Knight 65 Carbon Fibre/Aivee SR5 Road Wheelset Clincher

Though the name might be unfamiliar, Knight Composites enjoys the industry defining pedigree of three of the minds largely responsible for the current state of aerodynamics in cycling. With the 65 Carbon FibreAivee SR5 Road Wheelset, the company's founders have effectively announced Knight's intention to once again redefine the limits of aerodynamics in wheels, and by including Aivee's SR5 hubs the Bend, Oregon based firm does so while losing a claimed 57g compared to the current industry leader in 60mm aerodynamic wheels. Compared to the DT Swiss option, the Aivee hubs enjoy some nominal weight loss, which is always appreciated, but Knight cites an overall increase in strength as the real benefit of Aivee's hubs. It credits the French manufacturer's peculiar flange design for that increase, though we'd also suggest that Aivee's meticulous construction processes may also play a role. The hubs' bodies are machined in France on equipment that also produces aerospace and medical grade equipment, harnessing the precision demanded by those fields in order to capitalize on the wheels' aerodynamic gains. Those aerodynamic gains are what the Knight 65s are all about, and they're achieved with Knight's reimagining of the traditional approaches to drag reduction, codenamed Trailing Edge Aerodynamic Manipulation Technology TEAM Tech. Instead of creating an aerodynamic leading edge, or even just an aerodynamic tire to rim transition, TEAM Tech designs wheels as part of a bicycle wide system of aerodynamics that includes tires, rims, fork, and frame by focusing on the rim's trailing edge. The result of the laborious TEAM Tech process is a cross section that describes a tapered parabola rather than the sharp point of a NACA airfoil or the overly rounded U shape of wheels that Knight's founders helped develop and that are dominating the market today. This new shape meets TEAM Tech's mandate by gradually widening airflow across the rim, which swells from 25. 5mm at t...