Princeton CarbonWorks has announced the launch of the sixth generation of its flagship road wheelset, saying that “the Wake 6560 Evolution II is the fastest UCI-legal wheel we have tested in the wind tunnel”.
2026 Princeton Carbon Wake 6560 wheelset pair (Image Credit: Tom Weijand)
Princeton CarbonWorks is a company of unapologetically singular focus: “Your purpose has to be clear and pure… The problem that we are solving for is what is the fastest wheel for that application,” says CEO and lead engineer Harrison Macris.
Princeton doesn’t make entry-level wheels, and it doesn’t make mid-range wheels: everything is designed and manufactured without compromise, and its collective attention is split over a very small number of products you can count on two hands. Consequently, it is very well represented on podiums and dream-build wishlists.
2026 Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560 Evolution II wheel studio (Image Credit: Princeton)
It has today announced the sixth iteration of its flagship wheel, the Wake 6560 Evolution II.
Whilst it’s obvious the wheel is aesthetically the evolution of its forebear, it’s also clear Princeton’s developments are much more than superficial, and have been achieved by starting from first principles, and thinking of the wheel and tyre as a more systemic and holistic entity.
This began at the leading edge, the tyre itself. It mounted varying widths of tyres from 23-32mm wide, on 21mm, 22mm, 23mm & 24mm internal width rims and 3D scanned them to create “a complete portfolio” of tyre cross-sections. These could then be manipulated and tested in CFD (computational fluid dynamics), and cross-referenced with the appropriate rolling resistance data to find the most efficient combinations of tyre size, tyre shape and rim shape.
2026 Princeton Carbon Wake 6560 wheelset rim detail (Image Credit: Tom Weijand)
The most successful models were then brought back into the real world and the wind tunnel to prove the CFD results. Then, working with professional athletes who trained and raced on them, their development was validated when they were used to win the men’s Ironman and 70.3 (half Ironman) world championships last season.
Developed with support from Luca Oggiano (with whom Macris had collaborated on projects including Filippo Gannna’s World Hour Record wheels) and Themis Petridi from Nablaflow, a wind simulation and aerodynamics company, Princeton has arrived at a final design that Luca says is the “fastest UCI-legal wheel we have tested in the wind tunnel.”
Like its predecessor, it features a characteristic variable rim depth, oscillating between 60 and 65mm deep, but the internal rim width has increased from 21mm to 22mm internally – still conservative by modern standards – and from 28.2mm to 33mm externally. Additionally, an all-new carbon layup has led to a huge 50g saving per rim, reducing the total wheelset weight by 10%, all whilst exceeding 120J impact testing, (three times the UCI’s required 40J).
2026 Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560 Evolution II rim detail (Image Credit: Princeton)
The new rim is still a hooked design.
“We are actually kind of moving against the market trend, and using wider hooks as opposed to micro hooks or hookless… we wanted to control the width of the tyre more proactively,” said Macris.
With Tactic Racing TR01V2 hubs and steel spokes, the new Wake 6560 can weigh as little as 1,250g.
2026 Princeton Carbon Wake 6560 wheelset hubs (Image Credit: Tom Weijand)
Princeton says that it has produced a wheelset that, with 28mm tyres, is aerodynamically faster across the board, but particularly at larger yaw angles (+/- 12.5° and more).
Non-drilled tyre beds remain, making tubeless setup a cleaner and more secure affair, without the need (and weight) of rim tape, and the new wheelset is now ‘pre-balanced’ presumably to account for and offset the weight of valves, to reduce vibrations.
“The new wheels are strikingly beautiful. They are considerably lighter. The decal design and the graphics… we spend a ton of time on,” said Macris.
2026 Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560 Evolution II wheel detail (Image Credit: Princeton)
Princetons have never been ones to hide their beauty under a bushel, but based on these images, they’ve raised the bar yet higher.
The Wake Evolution II is available in six different hub options, and 10 different paint finishes (Matte Black, Gloss Black, Matte White, Gloss White, Gloss Gold, and Gloss Chrome, and four new colourways: Gloss Sand, Gloss Cobalt, Gloss Red, and Gloss Chameleon).
All wheelsets include tubeless valves and padded wheel bags, and are available immediately from local dealers, distributors, and at PrincetonCarbon.com
Weights go from 1,250g to 1,455g depending on hubs, and prices go from $3,550 – $4,500 (we don’t yet have a UK price), so this is definitely a set to keep in your favourites in case of a lottery win.
A set has just arrived at road.cc, so we’ll have a first impression for you just as possible.