CARBON SPOKES FOR $1500!?! HUNT 32 AERODYNAMICIST UD CARBON DISC FIRST LOOK

Best known for its competitively priced hoops, the Hunt has added to its aero-focused six-wheel series aptly named the Aerodynamicist. The new hookless bead and 32mm-deep wheels are optimized for 28mm tires with a 21mm internal width and unidirectional carbon spokes for a claimed weight of 1213 grams. Hunt claims the rims each weigh 374g and 377g (front and rear). Checking nearly all the boxes of a competitively priced performance-oriented carbon wheelset, the specs of the 32 Aerodynamicist UDs are truly impressive. They’re Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM compatible. We’re anticipating a chance to give UDs a full review soon.

Speaking about the choice to use a hookless design Hunt development engineer Chris Colenso said “A hookless rim has a number of benefits for different applications but for this project, an extremely competitive weight target was set to produce a super-responsive, lightweight climbing wheelset. A hookless rim design enables us to save 18g per rim, this not only benefits overall weight but is located at the edge of the rim resulting in reduced rotational mass. And secondly, with a simpler manufacturing process, we are able to reduce material waste, leading to a number of benefits for the rider.”

Continuing on about the benefits of carbon spokes Colenso said “Due to the increased stiffness of a carbon spoke versus steel spoke, it is possible to engineer the right amount of lateral stiffness by reducing the spoke count accordingly. Therefore using UD Carbon Spoke technology, enables us to maintain lateral stiffness whilst reducing the system weight of the wheel and balancing the riding characteristics.

A UD carbon spoke mimics a steel spoke and is achieved using TaperLock technology where during manufacture a steel mandrel serving as the “head” and “threaded end” of the spoke is pulled from the middle onto the tapered end of the UD fiber rod. This results in a strong mechanical hold and results in the ability for these UD Carbon Spokes to be truable and replaceable, should the need arise, meaning this wheelset can have a greater lifespan over previous attempts at carbon spoke technology.”

Price: $1549

www.huntbikewheels.cc