Carbon Sports Lightweight Standard

Lightweight wheels have been on the market for a number of years now, however, they are rarely seen off the pro circuit. Why? Because they cost the earth (£2000)!! So is the high price tag worth it? Well…in short…YES.

Lightweight was the brainchild of two German engineers, Heinz Obermayer and Rudolf Dierl. They worked for a composite aerospace factory and used expired or overstock carbon components from the factory and laboriously and lovingly turned them into race wheels. They used to produce one set per day out of their small workshop in Germany. Today, thankfully, they make a few more than that per day but each wheel is still hand crafted. The total production time for each wheel is approximately 16 hours! Most other manufactures can churn out a wheel set in a couple of hours but do not have the same level of craftsmanship that the Lightweight wheels have. The wheels are a one-piece carbon structure, with thin, bladed spokes that are woven through the carbon fibre hub flanges, and through slots in the carbon rim like cloth ribbon. The entire wheel—hub, spokes and rim— is then bonded and heat-cured into a single part—a very expensive single part.

The wheels have a very whippy feel to them and with a combined weight of 1000g they are among the lightest wheelset on the market today. They are super stiff and this can take some getting used to, but, fair very well in gusty conditions feeling very planted on the road. The Lightweights lend themselves very well to hilly courses given their construction and really come into their own on technical sections.

Breaking performance is solid. This can be probably be accredited to the SwissStop brake pads that come with them as there is no special surface treatment or texture to the Lightweights' sidewalls. On technical sections under heavy braking they feel planted and inspire confidence.

Lightweights come complete with their own built-in memory chip that contains a serial number and production data – very useful for servicing. In addition, the front rim has a built-in magnet for use with certain cycle computers. A nice touch, yes, but something to be expected when paying this much for a set of wheels.

In conclusion, they are a phenomenal wheelset. Yes they are expensive but they offer so much bang for your buck that one could justify re-mortgaging the house to get a set. The Pro Riders have been seriously impressed with the whole Lightweight range and if they are good enough for them, then , they are certainly good enough for us mere mortals.

For more information visit www.lightweight.info