BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
3T has announced two new road wheelsets – the Mercurio and Accelero, both benefittinf form a ‘clean sheet, whole system design’.
The firm’s engineers have been busy creating wheelsets to suceed prvious range topping models. The first wheelset in production is the Mercurio Ltd 60, a medium-depth (60 mm) tubular wheelset. These will be available later in 80mm and 40mm rim depths.
Following the launch of the former, Accelero clincher wheelsets will become available in 60-mm and 40-mm depths, in both
Team and Pro grades. All LTD wheels have carbon-composite rim, Team wheels hybrid alloy-carbon
rim, and Pro wheels alloy rim options.
Weighing in at under 1,400 grams, 3T’s design team had low weight as the primary objective of the new clinchers. 3T’s
experience in advanced composites engineering meant that Mercurio’s target strength was achieved with a rim of less than 400 g (60-mm rim).
Determined to work past problems associated with the sometimes unpredictable behaviour of carbon fibre rims under braking, 3T has engineered a proprietary ‘F1 dervied surface veil’ at the braking surface. Though long-wearing, the surface is resistant to abrasion, all while offering some of the "best braking performance the test lab has seen."
The proprietary hub has a patented spline that requires no adaptation for use with either Shimano, Sram or
Campagnolo cassettes – wheels can be shared between bikes with different transmission setups. Agents do
not require duplicate stock, or fiddly conversion kits. The unique spoke configuration also offers the benefit of
easy spoke replacement without dismounting the tire – of great interest to the professional mechanic.
3T plans to roll out a full range of carbon-fiber, hybrid and alloy wheelsets, in both tubular and clincher formats.
