Interbike 2009: Where’s the catch?
- By Steve Frothingham
- Published Sep. 25, 2009
- Updated Sep. 26, 2009 at 9:38 AM UTC
With its RZR wheelset, Reynolds has plenty of buzz in its booth at Interbike. But the company’s forthcoming 92.2 rim is equally as remarkable, as the carbon model redefines how a clincher tire mounts to a rim.
Paul Lew works as a consultant for Reynolds. In addition to his cycling experience, Lew has built unmanned flying vehicles. His inspiration for the 92.2 came from aerospace designs.
“No aircraft wheel uses a hook,” Lew said, referring to the inner lip of a clincher rim that typically holds a clincher tire in place.
Dubbed a “Bead Seat Clincher,” the Reynolds system features a two-depth inner. When you mount a clincher on the 92.2, the tire’s bead falls easily down into the deeper valley inside the rim. When the tube is inflated, the clincher’s bead is pushed out into the top shelf. Since the tire’s bead circumference is substantially smaller than the rim’s outer, the tire sits snugly.
The rim has a double wall — it’s hollow. This means any heat build-up on the brake track on the rim’s exterior does not transfer to the structural wall inside where the clincher is secured. “It doesn’t warp from brake track heat,” he said.
The design holds 200psi no problem, Lew said.
But the most immediately noticeable difference with the 92.2 is its huge width — the rim is a few millimeters wider than an inflated 21c tire. Lew said wheel makers like Zipp understand the aerodynamic benefits of having smooth airflow from a tire to a wider rim wheel, which is why Zipp has rims that bulge near the brake track. “We just made the whole rim wider, and left the brake track smooth and parallel, instead of having to angle it, so braking performance isn’t negatively affected,” he said.
Reynolds expects to have the 92.2 ready for sale “sometime in 2010.”
Below are a few more looks at the 92.2, plus bikes from Cannondale, Orbea, Scott, Fair Wheel and Fuji.
Photo Gallery
FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech / Interbike TAGS: Interbike
Steve Frothingham
VeloNews.com editor Steve Frothingham joined the gang in bike-crazy Boulder in early 2008. He is the former executive editor of the trade magazine Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. He also was a reporter and editor for The Associated Press, where he covered three presidential primaries in politics-crazy New Hampshire. His racing career began on a BMX track in 1980 and reached its zenith with several miserable road races as a category 2 in the early 90s. He subsequently retreated to cat. 3, where he has had a consistently mediocre (at best) record ever since, in road, mountain bike and cyclocross events. Follow him on Twitter at @steve_froth