23 April 2013

Whenever a wheelbuild is requested to be both light and durable, I have been recommending the Alchemy ELF/ORC hubset. Great design, made in the US, adjustable and durable. Plus the rear hub offers one of the best bracing angles out there. The only downside has been that the rear ORC, although light at 216g, always seemed a little heavy. So it has been with much anticipation that the new ORC-UL has just arrived! This new version knocks the weight down to 192g whilst retaining the previous benefits.

I just built the first two wheelsets up with the new hub. It is available in both 10spd and 11spd (meaning that if you are not planning on changing to 11spd, you don’t have to give up rear wheel strength/stiffness by having an unnecessarily long freehub body). Built onto Enve SES 3.4 clincher rims with Sapim cx-ray spokes, the weight comes in at 1392g. Set two uses NoTubes Alpha 340 rims and cx-rays and weighs 1278g.

The Campagnolo version should be available in a few weeks.

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