At the time of around 15:00GMT on Monday 29th November, the price of gold is just over £43 per gram. That makes Lightweight's brand new disc wheelset a relative bargain at only £5.37 per gram – barely more than a tenth the price of gold.
This new wheelset from the Friedrichshafen-based Lightweight is named for one of the brand's co-founders, Heinz Obermayer. The new object of desire for hill climbers who don't mind descending is called the Obermayer Evo. And yes, it's named after Heinz, who has been the first one to craft carbon wheels on his own. Evo, the second part of the wheelset's name, comes as the wheelset marks an evolution from the already popular Meilenstein Obermeyer.
Related: The best gifts for cyclists. The Rouleur selection
Related: The best carbon wheels
The Obermeyer Evo also comes in two different guises: a Standard model and a Schwarz model, which is the lightest and features CeramicSpeed bearings and all-black logos. In the Schwarz edition, the front wheel weighs 568g and the rear 662g.
The Schwarz Edition of the Obermeyer Evo features CeramicSpeed and all-black logos. Photo: Lightweight.
The Obermeyer Evo is described as one of the "lightest full carbon disc wheelsets available at the moment," and with a combined weight of 1,230 grams (1.2 kg), they might well be. And yes, this is a disc brake set.
Lightweight describes the success of these wheels as the combination of both the LCC-Carbon and their Active Foam Core. The former stands for Lightweight Custom Composite, which they have used and tested in the aerospace industry. The AFC, on the other hand, is a patented technology using a high-performance foam inside the rim that provides a damping effect and ensures a smoother ride. These carbon fibres and the internal foam are the secrets to these wheels' stiffness and lightweight.
Related: The future of transmission. Is this the shape of gearing to come
It's also worth noticing how gracefully Lightweight has been able to connect the full-carbon spokes (20 on both the rear and front) to the wheel and a front hub that is 60 grams lighter than its predecessors (and for a hub, that's a lot!). Additionally, for the Obermeyer Evo, Lightweight uses its Rim-to-Rim technology as well. That means that the carbon spokes run directly from one side of the rim to the other and do not connect through the hub as in other wheels. The design, explains Lightweight, improves both torsional and lateral stiffness of the wheels and its propulsion when put to a proper test.
Shop Lightweight
This wheelset uses the company's Rim-to-Rim technology, where the spokes are connected directly to the two sides of the rim, and not via the hub. Photo: Lightweight.
On the rear wheel, Lightweight is using a DT Swiss Pentagon SL – but even in this case, you'll land on safe ground. To get even more from these advanced hubs, Lightweight can also provide CeramicSpeed bearings.
But the Obermeyer Evo is not only a pure climber; it's a natural-born descender as well and will be a tremendous racing wheel to fit on your bike. The features that enhance its dissipation are once more stored into the Pentagon SL Hub and the use of high-modulus carbon fibres.
Related: The best pro bikes of Rouleur Live.
For those with jarring memories of descending on super lightweight carbon wheels with rim brakes, the Obermeyer's disc brakes will safer and less strenuous on both long descents in the Alps and wet and sharp in the UK. The Obermeyer Evo system is also designed to accommodate Campag, Shimano, and SRAM groupsets (their EXP technology).
The rear hub is a DT Swiss Pentagon SL and through their EXP technology can fit Campag, Shimano and SRAM groupsets and rotors. Photo: Lightweight.
With a 28mm rim width and 48mm of depth, the wheelset is also tubeless-ready and can accommodate tyres up to 32 mm (and recommended from 23 to 32). Like all Lightweight's wheels, they're handcrafted in Germany, and as a result slight deviations in colour and surface structure may occur. But that's one of the company's trademarks of high-quality manufacturing and what makes these wheels unique, even though they do not bear your name quite yet.
In the UK, the RRP for the Obermeyer Evo starts at £6,599, while the Schwarz edition starts at £7,059.
Shop Lightweight
