ROTOBOX Carbon Wheels

[CAlexio]

In the pursuit of radically reduced unsprung weight, aftermarket wheels, whether they be magnesium or carbon, have one significant weakness — torsional loads can fracture their thin spokes and brittle materials. These Rotobox carbon fiber wheels adopt a radical hollow cylinder construction for their spokes, a design that should be capable of withstanding huge torsional forces while achieving the same lightness as thin, solid-spoked rivals.

Rotobox also claims that the increased air volume housed in the hollow spokes will lead to less variance in temperatures and increases tire compliance over rough surfaces. Disadvantages could be increased surface area creating susceptibility to crosswinds, but the company claims the reduced space between spokes is still more than enough to ameliorate this effect. There’s cost too of course, around €3,000 a wheel before you get into hubs and bearings.

Rotobox claims to be lighter than rivals, yet quotes an all-up weight for the wheel and heaviest aluminum hub as over 14lbs. BST claims 4.2-5.2lbs per wheels, so we assume Rotobox is measuring in a different way (ie with hubs and rotors in place) or is quoting an erroneous number.

Around for a year or two in prototype form, Rotobox wheels are now being used by Austrian endurace team YART on their R1 and will be arriving in WERA and AMA this season.

[EyeCHoT]

nice looking wheels...

[DT996]

If you had seen these in person at Laguna Seca this past summer, you would probably have skipped posting this. The wheels they had on hand were the shittiest fisheyed - pinhole pieces of crap one could ever claim to see, and that's an understatement. All criticism aside, I seriously hope they have improved the process with which they make these, especially considering racers will be using these...

[bzr]

Thats about my take from looking at them. No research & jackshit testing data.

[TheX]

Originally Posted by bzr

Thats about my take from looking at them. No research & jackshit testing data.

Really? Sounds like you must have some uber inside info to share?

Originally Posted by CAlexio

Around for a year or two in prototype form, Rotobox wheels are now being used by Austrian endurace team YART on their R1 and will be arriving in WERA and AMA this season.

Or just an opportunity to talk?

[TimOz]

Is that pic of the blonde girl with serious bags under her eyes meant to indicate that the light weight make them easier for drug addicts to steal????

[CAlexio]

well, glad we got some good conversation regarding these wheels going. I would be interested in seeing them in person to judge at least the aesthetics for myself... it's interesting however to see how passionately people feel about a product they know very little about, I wonder if it was like this when we went from wooden wagon wheels to rubber tires:

earl64: fellas, i was down at the bar on friday and young Bill from the ranch down yonder rolled up with some new-fangled rubber wheel on his buggy... dumb rich kid, doesn't he know those things will disintegrate when the horse starts trotting at anything above walking speed? Plus, the quality is atrocious if you look at them up close... nope, I'm going to stick with wooden outers until someone proves the value of this stuff.

jackhammerdownyonder999: earl, you're such an ol' fart.. rubber is where it's at... those things are so quiet and smooth riding, Im thinking of splurging and getting some for my kid's buggy for his birthday.

earl64: that will be the death of your son, mark my words young man!

etc etc etc.

[Matt_P]

I'm not sold.

I've never seen a BST wheel come apart from torsional load. BST's products are aerospace grade.



ps,

also, those botox wheels are uglier than the white trash skeeze-box they got to pose with them.