New aero carbon Parcours FKT gravel wheels hope to set new Quickest Recognized Instances each in your native gravel tracks and on the large gravel races, due to distinctive knobby tire aerodynamics. With a bulging form fairly completely different than what we see in most aero street wheels, Parcours says the FKT is quickest out on gravel roads with a 40mm tire. And that quickest tire is the newest Gravel King from Panaracer…
Parcours FKT aero carbon gravel bike race wheels
It’s a uncommon feat to design an actual aero gravel-specific wheelset. The few manufacturers which have achieved so have opted for actually vast rims on the bead to get as near the width of the narrowest, most minimal tread gravel tires you’d count on for somebody obsessive about optimizing their CdA. After which, they sort of admit that wider, kobbier tires will probably imply noticeably extra drag. And constructing wider wheels inevitably means heavier, too.
However Parcours appear to take a barely completely different strategy.
They recognized the brand new 40mm Panaracer Gravel King X1 tire as knobby-enough and vast sufficient that it might be a flexible all-rounder gravel tire you’d count on to point out up at newbie and professional races alike. After which, they created what they name the optimum aero gravel bike race wheel for that tire. Curiously, what probably makes that new Gravel King the best aero gravel tire are its low-height shoulder knobs.
In truth, surprisingly, Parcours CFD after which wind tunnel knowledge, reveals that even barely narrower variations of this similar gravel tire, are certainly barely slower.
Distinctive aero gravel rim form
However the true secret sauce appears to be the mixture of a great gravel tire with a barely unconventional aero profile. And the outcome, a digital airfoil profile that smooths airflow from either side.
Parcours isn’t sharing the FKT rim form explicitly, a bit to guard the effort and time refining this aero gravel form. However it’s fairly obvious that that is one thing fairly completely different than most aero wheels, even when it’s just some millimeters right here or there.
The 47mm deep tubeless rim is vast at 27mm hookless inside. However it’s not exceptionally vast outdoors, measuring simply 32mm exterior on the high of the tire bead.The widest level of the rim is 40mm vast (like the best tire) however that’s virtually precisely in the midst of the general rim depth.
The Parcours description appears to me to counsel that this narrower ‘waist’ the place the tire meets the rim simply goes alongside to help some ‘good turbulence’ that retains airflow connected to the wheel within the wind. Additionally, for the reason that rim+tire form mixture is sort of comparable from both facet, each the entrance half of the wheel with the tire reducing into the wind and the rear half of the wheel led by the rim, each have equally good aerodynamic efficiency.
Parcours knowledge reveals fairly constant efficiency for a 35mm as much as a 45mm tire. So it appears such as you received’t undergo large penalties in the event you stray a bit from their quick 40mm tire setup. Learn extra concerning the Parcours aero growth and browse explanatory white papers at their Aerodynamics Lab information web page.
Tech particulars
- Inner width: 27mm hookless
- Outer dimensions: 47mm deep x 40mm max width… 32mm exterior on the tire
- Tire sizes; ETRTO tubeless tire compatibility from 35mm tires and wider
- Spokes: 24 Sapim CX-Ray straight-pull bladed aero, with exterior alloy nipples
- Hubs: Street Centerlock Disc, 6-pawl with 2 factors of offset engagement per pawl on a 44T ring for 88 POE at 4° engagement
- Weight, wheelset solely: 1500g (claimed)
- Weight, able to mount tires: 1561g (precise) on our scale with rotor lockrings, tape & tubeless valves put in
Parcours FKT – Pricing & availability
The all-new Parcours FKT aero carbon gravel race wheels can be found to pre-order beginning right this moment by way of the tip of July, with supply slated for subsequent month – August 2024. Wheelsets promote for £1200 / $1600 / 1560€. And all wheels purchased within the pre-order interval will embody a free set of 40mm Panaracer Gravel King X1 tires, saving you $130.
We simply acquired a set of the wheels in to check. And we plan to get out within the coming weeks to see how briskly they really feel!
