FIRST LOOK: FSA Afterburner i27 MTB Disc Wheel set
FSA probably have the answer for any upgrade question you have - including these sweet Afterburner i27 wheels.
FSA (Full Speed Ahead) have a new home in Australia with Advance Traders. The parts range from FSA is really extensive, covering dropper posts, handlebars, stems, crank sets wheels and more.
We've had a set of FSA Afterburner i27 MTB Disc wheels sent in for review. They sell for $999.95, with plenty of features that make them a handy upgrade, or first choice for a custom build.
The 29" wheels have alloy rims, with an asymmetric rim for more even spoke tension. The straight pull spokes join to the hubs that use cartridge bearings, and a 6-pawl freehub on a 54t drive ring for rapid engagement. You can get the wheels with a SRAM XD, HG or Microspline freehub, as shown here.
The rim width is in the product name, 27mm. This walks the line between 25mm and 30mm, but in doing so it also holds off the extra weight that a 30mm rim, in alloy, can bring. As such, our set weighs 1854g, which is pretty good for a set of wheels that could end up on an XC bike, downcountry bike or even a fast and light trail bike.
At 27mm internal, the tyres will suit tyre widths of around 2.4", and as such we have a set of Pirelli Enduro Hardwall 2.4" mounted up to test the wheels. The rims come without the tubeless tape or valves fitted, which is a great opportunity to see how well the rims are finished on the inside. It's a very smooth rim well, which helped the tyres pop up when I inflated them.
These wheels have been mounted onto our new long term test bike, a Trek Fuel EX 8. While the stock Bontrager wheels and tyres were great, this setup has shed about 500g, which will work well for some faster trail rides.
The build quality seems excellent, as the hubs are exceptionally smooth, and there are included endcaps for RockShox forks.
The wheels on plenty of new bikes can be a bit… meh. And while everyone always says better wheels improve your bike, everyone is also right. A set of wheels that suits your riding and your bike will improve the handling and your enjoyment. A stock set of trail wheels on many bikes may hit about 2100-2200g on the scales, with a hub with less engagement and bearings that don't run as well. So a set of wheels like the FSA Afterburners would be an ideal upgrade. They could even be something a little more stout than your stock wheels, making thema stronger choice as well.
We'll have a full review in our May issue once we have a couple of months use on them.
RRP: $999.95
From: Advance Traders
