With the unfortunate demise of Kapiti-based distributor Cycle Tech recently, a lot of their premium brands were up for grabs and Rotorua’s Wide Open was quick to pick up the Stan’s No Tubes line. And just in time for the release of the new Bravo Pro carbon wheelset. Today a set arrived at Spoke Towers for review, and we took a quick look at them and came away impressed.
The Bravo wheelset comes in medium and large sizes, or is that small and large (seeing as 26″ is all but forgotten by the wheel guys these days)? Ours are of the 27.5 variety, with a claimed weight of a pretty decently light 1650 grams/set for their intended All Mountain/Enduro use.
While not crazy wide like some of the rims we’re seeing and using, the 32mm external / 26mm internal width is wider than anything else Stan’s has done previously, and will take up to a 2.7″ tyre. The carbon rims use Bead Socket Technology and come set up ready for tubeless with Stan’s trusty yellow tape…
…and tubeless valve stems. The RiAct rims use a proprietary weave that is said to withstand 10mm of deflection, ie when you slam it hard into a rock or ledge the wheel will absorb the shock and prevent rim or tyre damage. The matte finish looks the business too.
The hubs are Stan’s Neo Ultimate, with the freehub boasting 72 points of contact and 5º engagement from the six pawls. You can run all the axle configurations and they also come in Boost option, which Wide Open already have in stock.
Alloy freehub body (XD drivers also available), plus included cassette spacer, tool-free end caps and J-bend Sapim Custom Force triple-butted spokes.
The graphics are bold but not too in-your-face, and look to be painted on, so if you want to rip them off for a more stealth look you might be out of luck.
No more running around finding the right bits when you discover your new wheels don’t fit your old frame, or vice-versa. Stan’s includes end caps and QR skewers if you’re old-school, and four spare spokes per wheel in a nifty little bag.
The wheelsets come in at $2800 and are available now.
Now it’s time to fight over who’ll be getting first dibs, and we’ll bring you updates on the web and a full review in Issue 65.
Sicko