FIRST LOOK: Reynolds 27.5 AM Carbon Mountain Bike Wheels

A little while back we received a brand new Avanti Torrent CS frame that will be serving as a new long term test bed to review various components such as suspension forks, wheels, tyres, brakes and more. The complete build will be revealed in Issue #151 of AMB Magazine, but in the meantime we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at the first set of wheels we’ll be punishing aboard the 150mm travel Torrent; the 27.5 AM Carbon wheels from Utah-based manufacturer, Reynolds Cycling.

“The 27.5 AM Carbon is engineered for Enduro and aggressive trail riding. This wheel boasts a 31 mm rim width that accommodates wider tires and provides a huge contact patch for confidence and control. The tubeless-ready rim is quite possibly the strongest ever developed by Reynolds’ engineers, yet its MR5 carbon layup ensures that it remains lightweight, fast and above all, durable.” – Reynolds Cycling

The Reynolds 27.5 AM Carbon Wheelset features:

• Tough carbon wheelset designed for All Mountain riding and Enduro racing
• Rim construction: Carbon Fibre with proprietary MR5 Layup
• Rim dimensions: 24mm (depth), 31mm (external width), 23mm (internal width)
• DT Swiss Revolution stainless steel straight-pull spokes w/28 x front & rear
• CNC Machined alloy hubs w/oversized sealed cartridge bearings and 7075 Alloy axles
• 6-pawl freehub mechanism w/72 engagement points
• Available to suit 9/10/11-speed Shimano or 11-speed SRAM XD cassettes
• Claimed weight: 1710 grams
• Extras: Stainless Steel quick release skewers, tubeless valves, tubeless rim tape, hub adapters to suit 9/15/20mm forks and 135/142mm rear axles
• RRP: $2500

Reynolds Cycling have long been known for their expertise in carbon, and since launching their first off-road model a number of years ago, they now have several successful iterations of carbon mountain bike wheels under their belts to draw experience from. In their current 2015 lineup, the 27.5 AM Carbon wheelset positions itself as a tough do-it-all wheelset designed to suit hard trail riders and those who like to chase the chequered flag at Gravity Enduro races. They’re built with a tubeless compatible carbon rim, which employs super thick sidewall lips and a pronounced bead hook to create a secure airtight seal. Internal rim width runs at 23mm, which is suited to tyres up to 2.4″ wide. They aren’t super wide by modern standards, but we’ll be putting them to the test to find out how they compare to fat-rimmed options such as the bulbous American Classic Wide Lightning wheelset.

The trick Reynolds hubset is CNC machined from alloy and provide the anchor point for the straight-pull DT Swiss Revolution spokes. The rear hub gets an oversized drive-side flange to assist with spoke triangulation for more even spoke tension to create a stronger and stiffer rear wheel.

Included in the box with the wheels you’ll find tubeless tape and valves, quick release skewers and a myriad of different end caps to convert the hubs into several different configurations. For the front hub, it’ll fit 9mm quick release forks, as well as 15mm and 20mm thru-axles. The rear hub can fit 135mm quick release frames, as well as 142x12mm setups. Boost hubs are on the way. The rear hub uses a hollow alloy axle with threaded end caps that make for easy disassembly with just a 17mm wrench and an 8mm hex key.

Compared to Reynold’s previous hubs, the new mountain bike freehub flips the mechanism around, with the pawls located inside the hubshell and the ratchet teeth found on the cassette body. This allows for more pawls (6 – with twin teeth), and better support for those pawls. All up, it should be stronger, more reliable and faster engaging too.

The oversized front hub looks very neat with its heavily machined spoke flanges. Inside you’ll find massive sealed cartridge bearings to help boost stiffness between the fork and front wheel.

No tools required to swap around the end caps on the front hub, with rubber O-rings holding the end caps securely in place. You’ll need a bit of force to get them out, but not a huge amount. Note how the end cap actually slides into the bearing’s inner race? This provides more bearing contact for a stronger junction, and it allows the use of a huge cartridge bearing.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be updating you with further build progress on the Avanti Torrent, as this Kiwi-designed trail bike takes its final shape. Keep an eye out for Issue #151 of AMB Magazine, where you can read about our experience testing the Reynolds 27.5 AM Carbon wheels to see if they’re worth the coin.

Bikesportz

Website: www.bikesportz.com.au