mark for road rim width, the 23mm wide rim partnered with a 23mm tire provides a profile similar to a tubular set-up without the hassle of glue or the risk of punctures. This partnership between tire and rim allows for the plain between the two to be virtually the same, greatly reducing drag compared to a tire on a 20mm rim. With the wider rim providing the ride quality of a tubular with a clincher tire, there is less rolling resistance. The 23mm width allows for more flexibility in tire pressure depending on conditions and course, cornering is also vastly improved, especially at high speeds, because of the tires ability to maintain shape instead of slightly rolling with a narrower rim. Part of the excitement from yesterday, was that we have been working for months to develop and produce a hub that when partnered together with the A23 rim would make this a combination the provides the ride quality you have come to expect from Velocity, and also pushes the envelope in price/weight ratio without sacrificing stiffness.
Enter, the A23 hub. We received the first proto-types and have begun to lace them up to get some real ride time and send them out to our trusted specialists for testing. You might have noticed that we are not offering the A23 rim in an offset. The reason for this, is that in partnering the A23 rim and hub together, the offset flanges of the hub allow for a better build with even tension on both drive and non-drive side. This even tension allows for a symmetric wheel that is stronger and stiffer than a rim laced to a 'traditional' flanged hub. Along with even tension, having a larger drive-side flange means shorter drive spokes which then correlates to more rotational stiffness. In layman terms, when you want to get up and go, the wheel will go.
After all of the prototype testing is finished, the A23 wheel set will be available Spring of 2010. Coming in at around 1400 grams a set and at a price point that is definitely going to blow your socks off, we are confident that it will be the best in it's class.
