Is this the world's most aerodynamic disc wheel?
A new carbon fibre wheel company has been set up by Australian Peter Hinds, founder of X-treme wheels.
The new firm is called 3 Sixty° (pronounced "360 degrees"), and its first product is a disc wheel called Quantum.
With Quantum, Hinds set out to produce the most aerodynamic disc wheel available. It has a ‘triple curvature’ design which is supposed to mimic the airflow over an aircraft wing.
A curved leading edge directs airflow onto a marginally thinner concave profile before rising again to another pressure bulge at the hub. When combined with a 'vortex generator' near the leading edge, Hinds says this results in a wheel that not only reduces drag but actually produces 'lift' which can be converted into forward momentum.
The wheel is made with two multi-modulus carbon skins, which are said to provide natural anti-vibration dampening. It has a removable hub and easy-to-fit carbon valve hole cover, and is available in seven colours.
Quantum is currently only available as a tubular model in Shimano, Campagnolo and track. Claimed weight is 1.045kg (2.3lb). A carbon clincher will be available in July.
Hinds said his decision to walk away from X-treme after 15 years wasn’t easy, but he insisted it was necessary. He said supply had always been a problem, and when he tried to fix this by outsourcing production to Taiwan this created its own difficulties.
“The name 3 Sixty° is very appropriate. It marks the fact that this new company brings me full circle, back to doing what I’ve always done best, and that’s hand crafting Australian-made, high-performance bicycle wheels for a discerning niche market.”
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User Comments
There are 5 comments on this post
Showing 1 - 5 of 5 comments
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Netsnipe
Posted Tue 28 Apr, 9:40 am BST Flag as inappropriate
But, but, but... it has no dimples!
/me drinks more of the Zipp kool-aid
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mcbazza
Posted Tue 28 Apr, 10:00 am BST Flag as inappropriate
"A carbon clincher will be available in July. Claimed weight is 1.045kg (2.3lb)."
For some reason, I expected the carbon clincher to be lighter.
;-)
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Cozy Beehive
Posted Tue 28 Apr, 11:42 pm BST Flag as inappropriate
"Is this the world's most aerodynamic disc wheel?"
No, it isn't. In no wind and head wind conditions, not very much at all. Performance is close to spoked wheels. In side winds, a little better...due to the lift force. That could be matched or overwhelmed with yawing moments that could make the steering unstable. Wheel aerodynamics is also trivial compared to that of the rider.
Asking such as question like this without any consideration or specification of the wind conditions seems only sensationalistic to me...you know, to get more people to read the article.
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singlespeedexplosif
Posted Wed 29 Apr, 11:12 am BST Flag as inappropriate
But at no point does it say that it IS the world's most aerodynamic disc wheel. So a perfectly valid question.
[i]Wheel aerodynamics is also trivial compared to that of the rider.[/i]
yes, but they're talking about the [b]wheel[/b], not its relationship to the rider and overall dynamics. Do you see?
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Cozy Beehive
Posted Wed 29 Apr, 8:14 pm BST Flag as inappropriate
"yes, but they're talking about the [b]wheel[/b], not its relationship to the rider and overall dynamics. Do you see? "
Do you use a wheel in a vacuum? Or is it placed under a more dimensionally relevant bike and a rider and actually 'ridden'? The drag co-efficient, frontal area and dynamic pressure are more here than in a wheelset. Besides, there is no wind tunnel test data provided to us in the article either in order to judge the statement in the title. Hence, the question "Oh , is this the most aerodynamic wheelset " is as relevant as me asking the following question :
Are you stupid?
At no point did I say you are stupid. But according to your reasoning, me asking that is 'valid' nevertheless.
Do you see?
