The aero gear and testing expert Aerocoach has added two new wheelsets to its range, named the Thunderbolt and Bolt. Both options feature a composite, wide tri- spoke design, a 21mm internal rim width, AEOX aluminium hubs, and centrelock disc brake interfaces. While these are highly specialised hoops aimed at time trial riders and triathletes, things get interesting when we look at Aerocoach’s research and development project, that it claims is “…the most comprehensive TT/Tri wheel specific public data set out there.”
The Bolt is priced at £995 for the front wheel and £1,095 for the rear (£1,990 for the set), while the Thunderbolts are priced at £2,390 for the pair. There are other options to pair a Thunderbolt or Bolt front wheel with an Orbit or Ultra Orbit disc rear, with the most expensive combo costing £3,395.
The 90mm deep Thunderbolt and 60mm deep Bolt are optimised for modern wider tyre widths. Both wheelsets have a 21mm internal rim width, and can handle tyres from 25mm through to >30mm. Tyres wider than 30mm can be used, but frame clearance will be the deciding factor as to whether they will fit.
Both sets of wheels are UCI compliant and are able to be used in events where a rear disc wheel is banned, such as certain triathlons. In tests, AeroCoach found that both rear wheels had a 3-watt penalty compared to its AEOX disc wheel, at 45kph (c. 28mph).
The Thunderbolt front wheel is said to be the fastest non disc-wheel choice. It can handle sidewinds despite its large surface area. However if you’ve found that side winds cause you issues, or you are riding in very windy areas, then the shallower rim of the Bolt is recommended by AeroCoach.
The Thunderbolt and Bolt rims have hooked rims, and can be set up as either tubed or tubeless. Each wheel has tubeless rim tape pre-installed and an AEOX tubeless valve is supplied too.
The wheels can be bought individually, as a pair, or mixed and matched with their Orbit or Ultra Orbit Disc rear wheel. In fact, Tadej Pogačar’s Colnago TT1 from 2024 featured an AeroCoach Aeox Ultra Orbit rear wheel! The Thunderbolts weigh in at c.900g/1040g (F/R) and the Bolts come in at c.795g/915g (F/R), so even lighter than Tadej’s Ultra Orbit, which weighed in at 980g.
The wheels have been in development for 20 months, and AeroCoach has “a data set with nearly a dozen World Tour level wheels on it”.
“It’s the most comprehensive TT/Tri wheel specific public data set out there”, claims AeroCoach’s Xavier Disley.
AeroCoach says the testing included “…different tyre models on each wheel, all wind tunnel lines presented (with error bars), weighted average yaw angle info, [as well as an] explanation of [the] exact protocol [used].”
So as the high-end research into aero gains continues, and those insights starts to filter down into road products, maybe we’ll see shallower and less specialised rims that can also handle windy conditions, and still be as lightning fast as very deep and tr-spoke designs. Here’s hoping…
