Strada Wheels Rail

When deep dish carbon wheels were first introduced, racers used them largely for time trials. These early wheels were unrelenting: harsh, skittery, but fast. The straight line speed negated the less-than-confidence-inspiring behavior of the design. Now, carbon wheels are used almost exclusively in competition, with 30, 40, 50, 60, and 80 millimeter depths found in road races, criteriums, and even cyclocross. But are the current crop of carbon wheels optimal for anything other than time trialing? Strada believe their newest offering, the Rail, is fast, comfortable, and built to handle corners like nothing else on the market

Strada claim that until the Rail, manufacturers gave too little attention to handling and all-round performance when designing their wheels, focusing instead only on the wind tunnel results. Their new design, built by November Bicycles in the United States, focuses on improved handling as much as straight line performance.

With a tyre mounted, unless you’re paying close attention, the wheel’s secret ingredient is hidden from prying eyes. Look at the stats though, and the secret is out. This rim is wide. At 25 milimeters, it’s 1.5 millimeters wider than a Zipp Firecrest rim at the tyre bead. This additional width is not for improved wind tunnel numbers but instead a better tyre profile. This additional outer width equates to an additional inner width as well. At 18 millimeters the Rail is up to 2.5 millimeters wider than offerings from other brands.

 
 
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