Hunt Bike Wheels has released details of three new carbon-fibre aero wheelsets that are all disc brake compatible. There are lightweight options in 30mm and 50mm rim depths, and a 30mm-deep cyclocross/gravel model.
The Hunt 30Carbon Aero Disc and the Hunt 50Carbon Aero Disc are essentially the same wheels featuring the same technology, it’s just the rim depths that are different.
HUNT 30Carbon Aero Disc - rim bed.jpg
They both have new disc-specific rims. Clearly, you don’t need a brake track on a disc-specific rim, but there are other differences from a rim-brake design too. The shoulders of the rim don’t need to be as reinforced on a disc brake model because they don’t need to withstand the forces from the brake, and heat buildup is far less of an issue. Heat can increase the pressure from within the tyre on a rim brake design, but that’s not a problem with a disc brake rim.
HUNT-30-CARBON-DISC-RIM-PROFILE.jpg
Hunt says that all these factors allow it to drop the weight of a disc brake rim considerably over a rim brake model.
The new Hunt rims are made from unidirectional T24/30 carbon-fibre with 3K reinforcement around the spoke holes.
The 30Carbon Aero Disc and the 50Carbon Aero Disc rims are both wide – 26.6mm external, 21.3mm internal – the idea being to create a broader tyre profile to increase grip and lower rolling resistance. A Schwalbe Pro One 25mm tyre inflated to 80psi measures about 29mm wide on these rims, and it’s lighter than switching to a 28mm tyre, for example.
HUNT 30Carbon Aero Disc - rim detail 2.jpg
The wheels feature an H-Lock tubeless-ready rim bed profile with ‘up-kicks’ to the shoulders of the tubeless steps. The idea is that these create a seal that makes initial installation of the tubeless tyres easier.
Hunt says the lack of heat build up means that, compared to rim brake rims, disc-specific rims can use lower Tg resins (Tg is the glass transition temperature, the point at which it becomes flexible and rubbery) that are less brittle so they have greater resistance to impacts. These resins are more able to absorb vibration from the road too, according to Hunt, which ultimately results in reduced rider fatigue. Marginal gains, innit!
HUNT 30Carbon Aero Disc - spokes.jpg
This is one of many reasons why Hunt advocates the use of tubeless tyres run at low pressures for many riders. Hunt believes that reduced vibration from the road saves a significant amount of rider energy.
As you can see, the rim profile is very blunt, the idea being to improve the aerodynamic performance at both the points where the tyre is leading and where the rim is leading.
The wheels use Hunt’s existing Race Season Disc hubs that are adaptable for every type of axle. They are centrelock with six bolt disc adaptors included.
The spokes, 24 front and rear, are Pillar PSR X-TRA Aero straight pull.
HUNT 50Carbon Aero Disc.jpg
We put the 30Carbon Aero Disc wheels on the scales here at road.cc when Hunt came visiting yesterday. The rear was 744g and the front was 594g, giving a total of just 1,338g.
HUNT 50Carbon Aero Disc - rim detail 2.jpg
The 50Carbon Aero Disc wheelset is 1,438g – 50g heavier per rim.
The 30Carbon Gravel Disc is a similar proposition to the 30Carbon Aero Disc, the key differences being that you get 28 J-bend spokes front and rear, and a higher level of protection for the bearings. They’re dual full-contact sealed.
HUNT 30CARBON GRAVEL DISC FRONT HUB.jpg
The increased spoke count means that the maximum rider weight limit is increased from 95kg to 110kg.
Hunt claims a wheelset weight of 1,489g.
The 30Carbon Gravel Disc Hunt and the 30Carbon Aero Disc wheelsets are each priced at £999 and can be pre-ordered now for delivery in October and November respectively.
The 50Carbon Aero Disc wheels are £1,099. They can be pre-ordered now for delivery in January.
Here's a video we did on Facebook Live with Tom from Hunt when he came in to show us the new wheels yesterday. Apologies that the picture is on its side for the first few seconds!
For more info go to www.huntbikewheels.com.
Mat has worked for loads of bike magazines over 20+ years, and been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. He's been road.cc technical editor for eight years, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a past winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer.