Revel’s recyclable RW30 carbon mountain bike wheels
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Posted by freeamfva jack - Filed in Arts & Culture - 631 views
Revel’s RW30 wheels have a lot of nifty selling points. They are, according to Revel, 100% recyclable, and they’re made right here in the United States. “There’s no environmentally harmful or brittle epoxy in this carbon,” says the Revel website. Instead, the production process uses “a toughened, high performance composite polymer that makes for a significantly more durable, lighter, and better riding wheel with a nice damped feel.”To get more news about carbon fiber wheels, you can visit zpebicycle.com official website.
Big promises there. My major concern when buying wheels for the longest time has been whether or not they will break because, hey, wheels are expensive — these RW30 wheels range in price from $700 for the rims to $2,200 for the top end build.
Of course, if I’m going to plunk down a lot of cash for a nice set of carbon hoops, it’s important to be more discerning. I’ve been riding the Revel RW30 wheels for the better part of a year now. And I can tell you with certainty that I like them a lot and they deliver on many of their promises. Revel has a good product here. Though I do have a few nitpicks.If you want to get into the nitty gritty about the construction of Revel’s RW30 wheels, be sure to click over to Zach’s excellent article here to get the deep dive.
The basic summary is this: instead of using epoxy to bond the carbon, Revel uses Fusion Fiber Technology. Revel says this polymer is sort of like nylon. It’s blended with unidirectional, long-fiber German and Japanese carbon. According to the Revel website, this polymer is “completely stable, has an unlimited shelf life, and doesn’t need to be stored in a refrigerated room like standard epoxy prepreg carbon.”The carbon is laid up robotically. Revel says this eliminates human error. The rim is flash-welded and cures in just 20 seconds, as opposed to around 45 minutes with a more traditional construction. There’s no epoxy to scrape when the wheel comes out of the mold. All of this means each rim comes out of the mold more consistently constructed.
What does that all mean for the ride? Fusion Fiber wheels are apparently far less brittle and prone to breakage than a standard carbon layup using epoxy. Nylon can absorb impacts better and lead to a more damped, comfortable ride.Revel also says the RW30 wheels are completely recyclable. “If we get a rim back that needs to be recycled, we remove the vinyl decals and drop the rim into a chipper to chop the rim up into small blocks about 1” square. Those chips are melted down into a block of material that can be turned into another part.”
Revel offers two hub options for the RW30 wheels. My test set is built up with Industry Nine’s Hydra hubs, which offer incredibly quick engagement — and a super-loud swarm-of-bees buzz. I run a Shimano XT drivetrain, so my hubs have a MicroSpline driver. You can save a few bucks and opt for the Industry Nine 1/1 hubs instead, if the price tag is your primary concern. For my money, the upgrade seems well worth it for the Hydra’s excellent engagement.