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Tech Report, with Lennard Zinn - Hot Wheels

Published: Mar. 13, 2007
A 501.1-gram rear wheel
A 501.1-gram rear wheel

I spent a couple of days last week in Las Vegas, with Paul Lew, ridingand inspecting his new superlight Pro VT-1 wheels. The pair I rode weighedless than – get this - 850 grams for the set.

That’s not a claimed weight, either. I pulled the tires off after theride, checked the scale by using my standard calibration unit (otherwiseknown as a good old American quarter) and then measured the front at 350.5grams and the rear at 501.1. Keep in mind that includes what I’d guessto be about 10-15 grams of rim cement on the wheels.

Now here comes the hard part. The wheels cost $5000 a pair with hybridbearings – ceramic balls and steel races. Full ceramic bearings – ballsand races – add $1000 to the price and remove 10 grams from the weight.That price is going to be worth it to some people, too. Lew Racingpromises a per pair weight of under 880 grams with the standard hybridbearings.

It is very tough to cut boron fiber – and don't get any of the splinters in your fingers.
It is very tough to cut boron fiber – and don't get any of the splinters in your fingers.

The wheels are carbon fiber mixed with boron fiber (boron is far stifferthan carbon, and the material costs 100 times as much), and the boron braketrack has an aluminum honeycomb mesh under it to act as a heat sink anda wear indicator. Lew Aerospace is a defense contractor making superlightunmanned military reconnaissance aircraft invisible to radar, and PaulLew developed the DEX-LCM molding process he uses in the wheels for thoseplanes.

The aero spokes are boron and carbon with two braided Spectra cordsinside. The front wheel is radially spoked, while the rear wheel is radialon both sides from the outside flanges and has four pulling spokes comingfrom the center of the hub. After a lot of riding on them, they are astrue laterally as I have ever seen a wheel; it would be extremely difficultto get a wire-spoked wheel any truer. Vertically, it was not as true, butit only had a very slight hop.

The hubs are boron and carbon bonded to the spokes, and the hub axlesare boron front and rear (the rear is thicker wall; both are the same diameter,since the four bearings in the rear wheel and the two in the front wheelare all the same spec). The freehub is titanium from White Industries thatLew has machined to remove weight from the centers of the splines.

Another unique feature of the wheels is the two-day test ride in Vegasat the new billion-dollar Red Rock hotel and casino, which is near RedRocks Park, home to a wonderful, hilly, winding 13-mile road loop beneathbeautiful cliffs and canyons. There is great riding on roads with verylight traffic right out the door of the hotel. The management intends itto be an "adventure" hotel and a gateway to the outdoors, not just a standardVegas-style hotel trying to keep you indoors spending money. It offers,for instance, guided climbing trips into Red Rocks, horseback rides, andbike rides, both on and off road.

Zinn and Paul Lew take the Pro VT-1s out for a test ride.
Zinn and Paul Lew take the Pro VT-1s out for a test ride.

Partnering with Lew Racing and a local bike shop, the hotel offersa test ride on Lew wheels that is a wash financially if you buy the wheels.For $500, you get two nights plus food at the sumptuous hotel, two daysof riding on a supplied Cannondale System Six (or your own bike) on LewPro VT-1s, and if you decide to buy the wheels, you get $500 off the price.It’s a no-brainer; think how much money you could save if you bought tenpairs! Check outthe link if you're interested.See an upcoming VeloNews for my full report on the Lew Pro VT-1wheelset. And yes, the wheels are stiff, and they brake nicely.
Lennard

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