by The CXM Test Crew
Cyclocross, gravel, mountain biking and disc brake pavement pounding are now all possible on one wheelset, and can help justify putting down more of your hard-earned money knowing the wheels could get year round use. In Issue 29, we rounded up many of the latest “do it all” wheels, hoops that promise to handle your rides and races on several different bikes, or in several different disciplines.
And in Issue 30 we looked at the go-anywhere disc brake tubeless wheel options seen here. These wheelsets are easily swapped between bikes or help extend the versatility and performance of a single rig. Want to enter a road race on your cyclocross bike? Or add volume to your rubber for some more gnarly adventures? High pressure-tolerant, aerodynamic or wider rims can help get you there. And of course, they can help you ride lower pressure, flat less and shed some rotating weight come cyclocross season.
Our test crew rode these wheels on trails, pavement, gravel and even up and down stairs to see if they’d remain round, true and burp-free under typical rider use and abuse. Read on to see if there’s a wheel here that's right for you.
MARTINDALE TUBELESS DISC
If you’re looking to upgrade your wheels, and want to run both fat rubber and skinny high-pressure road tires, locking in on carbon as the material of choice may not be the best use of your hard-earned money, especially considering that the two carbon wheelsets (Easton and Bontrager) that can handle high pressure (100+ psi) retail for nearly $3,000 USD. But if you plan to tackle mostly cyclocross, gravel and mountain bike rides, carbon rims that can handle moderate pressure, like the Martindale Tubeless, are compelling options. The Martindale Tubeless Disc isn’t cheap at $1,499 USD, but at 1,400 grams, it was the second lightest of our test group, and is without doubt the best value we’ve seen in a carbon tubeless wheelset, with American-made White Industry Centerlock hubs and Sapim spokes.
©️ Cyclocross Magazine
TUBELESS: Low maintenance is how we like our tubeless wheels, and the Martindale Tubeless Disc, dressed with Ritchey Shield prototype tubeless tires, or WTB TCS tires, was exactly that— problem free. The rims don’t feature the most pronounced bead lip, but with a bit of furious pumping with just a floor pump, the tires mounted up and seated, and have been burp free on rides and held air well when idle. The generous 22mm width turned our 35c tire into a 38c behemoth, and that’s just how we like it for early season, rock-hard trails and race courses. Wider tires mounted even easier, and we’d easily make these our daily mountain bike wheels as well. The only bummer is that the White Industry rear hubs are either QR or thru axle and are not convertible (yet).
©️ Cyclocross Magazine
DURABILITY: Martindale doesn’t hide the fact that it uses open mold carbon rims from overseas. But it builds them up using top-shelf components including Sapim spokes and nipples and White Industry hubs. The build has a weight limit of 225 lbs and can only handle 60psi max, but for our type of riding—dressed with 35c rubber at close to 20psi and powered by 160 pound riders—they were bombproof. Should you need to true them, a standard spoke wrench and exposed nipples are waiting to make the job easy. Value is relative. These are nearly half the price and signficantly lighter than the more aero and road-oriented Bontrager and Easton offerings. However, they are also more than twice the price of the alloy, tire-converting—but more fragile—NoTubes Grail. These wheels make a strong case to remain on your bike in training and on race day, during race season and in the offseason. If road riding and big brand displaying aren’t your priority, the Martindale Tubeless Disc wheels are winners.
©️ Cyclocross Magazine
PRICE: $1,499 USD
WEIGHT: 1,400 grams
OPTIONS: thru axle front converts to QR, QR or thru axle rear, colored nipples
More info: mc2bikes.com
