In the last few years, deep-section carbon wheelset overall weights have plummeted whilst retaining the same 50mm-plus depth and aero-optimised rim profiles.
It’s not uncommon now to see deep, aero wheels with overall weights under 1,300 grams. A more widespread use of carbon fibre spokes is, in part, to thank for this.
Irish brand Scribe are the latest manufacturer to release carbon-spoked, aero and lightweight wheels in the form of its new Élan Ultra wheelset, which it claims to be ‘amongst the most aero on the planet.’ Also launching today alongside it is the Core Ultra range from the brand.
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The Ultra Élan will be available in 50, and 65mm depths. The 50mm wheelset has a claimed overall weight of 1,149 grams, while the 65mm option comes in at a claimed 1,289; both are very competitive overall weights, in part achieved thanks to the unusual new OSL8 (oscillate) carbon fibre spokes.
The Ultra Élan wheelset with new carbon fibre OSL8 spokes is priced at £1,999 / $2,599 / €2,299. And the Ultra Core with aero steel spokes is priced at £1,499 / $1999 / €1,699.
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Testing results against a Steel spoke(Image credit: Scribe )
And results against the new OSL8 carbon spokes(Image credit: Sribe )
(Image credit: Scribe )
(Image credit: Scribe )
(Image credit: Scribe )
The Élan Ultra wheels use T1100 carbon fibre hooked rims, with a 24mm internal width and 32mm external. They use 20 spokes front and rear and are recommended for tyres from 28mm size up to 50mm.
Notably though, the spokes are unlike anything we’ve seen before. They were developed by Scribe in conjunction with Alpina spokes, and feature a 5.7mm profile in a flat bladed profile that oscillates, or ‘waves’ left and right.
Scribe says it found initially that an Alpina Aerolite spoke was slightly more aero than the 5mm carbon fibre spoke it was testing. The brand explained they loved the ride provided by the carbon spoke in testing, and the looks (which you can watch in the embedded video below), but that they were slightly slower.
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Upon designing the new OSL8 spokes, which are 5.7mm wide, Scribe says they are the fastest bladed spokes when wind-tunnel tested – albeit competitors aren’t names. When benchmarked against a flat 5mm carbon spoke, they found a gain of 0.5 watts at 0° yaw, 0.5 watts at 5° yaw, 0.4 watts at 10°, and 0.2 at 15°, each at 45 mm/h.
I asked the brand about their testing, which was carried out at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub wind tunnel, and it told me that front-wheel-only testing was carried out with a 28mm Continental GP5000 tyre. The wheel used was the Scribe Core 60-D wheel.
The brand also confirmed that although they shouldn’t need much truing, the carbon spokes could be trued easily if needed, which makes living with them a little easier.
The more affordable Ultra CORE wheelset uses steel-bladed Alpina spokes, but shares the same rim profile and hubs as the Élan Ultra.
Carbon or Steel: Which Spokes Are Faster? – YouTube
