CARBON WHEELS

CRANK BROTHERS SYNTHESIS E

£1,500

SPECIFICATION Weight: 860g front + 1,020g rear = 1,880g set • Internal rim width: 31.5mm front, 29.5mm rear • Contact: extrauk.co.uk

Crank Brothers’ Synthesis wheels pack in a ton of technology with the front and rear being tuned differently to offer specific ride characteristics. The Synthesis E is the brand’s more affordable carbon package that swaps fast-engaging Industry 9 Hydra hubs and lighter Sapim bladed spokes for own-brand hubs and traditional round spokes. This adds a bit of weight, but the ride feel is almost identical, and there’s a bonus of saving over 500 quid.

Each rim is specifically designed according to the way front and rear wheels interact with rider loads and terrain, so there’s a different spoke count (28F and 32R), different tensioning and also rim width at opposite ends. The carbon lay-up comprises a complex, shallow carbon rim design using thicker fibre sections in impact zones, like rim walls and spoke bed, with less material elsewhere.

Designed to be more compliant up front (and wider at 31.5mm to better match fatter leading tyres), the rear wheel is then tauter and thinner for better acceleration and reduced rolling resistance. The wheels aren’t super-light, but do accelerate super-fast and also feel extremely snappy bouncing between corners and picking up speed or while climbing. The E version’s Freehub