Sixth Element Wheels British Cycling

Sixth Element To Supply British Olympic Tokyo 2020 Team

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British Cycling has asked British wheel builders Sixth Element to supply their XC team wheels.

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games only a year and a bit off, training plans are firmly focussed on Tokyo 2020, and no doubt the team riders are looking to have their equipment dialled in so they can focus on physical and mental preparation.

Sixth Element Wheels Simon Watts tokyo 2020
Simon Watts, British Cycling Lead XC Coach

The wheels that the team riders have started with are Sixth Element’s Superlight 29ers: the rims weigh less than 300g each and are a mixture of two types of carbon: T700 and the finer (and lighter) T800. Rim widths are 23mm internal, 28mm external, and will be raced mainly with 2.2in or 2.25in tyres.

Sixth Element Wheels Tokyo 2020
So you don’t get your team wheels mixed up with any other nations’.

Having given the team the initial batch of wheels, but following further discussions – including with their head coach and their mechanics – they are also going to trial a wider rim in the coming months. This will be a rim that will be made especially for the Olympic team riders, it isn’t one of the options that is currently available to the public, although that may well change if it is well received by the team.

While some of the wheel parts (rims and spokes) aren’t UK manufactured, the hubs are by Hope, and the development and selection of rim type and designs, plus the physical hand-building and quality assurance, all happens in the UK. Come to that, in the North West of England, where the team are based too… ‘North West England, the Marin County of the UK’… new tourism strap line?!

Sixth Element Wheels Tokyo 2020
Bet FTP test results gets first pick of the hubs?
 
Graham Stock of Sixth Element said:
 
“We’re delighted to be supporting the British Cycling team and the UK’s push for Olympic success in 2020. On a wider front, this development with British Cycling is part of our on-going growth. Our growth has global ambition – we’ve recently opened in Whistler to serve the North American market direct, and the feedback that we receive from the UK Olympians in due course will obviously influence our wheel designs on both sides of the Atlantic. We firmly have Australia and New Zealand in our sights as the next stage. Far from drawing up a Brexit draw-bridge (not that I’m suggesting that will be the out-come given recent events) our view is that the world is a small place, and our approach to giving every customer the best possible product and the best possible service applies anywhere, not just in the UK.”
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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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