If you’re a fan of Lightweight, you’ll be excited to learn that they’ve recently introduced a new road wheel, the Wegweiser.
What sets this wheel apart is that it uses a rim made using automatic production methods, which allows for high reproducibility, lower tolerances, and integrated quality control.
While the wheel itself is put together by hand in Germany, the use of automation reduces costs, making this high-quality wheel more affordable than some of Lightweight’s other offerings.
But there are more of this wheelset that needs your attention. In our review, we’ll discuss everything top to bottom.
Lightweight Wegweiser Disc Brake Clincher Wheelset Key Features
Here’s a table describing the key features of the Lightweight Wegweiser Disc Brake Clincher Wheelset:
| Key Features | Description |
| Automatic Production Methods | The wheelset utilizes automated production methods, ensuring high reproducibility, lower tolerances, and integrated quality control. |
| Carbon Fiber Rim | The rim is constructed using carbon fiber, providing strength, durability, and lightweight performance. |
| Modern Rim Width | The wheelset features a 24mm modern rim width, contributing to improved aerodynamics and stability. |
| Flat Rim Height | With a flat rim height of 36mm, the wheelset offers stability while maintaining optimal performance. |
| Clincher Tire Compatibility | Designed for clincher tires, the wheelset eliminates the need for rim strips and offers convenient tire installation. |
| Lightweight Spokes | The wheelset is equipped with 20 carbon spokes on both the front and rear wheels, ensuring stiffness and exceptional riding characteristics. |
| Hub Compatibility | The hub design accommodates both quick releases and thru axles, providing versatility for rider preferences. |
| Pentagonal Hub Shape | The hub features a pentagonal shape, enhancing spoke strength and overall wheel integrity. |
| Integrated Quality Control | Automated manufacturing processes result in lower tolerances, ensuring consistent quality and reproducibility in every wheelset produced. |
| Enhanced Durability | The carbon fiber hub shell combined with the aluminum sleeve enhances durability and effective heat dissipation. |
| Crosswind Stability | The Fernweg VR 60, another offering from the same brand, provides improved crosswind stability with its 60mm rim depth, catering to time trial riders, triathletes, and road racers. |
| Maximum System Weight | The wheelset can handle a maximum system weight (rider plus bike) of 120kg, accommodating a wide range of riders. |
| Tube-to-Tube Construction | The Lightweight Ride bike features tube-to-tube construction, allowing for greater customization and a lightweight frame and fork weighing less than 1,190g. |
| Compatibility | The wheelset and frame are compatible with both electronic and mechanical gear systems, offering versatility for different rider preferences. |
Lightweight Wegweiser Disc Brake Clincher Wheelset Review
Just like the name, the product is a marvel of engineering. Let’s have a look at the features that makes it the perfect choice for you:
Construction of the Wegweiser
The Wegweiser disc brake clincher wheelset is a marvel of engineering, featuring a number of innovative design elements that set it apart from other wheels on the market.
The wheel is composed of a carbon fiber rim with a modern rim width of 24mm and a flat rim height of 36mm. The rim is designed to work with clincher tires, and you don’t need a rim strip thanks to the unique design.
Plus, the wheelset includes 20 carbon spokes on both the front and rear wheels, which are manually connected with the rim ring from the outside. The new spoke connections and rim design guarantee the stiffness values and riding characteristics typical of Lightweight at a total weight of less than 1,450 grams.
The Benefits of the Wegweiser
The Wegweiser wheelset is designed to be a superior disc system wheel with very little maintenance needed. The wheel is also incredibly strong, able to handle a maximum system weight (rider plus bike) of 120kg.
Additionally, the wheel’s carbon fiber construction makes it incredibly lightweight, which can translate into faster acceleration and an overall more enjoyable ride.
The Hub Design
The hub on the Wegweiser wheelset is another innovative design element that sets it apart from the competition.
The hub is designed to work with quick releases or thru-axles, depending on your preference. With the quick-release version, you get robust quick releases with the hubs.
When you’re pulling for thru-axles, you can choose between 12mm or 15mm front and 135x12mm and 142x12mm for the rear. The hub itself features a pentagonal shape that allows for the spokes to wrap around it for added strength.
In addition, the carbon fiber hub shell is mated with a pentagonal aluminum sleeve and epoxied together for both strength and heat dissipation. The disc rotor itself rides on a splined aluminum shelf designed for compatibility with CenterLock rotors.
The Automated Manufacturing Process
The Wegweiser wheelset is produced in Germany using an automated manufacturing process that allows for the precise laying down of carbon-fiber sheets.
This precision ensures that the carbon fibers follow the force transmission into the wheelset, which results in a stronger, more durable wheel.
Additionally, the use of automation allows for lower tolerances, which means that each wheel is more reproducible than those made using traditional methods.
The Fernweg Wheel
On top of that the Wegweiser wheelset, Lightweight is also offering its existing Fernweg wheel in a 60mm rim depth for the first time.
This wheel, which was previously only available in a 79.5mm depth, features a more rounded, less V-shaped rim profile that is said to offer greater crosswind stability for its depth than Lightweight’s Meilenstein.
The Fernweg VR 60 is aimed at time trial riders and triathletes but is also designed for road race use.
The Urgestalt Frame
The Lightweight Urgestalt frame has been available for the past three years, but it is now available in a flat-mount disc brake version for the first time.
The stays have been beefed up over those of the rim brake model, and it has 12mm thru-axles front and rear. The head tube is tapered (1 1/8 into 1 1/2in), and the bottom bracket is BB386Evo. The frame is compatible with electronic and mechanical gear systems, and it’s super light with a claimed frame weight of 780g.
The Lightweight Ride Bike
Finally, Lightweight is offering the Ride bike, which is made using a tube-to-tube method rather than a monocoque frame coming out of a mold.
This construction technique allows for greater customization, and the Ride will be available in both stock sizes and custom sizes.
The Ride takes disc brakes and tires of up to 28mm wide, and Lightweight claims a combined frame and fork weight of less than 1,190g. The head tube features an integrated front light, and the seat stays feature rear lights.
FAQ
#1. How good are lightweight wheels?
Ans: Lightweight wheels offer improved performance by reducing the overall weight of the vehicle, resulting in enhanced energy efficiency and easier speed changes. Typically constructed from durable aluminum alloy, these wheels provide strength and longevity.
#2. Do lighter wheels improve braking?
Ans: Lighter wheels can lead to marginal improvements in handling, braking performance, and steering, making them beneficial for overall vehicle control.
#3. How much do lighter wheels affect performance?
Ans: Lighter wheels can have a significant impact on performance, as demonstrated by tests where drivers achieved faster lap times and improved acceleration by reducing wheel weight by 12 pounds. This reduction resulted in noticeable improvements in 0-60 times.
Final Opinion
Overall, the Lightweight Wegweiser Disc Brake Clincher Wheelset is an excellent choice for riders who want to achieve superior performance and ride quality.
The innovative design elements and automated manufacturing processes used in the construction of the wheelset make it stand out from the competition, and the carbon fiber construction ensures that it is both strong and lightweight.
Whether you’re a professional cyclist or a weekend warrior, the Wegweiser wheelset is sure to impress.
