Tour de France pauses for wheel announcement, eschewing lab examination
German ultra-premium carbon wheel manufacturer Lightweight has made a significant stride in the cycling world with the launch of their latest product, the Meilenstein ART carbon wheels. Claimed to usher in a "new era in carbon wheel engineering," these innovative wheels boast several engineering advancements that promise to redefine performance standards.
The optimized tire size for the Meilenstein ART wheels is a 28mm profile, designed around a hooked design and a closed rim bed suitable for a 700C tire size. The wheels are engineered for disc brake centerlock systems and are tubeless-ready.
One of the key innovations in the Meilenstein ART wheels is the patented **Alpha Rib Technology (ART)** used in their construction. This unique sectional design incorporates a series of integrated ribs rather than a traditional hollow rim structure. This ribbed cross-section dramatically increases lateral stiffness, improving front wheel handling and rear wheel power transfer.
Another significant feature is the **DRS (Drag Reduction System)** that bonds and anchors the spokes inside the rim, eliminating spoke nipples and any changes in spoke fibre direction. This maximizes tensile strength and reduces material fatigue, leading to a stronger and longer-lasting wheelset.
The hub of the Meilenstein ART wheels is a proprietary Penta-Fly design, featuring DT SWISS EXP 180. This new hub design uses Lightweight’s signature bladed carbon spokes bonded to an oversized precision-machined hub flange. The hub has a reduced central diameter optimized in the wind tunnel to reduce drag while boosting both lateral and torsional stiffness.
The Meilenstein ART wheels boast an impressive weight capacity of 120 kg, despite their ultra-light weight of approximately 1,109 grams per set. This makes them suitable not just for lightweight climbers but also heavier sprinters.
Each wheelset contains more than 70 individual carbon fiber pieces, totaling over 500 meters of material, highlighting the complex and advanced carbon layup involved. The claimed weight of the new wheels is 1190g +/-3%, with the front wheel weighing approximately 550 grams and the rear wheel weighing approximately 640 grams.
The Meilenstein ART wheels are marketed for sprinting and climbing, with a focus on both stiffness and aerodynamics. They support Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo freehub systems and have a rim depth of 45 millimeters.
The top model Meilenstein Art Schwarz ED wheelset retails around €6,990, and the base spec model at €6,550. These innovations in rim structure, hub design, and spoke integration combine aerodynamic efficiency, stiffness, strength, and durability in a completely new carbon wheel design that Lightweight claims is unmatched in the cycling world.
- The patented Alpha Rib Technology (ART) used in the Meilenstein ART wheels, which features a unique sectional design with integrated ribs, promises to revolutionize carbon wheel engineering, especially in terms of lateral stiffness and power transfer in both the front and rear wheels.
- Despite their lightweight construction, the Meilenstein ART wheels can withstand a weight capacity of 120 kg, making them suitable not just for lightweight climbers but also for heavier sprinters, showcasing their impressive durability in the face of extreme sports performance.
