Italian-made hubs, enhanced tubelessness, and HOLOGRAMS!
Though they have long been a fixture in the tyre market (under Vittoria and Geax names), there’s little in the world of rubber that would have suggested Vittoria 2015 leap into the wheel market. Emerging fully-formed, the range consists of eight road and four off-road models with some interesting features.
The mountain range shares a set of Italian-made Centerlock-compatible hubs, which use straight pull spokes and are convertible to all of the usual axle standards. Fascinatingly, all Vittoria wheels will feature a holographic ID plate. The goals for wheel tagging are several. Expensive to reproduce, the tags identify the wheels as a genuine Vittoria product. They also allow servicers to readily identify the wheel’s configuration and provide the correct spares. Finally – and most interestingly – as the tags cannot be removed without damaging the wheels, they serve to help owners identify their wheels in the case of theft.
For cross-country riders, three models will be offered. The no-holds-barred Race is a carbon fibre tubular- all the better to mount those Vittoria (Geax) Saguaro tubs to. The rims are 25mm wide and incorporate graphene, “the material of the future.” The addition of “G+” nano-particles is said to make for a “faster, stronger, and more resilient carbon-composite material.” Specifics aren’t terribly specific, but spoke pull-through resistance is said to be measurably improved, as is lateral stiffness.
Closer to where most of us live and ride, the Creed and Reaxcion are the brand’s alloy-rimmed cross-country offerings. Both come with healthy 26mm wide asymmetric rims and are offered for 27.5 and 29er tyres. The Speedlock rim profile includes a bead locking feature that is said to hold tubeless securely at low pressures. Creed models get steel 9/10s freehub bodies for 1,824-1,951g weights while the Reaxcion gets 9/10/11s aluminium freehub bodies and weights from 1,706-1,787g.
On the all-mountain side, the Deamion gets the same hub as the Reaxcion but a wider 28mm wide rim. Alloy nipples help the AM rim undercut its XC sibling on the scales- the 27.5 weighs an quite nice (for the category) 1,676g while the 29er comes in at 1,747g. Depending on pricing, the Deamion could well be the pick of the litter.
All models come with wheel bags and a two-year warranty. Pricing and availability dates have not yet been announced.
