Lightweight’s lightweight 1230g Obermayer Evo disc wheelset
Lightweight's lightweight 1230g Obermayer Evo disc wheelset
Lightweight has announced a new set of, wait for it…. lightweight wheels. The Obermayer Evo wheels are a homage to Lightweight co-founder and inventor Heinz Obermayer, and as you might expect, they are suitably lightweight (how many times will I type lightweight in this article? Already four and counting) and costly. Lightweight says the new wheels are its “ultimate performance disc wheel and is suitable for (mountainous) roads, training and competition.”
The new wheels are disc brake only and feature a tubeless compatible, 48mm deep carbon rim. Weighing in at 1230 grams, these are among the lightest disc brake wheels available, even if not exactly the lightest in Lightweight’s own wheelhouse. That honour goes to the Meilenstein T 24D wheelset weighing in at 40g less at 1190 grams. Lightweight uses its signature “Lightweight performance shape” rim, and 20 rim-to-rim carbon spokes to create its famously lightweight and stiff wheels. Those famous rim-to-rim spokes run from one side of the rim, through the hub to connect with the other side of the rim. Lightweight claims this design not only reduces weight, but the resulting X shape created by the connected rim and spoke makes for unrivalled torsional and lateral stiffness.
Furthermore, Lightweight uses Lightweight Custom Composite Carbon (LCC-Carbon), which is tested and used in aerospace, and apparently not the same as other carbon. Lastly, within that carbon rim is Lightweight’s Active Foam Core. This foam core is said to further increase the rim stiffness, allow Lightweight to build the rim lighter, and create a damping effect to smoothen the ride.
Interestingly, Lightweight has kept both the rim widths relatively narrow by today’s standards, opting for 24mm outer and 18.2mm inner. However, Lightweight has always stood for lightweight, so the aero gains, increased grip, and lower rolling resistance offered by wider rims optimised for wider tyres is not the target here.
The new wheels feature Lightweight’s Pentagon SL hub, which Lightweight says, “is the technological heart of every Lightweight disc wheel.” The SL hub is 60 grams lighter than the standard Pentagon hub and is said to improve aerodynamics also. The hub gets its name from its partially five-sided hub shell said to better dissipate the heat that flows from the brake disc to the hub.
The Lightweight Obermayer Evos are available in a Standard Edition, almost entirely black with just a white Lightweight logo. Or the Schwarz ED, or as we like to call it, the “none more black” edition. While a black Lightweight logo is the only visible difference in the two wheelsets, the Schwarz Ed also benefits from an upgrade to Ceramic Speed bearings. Both wheelsets have a weight limit of 100kg.
Standard edition Lightweight Obermayer Evo And the Schwarz Edition wheelset.
All this comes at a price, we think. You are never likely to find Lightweights in any bargain bucket, but having scanned the press release and scoured the internet, I haven’t yet found a price for the Lightweight Obermayer Evos. Presumably, the wheels are not for those who have to ask the price.
More information is available at Lightweight.info
p.s. 33, for those playing along at home
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