The Forty Six wheelset sits between wheels labelled Thirty Two and Sixty Six in a three-model range just short of the top of the Reynolds road wheel lineup. It’s not too hard to figure how they got their names but, just to make sure nobody misses anything, the names refer to the rim depth in millimetres.
All three models are sold at the same price and there is the option of mixing the Forty Six front wheel with the Sixty Six rear at no extra cost. The idea is to combine the superior air penetration of the deeper rim with the improved stability in windy conditions of the narrower front, but that’s by the bye; we’re looking at a pair of wheels with rims the same depth.
The rims are where the real action is, although DT Aerolite bladed spokes and Reynolds DT Swiss hubs make their own contribution to the performance package. For 2011 the rims offer two main features: a heat-resistant braking surface and something called a Swirl Lip Generator.
The brake track employs a technology called CTg, or cryo + glass transition point for short, which marries a heat-conducting resin and protective weave coating on the rim with Reynolds’ own Cryo Blue brake blocks. The combination is said to maintain rim temperature when braking hard at some 100deg below that of comparable carbon rims, allowing Reynolds to shave material content without compromising on strength and durability and thereby reduce the difference in weight between tubular and clincher carbon rims.
The Swirl Lip Generator is a raised 0.9mm deep lip on each side of the inboard edge of the rim that acts at the “back” of the wheel, when it forms the leading edge of the rims section. It is designed to widen the rim and encourage airflow to stick to it rather than break away into turbulent flow, with a resulting reduction in air drag.
Spoke count is 20/24 front/rear with tangent spokes on the drive side and radial lacing elsewhere. Nipples are hidden inside the rims and, as per usual Reynolds practice, the spokes use a conventional “J” bend. The aluminium freehub body uses a DT Swiss freewheel mechanism and there is the usual choice of Shimano/SRAM or Campagnolo spline formats.
The wheels are supplied complete with Cryo Blue brake blocks and the latest Reynolds quick release skewer design, which is slender and pleasing to the eye.
First Ride soon…
Reynolds Forty Six clincher wheelset £1,999.99
