AeroCoach has announced the Thunderbolt tri-spoke, which is the “fastest non-disc” road bike wheel available, according to its wind tunnel data.
The result of almost two years of development, AeroCoach’s Dr Xavier Disley said the British brand set out to “push the boat out in terms of time trial performance, without having to resort to a front disc wheel”.
Featuring a 90mm-deep rim and three aero-profiled composite spokes, the Thunderbolt is said to be optimised around “modern wider tyres”, so that there’s “no compromise between rolling resistance and aerodynamics”.
The AeroCoach Thunderbolt launches alongside the Bolt tri-spoke, which features a similar tri-spoke design paired to a shallower rim, for improved handling in windy conditions.
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Return of the tri-spoke
Most commonly seen on time trial and triathlon bikes, tri-spoke wheels have waxed and waned in popularity over the years.
Scotland’s Graeme Obree used a set for his iconic UCI Hour Record aboard ‘Old Faithful’, while HED’s H3 had a resurgence during the Team Sky era when the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome dominated Grand Tour time trials.
According to Disley, AeroCoach has received “a lot of questions from riders” about whether tri-spokes perform better than traditionally spoked wheels, either in terms of aerodynamic efficiency or handling.
The answer, Disley says, is to “ignore what the wheel looks like and go on each wheel's individual performance.”
There are “tri-spokes that handle terribly in the wind and have bad aero performance, same with some deep-sections, and there are also tri-spokes that handle amazingly in the wind and have equally exceptional performance.”
Unsurprisingly, Disley says the Thunderbolt and Bolt are the latter.
According to the brand’s wind tunnel data, both wheels beat a number of competitor options used in the WorldTour, including Princeton CarbonWorks, Reserve, Zipp, Vision, DT Swiss and Cadex.
Disley notes “the margins are quite tight, as you’d expect”, but every watt counts to those competing at the pointy end of the sport.
The only wheel amongst the cohort to beat the Thunderbolt is AeroCoach’s AEOX front disc wheel.
Despite incoming changes to the UCI’s technical regulations limiting rim depth in mass start road races to 65mm, front disc wheels remain a UCI-legal option for time trials.
Beyond Wout Van Aert using front and rear disc wheels at the Paris Olympics, however, front discs have seen scant use at the highest level of the sport in recent years (presumably due to concerns about handling).
The Bolt tri-spoke trails just behind the Thunderbolt in the wind tunnel data, but only by an average of 0.5 watts at 45kph.
Thanks to its shallower rim, though, AeroCoach says the Bolt is a “versatile option for challenging wind conditions.”
Hooked versus hookless development
Notably, Disley says AeroCoach tested versions of the Thunderbolt wheel with both hooked and hookless rims during development.
As their wind tunnel testing showed no significant difference in performance between the two rim styles, Disley says the brand opted for hooked rims to allow greater tyre compatibility and a wider range of safe tyre pressures.
This was important, Disley says, because tyre choice is critical when it comes to wheel performance.
“Some wheels change handling characteristics depending on the tyres you put on them, and some are extremely sensitive to tyre changes for aero too.”
Both wheels are optimised around 25 and 28mm-wide tyres – specifically Vittoria’s Corsa Pro Speed and Continental’s GP5000 TT TR – although the brand says both can “accommodate tyres from different manufacturers without large changes in aero drag”.
AeroCoach Thunderbolt and Bolt prices and specifications
The AeroCoach Thunderbolt and Bolt tri-spoke wheels cost £1,195 and £995 respectively. Both are available as front or rear wheels, with rear wheels costing an additional £100.
- Rim depth: 90 / 60mm
- Rim internal width: 21mm
- Claimed weight: 900 / 795g
- Material: Carbon fibre with aluminium hub
- Weight limit: 100kg
