When it comes to designing the perfect wheel, Crankbrothers have historically had their own ideas which may not have been perfect but they sure were distinctive. So news of a new wheelset and Crankbrothers’ first foray into carbon wheel technology had our imagination firing, conjuring up images of batshit crazy wheels rolling out of Laguna Beach… So, we were almost disappointed when the smoke cleared on the big reveal and left a very nice but very normal looking set of wheels. Where was the crazy?
Discussing the idea behind the wheelset, it becomes apparent that there isn’t really any crazy, just a deep understanding of how carbon can be constructed to meet specific performance requirements. Crankbrothers set out to design a wheelset that addressed the demands of high performance mountain biking: their R&D revealed that, as the front and rear wheels did different jobs, each wheel’s construction should be approached differently. The result is the Synthesis range of wheels and specifically the E (enduro/trail specific) wheelset, which combines a compliant front wheel to enhance turning, with stiff rear wheel that tracks the ground.
Crankbrothers Synthesis E 11 in detail
The front wheel is designed with more vertical compliance built into the rim than the rear and then tuned more flex in the build by using 28 spokes and less spoke tension in the lightweight, flat bladed Sapim CX-Ray spokes. This approach claims to improve rider control and handling due to it’s dampening qualities as the wheel will track better through rough terrain and hold the line when cornering as the wheel maintains traction as it absorbs hits rather than getting bounced about.The front rim has an internal width of 31.5 mm to optimise the tyre profile of a 2.4” – 2.6” tyre to further enhance the front wheels ability to corner.
The compliant front wheel is ‘synthesized’ with a stiff rear wheel, tuned to take punishment. The rear specific build uses 32, higher tensioned, Sapim CX-Sprint bladed steel spokes – which are stiffer than the CX-Ray due to their thicker gauge blade, – laced to a tougher and stiffer rim that claims to improve directional stability, essential when cornering hard and spanking berms. The stiff rear end is designed to be fast and responsive under power and to go where it’s told without flinching. Combined with a reduced internal width of 29.5 mm, Crankbrothers also aim to reduce rolling resistance through lighter rotational weight and less tyre contact patch.
While the 1825 g Synthesis wheels are no heavyweights, the wheelset is designed with the emphasis firmly on function, strength and reliability. Bladed steel ‘J’ spokes were used, rather than Crankbrothers polarizing ‘trademark’, two part aluminium spokes due to the increased stresses a carbon rim places on the spokes. Crankbrothers found that bladed spokes resisted developing focused stress points compared to standard spokes, so they were chosen for their resilience, rather than any aerodynamic properties. Aggressive mountain biking is tough on wheels, so Crankbrothers designed their carbon rim so that if it did fail, it would fail gradually like a metal rim, rather than the catastrophic failure often associated with carbon rims, so the rider could get home or finish their run before their wheel vanished in cloud of carbon dust.
They’re that confident in their wheels, that Crankbrothers offer a lifetime warranty and free rim crash replacements; although the emphasis is on ‘crash’, not ‘reversed over in my van’…
Crankbrothers haven’t forgotten about the hubs either. For the Synthesis 11 wheels they have partnered with specialist hub manufacturer Project 321, to produce a US built centerpiece for their new rims. The 6 Pawl, 144 points of engagement (2.5°) P321 freehub design uses magnets to create a driver with low drag and super fine pawl engagement. By using magnets as a pull spring (opposed to mechanical or magnetic push springs) to move pawls into the drive ring, P321 are able to achieve less drag and less noise than other high speed ratchet mechanisms. Less noise is an additional ‘benefit’ and the hub runs almost silent, although Crankbrothers also offer an aftermarket loud pawl design for those riders who regard the buzz of the freewheel as a way of letting other riders know that you’re running expensive hubs.
The Crankbrothers Synthesis E 11 wheelset costs £ 2150 or € 2400 and is available in both 27.5” and 29” in boost width only, with either HG or XD drivers and weights around 1760 g and 1825 g respectively.
Riding the Crankbrothers Synthesis E 11 wheelset
Describing the difference in feel between ‘good’ sets of wheels is not always easy; improvements to ride quality and performance are incremental, rather than monumental and the sign of a great set of wheels is that you don’t notice them.
With the front wheel is running our usual Maxxis Minion DHF control tyres at our preferred pressure, there was a subtle but definite extra level of dampening. The Synthesis front wheel’s vertical compliance and ‘softer’ tune makes it feel more like a lightweight aluminium wheel but without the vague handling characteristics that you get with that type of wheel. It tracks much more positively when sticking rough lines, as its lateral stiffness means that you can push it hard and will still hold its line, giving you confidence to go faster.
Riders used to a carbon rear wheel may not notice much difference in feel, as the Synthesis rear is designed to perform very much like other quality carbon wheels on the market. Riders coming from aluminium wheels however, will notice straight away the direct feel and responsiveness of the rear wheel; it surges forward and stays where you put it with no vagueness in handling when going into, or out of, corners. Where Crankbrothers may have the edge over their competitors is that previously, you could either have either a super stiff or a more compliant wheelset, with each option presenting advantages and disadvantages: now, with the Synthesis wheelset you can have the best of both worlds.
The different internal diameters didn’t make any noticeable difference, positive or negative. The 2.4” – 2.5” Maxxis Minions work great on rims around the 30 mm internal mark and the Synthesis rims straddle this measurement, so the profiles were spot on. Tyre width increases by 0.4 mm per 1 mm of internal rim width and with the other tuning factors having more of an affect on the wheels performance it was almost impossible to notice any advantages
Out on the trail, we were impressed by the rear hub and the pick up from 144 points of engagement was instant. The magnetic, rather than sprung, pawls seemed to do their job effortlessly and we quickly got used to the eerie silence when coasting and even started to get annoyed when a riding buddy with clicky hubs ruined the tranquility of our ride.
Conclusion
The philosophy behind the Crankbrothers Synthesis E 11 is so obvious and yet hasn’t become the industry norm: having front and rear specific tunes makes perfect sense to us and combining the stiff rear end with the compliance of the front wheel means that you can have your cake and eat it. Time will tell as to the wheelset’s durability but the build quality feels high, attention to detail is spot on and – with a lifetime guarantee – those looking for a new set of high performance carbon wheels should seriously consider the Crankbrothers Synthesis E 11.
More information at crankbrothers.com
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Words: Thomas Corfield Photos: Trev Worsey
