DT Swiss has introduced the new ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS wheels, utilising carbon spokes, with the headline-grabbing ‘lightest-wheelset-from-the-brand’ statement leading the launch announcement.
It’s this combination of carbon composition of the spokes, paired with rims made using the brand’s own ‘PURE carbon technology’, which is said to shave off the all essential grams which make a difference on ascents.
Interestingly, the launch announcement also highlights that the wheelset is equipped with the Continental Aero 111 tyre in the front, for “the optimal Wheel Tire System, ensures speed and confidence for fast uphills and downhills”.
Coming in under 1200 g, it will come as no surprise to hear DT Swiss state that the ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS wheelset offers riders a lightweight solution “built to conquer the toughest climbs”.
Aero carbon spokes
When the brand mentioned the front wheel being shod with the Aero 111 tyre, you’d have been forgiven for getting confused at the idea of an aero-optimised climbing wheel, but the tyre is not the only ‘aero’ element here.
Spokes have been at the heart of DT Swiss since the start, yet adding the first carbon-spoked wheels to its portfolio represents a significant milestone – a brand first.
With the ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS, the brand highlights that “riders can count on the same meticulous, hand-built quality of our wheel builders, with the added benefits of weight-savings and enhanced stiffness”.
Talking about the ceramic bearing packed 180 hub, here the straight-pull design has been “specifically engineered for carbon spokes, with refined flanges and a new spoke pattern, allowing for a minimal 18 spokes on the front wheel”.
A rim for dual-duty riding
With that 1200-gram wheelset weight front and centre, it’s tempting to think of the ARC 1100 Spline 38 CS as a pure ‘big days in the mountains’ option. One look at the rim – 38 mm deep – will tell you otherwise. Not deep, but by no means pure climber of old, either. ‘Versatile’ is the word.
Manufactured in-house, the brand points to its “PURE carbon technology” which enables it to reduce the weight, helping riders “to achieve a faster ascent time”. The aero-optimised profile is then set to propel mountain goats forward on comfortable low gradient climbs.
Wheel Tyre System (WTS)
We’re not done with the aero talk just yet. Providing riders with the fastest climbing Wheel Tyre System, the wheels will be mounted with the brand’s own WTS Technology. Now, if the use of ‘WTS Technology’ seems a slightly OTT choice of phrase, remember that the Aero 111 is a Continental, DT Swiss and SwissSide co-developed tyre.
In ‘plan speak’, the combination of Aero 111 26mm front and GP 5000 STR 28 mm rear has been tested and found DT Swiss highlights, to “offer an optimal combination of speed and grip, for fast ascents as well as descents in confidence”.
The development of the Wheel Tire System follows the DT Swiss Aero+ concept as “a symbiosis of drag, handling and efficiency”. Here, the brand reminds us that it has “applied the technology to its Aero and Endurance categories, bringing up aero gains with a tailored tyre, ideally suiting respective inner rim widths”.
In the UK, DT Swiss is distributed by Madison.
