PRO unveils Tri-Spoke Clincher wheel for time trialists and triathletes

If you have a penchant for racing against the clock you’ll probably have an unhealthy interest in wheels since fast wheels can make a big difference to clocking a quick time. Shimano’s component brand PRO has just unveiled a clincher version of its Tri-spoke carbon wheel, which offers more practicality than the previous tubular version favoured by the pros. 

Tour Tech 2017: Time trial bikes - the bikes built for racing against the clock

PRO is keen to remind us that the Tri-spoke Tubular wheel is “regarded as the fastest on the planet” and has been ridden to multiple victories at the hands of Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas of Team Sky, Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis of BMC, Primoz Roglic of LottoNL-Jumbo and Tom Dumoulin of Team Sunweb. Most of these teams are sponsored by Shimano it must be added, though in the race against the clock we still often see unbranded non-sponsor equipment being used so if the teams didn't have confidence in the Tri-spoke, well they might not use it. 

Previously only available as a tubular wheel, the Pro Tri-spoke is a popular choice for the many professional teams sponsored and supported by the company. Though there was that incident with broken wheels earlier this year that led to some of Team Sky switching to a conventional deep section front wheel in the opening time trial of the Tour de France. It's an issue that now seems to have been resolved. 

The clincher version will appeal to amateur racers that don’t have the luxury of a support car following behind with spare bike and wheels. It uses the same design and technology as the tubular version with a 65mm deep rim designed for 25mm tyres and a 3K 2x2 twill carbon fibre construction.

At its centre is a Shimano Ultegra hub and the total wheel weight is a claimed 1,040g. It’s sold with a protective PRO wheel bag. It’ll be available in January 2018 and we don’t have a price at this stage.

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