BEND, Ore. (BRAIN) — Knight Composites has released a new line of tubeless-ready aero road wheels that the Oregon-based brand hopes will introduce tubeless to riders who believe the technology is too complicated or requires special equipment.
"By designing a new, unique center channel and reducing wall height, mounting tubeless tires is now no harder than fitting a standard clincher road tire, and removes the need for an air compressor," Knight stated in a release. "The innovative 'hookless' internal rim profile tapers inward to lock down the tubeless tire bead – with up to twice as much sealing surface as traditional 'hooked' rim designs."
The Knight TLA wheels (Tubeless-Aero) are available in 35- and 50-millimeter depths in both disc and rim brake versions. They were designed in cooperation with German tire maker Schwalbe and optimized for 25-millimeter-wide tubeless tires.
The wheels are built with Rotor's new RVolver hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes. The Knight TLA 35s weigh 1,430 grams, with the deeper TLA 50's weighing only 80 grams more at 1,510 grams. They retail for $2,299 per set.
"Tubeless-ready road tires are clearly the future but, as everyone knows, they are normally incredibly hard to fit and run — something I have found on my own road, gravel and 'cross bikes," said Beverly Lucas, Knight Composites' CEO. "Our new TLAs are so easy to set up and, at the same time, they are super-fast and light. We've intentionally taken our time with Knight's tubeless-ready road wheel, but the end result is so worth it — the TLAs are absolute game changers."
More information: knightcomposites.com.
