Velocity U.S.A. made an official announcement today concerning the “Blunt SL” rim, and wheel sets using the new “race day” rim. Twenty Nine Inches is slated to test a Blunt SL Comp wheel set soon, so stay tuned for that. Until then, here is the official press release from Velocity.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: VELOCITY RELEASES XC RACE DAY RIM AND WHEELSET, BLUNT SL
(Grand Rapids, MI) Designed to be lighter, stronger, and faster. Velocity is proud to announce its newest rim, the Blunt SL. Bringing together the proven success and technology of the P35 and Blunt rims, Velocity has developed a new tubeless ready race day rim that weighs in at 420 grams in the 29”/700c platform. The Blunt SL can easily be made tubeless using Velocity’s Velotape kit. In addition to rims, Blunt SL Pro and Comp wheelsets are available. Each wheel is handbuilt by The Wheel Department at Velocity, which can custom build to rider’s specifications. Detailed information can be found at www.velocityusa.com. The Velocity Blunt SL rims and wheelsets are available through any local bike shop or from Velocity’s online store.
Velocity Blunt SL rims are available in 26”, 650b or 29” sizes, in black, silver or white color with 28, 32 or 36 hole drilling. MSRP $84.99
Velocity Blunt SL Pro wheelsets:
[28 hole Velocity Lightweight ATB disc hubs, front (2x/radial) and rear (2x) with Sapim CX Ray spokes, alloy nipples]
- 26” (559) – 1,475 grams
- 650b – 1,525 grams
- 29”/700c – 1,575 grams
MSRP $799.99
Velocity Blunt SL Comp wheelsets:
[32 hole Velocity Lightweight ATB disc hubs, front (3x/radial) and rear (3x) with DT Swiss Competition spokes, brass nipples]
- 26” (559) – 1,675 grams
- 650b – 1,725 grams
- 29”/700c – 1,775 grams
MSRP $549.99
This is interesting, but what i would like is a SL pro with 36 spokes !
We discuss the lack of 36×4 prebuilt wheels here :
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=700069
and here 36h Arches plus more points:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=436438
I can’t grasp the idea why all those 29er wheelsets are designed like a 26er ones? Either they are considerably weaker than 26er ones or have overbuilt rims to make up for four spokes’ shortage.
A 29er 36×4 wheelset would equal a 32×3 26er one. What is so difficult to comprehend here? Why are all those manufacturers so obstinate?
Sheldon Brown made a comment about this procedure:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/wheel/index.htm
12. How do 650c wheels compare to 700c?
Smaller wheels are stiffer than larger wheels. If they are built on the same hubs, then the bracing angle is larger for smaller rims. If everything else is the same, 650c wheels are about 25% stiffer than 700c wheels.
Note: smaller wheels often have fewer spokes than larger wheels, and this is as it should be. For similar strength, spoke spacing at the rim is what should be held constant, not spoke count. Consequently, a 650c wheel with 28 spokes is about the same strength as a 700c wheel with 32. This is the case with the wheels I measured to get this 25% difference in stiffness: wheels 69 and 71.
Applies to MTB as well.
@20.100: Call up Velocity. I bet you could get it done, but you may have to wait a bit on that.
@Davidcopperfield: Not unexpectedly you chime in with your same conclusions. Got it. Let’s move on, shall we?
Perhaps you could find out why 29er wheels keep having the same amount of spokes of 26er wheels. I’d like to see the reasoning and science lying behind it. I simply don’t want worse components than 26er riders get.