When Carl and Frank, the founders of crankbrothers first began developing a wheelset back in 2005, they wanted to create a wheel that had a more thoughtful design. In order to make something that is either stronger at the same weight, or lighter at the same strength, you have to use materials in a better, more efficient way. Carl and Frank wanted to completely pair up the spokes because paired spokes form a triangle, and triangles are the strongest geometric shape. This thought process lead to the design of the iconic and unique ::twinpair spoke wheelset, which was originally launched in 2008. Since then, they have continued updating the wheel design based on athlete feedback. In 2010, the 2nd generation wheelsets were launched with a new freehub design. Now, they are excited to share the newest generation of cobalt, iodine, and opium wheelsets from crankbrothers.
Over the last two years, the engineers at crankbrothers have been focused on improving the company’s wheel collection by redesigning the rim profile. With a design focused on the strength:weight ratio, the new rim profile is tuned for durability, lateral stiffness, and vertical compliance. They partnered with some of the world’s best athletes during their development and testing process to ensure that the wheelsets would exceed the demands of the most discerning and aggressive riders. With the addition of a 27.5″ diameter, reduced prices on level 2 and 3 wheels, and full axle compatibility, the crankbrothers wheelset collection is an ideal upgrade to any mountain bike. As Hans Rey says, “crankbrothers wheels have been my loyal companions on many rides in the most remote corners of the globe.” Where will crankbrothers wheels take you?
Wheel Redesign Key Features:
- Completely redesigned rim profile: The redesigned rim profile is wider and deeper for improved stiffness and strength, with with lower sidewalls for better impact resistance. The rims are specifically tuned for performance and ride quality.
- Improved tubeless tire interface: The new wheel collection features a redesigned bead hook, reduced sidewall height, and curved tire well, along with the non-perforated tire bed of the ::twinpair spoke design. These design features greatly improve tubeless tire interface for an incredibly simple tubeless setup process.
- cobalt and iodine now available in 3 diameters: The 27.5″ diameter is now available in the cobalt and iodine collections, in both the level 2 and 3 models.
- Fully compatible hubs with end caps included: All hubs are now fully compatible, and end caps are included with all wheelsets. The wheels are also XD compatible, with XD-driver adapters available as an aftermarket kit.
- New price points for higher value: Level 2 and 3 wheel pricing has been reduced by $50. All level 2 wheels are now $600, and level 3 wheels are $900.
Wheelset collection overview:
The crankbrothers wheel line includes three categories, each designed for a specific style of mountain biking.
- cobalt 3 : xc : $900 / 21mm rim width, 27.5″ (1650g), 29″ (1735g)
- cobalt 2 : xc : $600 / 21mm rim width, 26″ (1660g), 27.5″ (1710g), 29″ (1790g)
- iodine 3 : am : $900 / 23mm rim width, 27.5″ (1780g), 29″ (1850g)
- iodine 2 : am : $600 / 23mm rim width, 26″ (1810g), 27.5″ (1845g), 29″ (1910g)
- opium 3 : dh : $900 / 26mm rim width, 26″ (2100g)
Complete technical details are available online at the crankbrothers website.
An optimized rim profile:
By redesigning and finely tuning the rim profile, crankbrothers was able to make substantial improvements to durability, lateral stiffness, and vertical compliance.
The rim improvements were accomplished by focusing on three key design elements in the rim profile:
- Internal lateral widths are increased by 2mm on each model (cobalt is 21mm, iodine is 23mm, and opium is 26mm),
- All sidewalls are 1.7mm lower, and
- All rim depths have increased.
They also focused on reducing weight in four key areas, including removing the original central I-beam, tapering sidewall thickness, reducing bead hook width, and reducing sidewall height. The reduced bead hook width and sidewall height, along with the curved tire well and non-perforated tire bed, also make the wheels incredibly easy to setup tubeless. After thorough FEA stress analysis, extensive machine testing, and hours of ride testing, we are certain that you can have confidence in the new collection of crankbrothers wheelsets.
Athlete feedback:
The new crankbrothers wheelsets were developed alongside some of the best athletes in the world. The company listened to their feedback and tuned the wheels for the ideal balance between durability, stiffness, and ride quality.
Judy Freeman (cobalt test rider): “The new crankbrothers wheelsets are a wicked balance of maneuverability and stability. I had total confidence in them for rocky descents or large drops and knew they were still playful enough for tight and twisty singletrack.”
Hans Rey (iodine test rider): “I worked closely with the crankbrothers engineers and product managers to improve the wheelsets. It is great that all the R&D crew are also riders. The new wheelsets are stiff, light, and robust. Crankbrothers wheels have been my loyal companions on many rides in the most remote corners of the globe.”
Richie Schley (iodine test rider): “To help with testing, I would take a set of wheels and ride the hell out of them, jumping rough technical trails and in different weather conditions. The freewheels work great, the wider rims make for a better and more open tire contact on the ground, and the wheelsets are stiffer.”
Bryn Atkinson (opium test rider): “I weigh nearly 200 pounds and ride faster and more sideways than a machine could test with repetition. Through race weekends as speeds evolve and tracks get rougher, wheels take the brunt of the impacts. Our prototype opium wheels were right on par with any other World Cup level wheel.”
Jill Kintner (opium test rider): “When we test new wheels, we train, practice, and race on the prototypes in all kinds of real world situations. The wheels get used hard, maintained, and replaced, so we can see where the weakest points are and report our findings and feelings on performance. With the new wheel redesign, everything was considered: rim width, shape, height, material, joining, etc. With the redesign, we wanted a better seal for tubeless, more stability, a black option, as well as a rim that wasn’t so hard and stiff it would flat, but that it could also hold up in rocks and big hits. These wheels have held up amazing with both tubes and tubeless, on a wide variety of terrain at speeds and under pressure.”Complete technical details are available in the online wheel media presentation: http://tinyurl.com/cb2014wheels
The new crankbrothers wheelsets have been redesigned with the worldÕs best athletes to optimize ride quality, durability, and performance. With extensive analysis and testing, we are confident that our new wheel collection will stand up to the abuse of mountain biking in the most aggressive conditions, from xc to dh.
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.