From a distance, Race Face's new Turbine R wheels don't do much to attract a second glance. Devoid of any flashy 'look how much money I spent' logos, the aluminum rims' stealthy flat black finish keeps them flying under the radar. Take a closer look, though, and more details emerge that make it clear these aren't a set of run-of-the-mill wheels. The hubs for instance – they're massive, with a flange diameter that's almost as wide as a beer can, and a quick, 3-degrees between engagement points. The rims aren't anything to scoff at either, with a 30mm internal width and a 4.5mm offset that allows for a zero dish front wheel and an almost-zero dish rear.
Race Face Turbine R Details• Size: 27.5" (29" option available)
• Intended use: trail, all-mountain
• Internal width: 30mm
• Rim material: 6069 aluminum
• 28 spokes, 3x pattern
• Weight:1730 grams; Front: 810 grams, Rear: 920 grams
• MSRP: $1120 USD
•
www.raceface.com /
@raceface Available in 27.5” and 29” sizes, the Turbine R wheelset retails for $1120 USD (front: $480, rear: $640). Both Boost and non-Boost options are available, along with a variety of front hub end cap options to accommodate different axle dimensions. Our 27.5” wheelset weighed in at 1730 grams, including the pre-installed rim stripes and valves.
Vault HubsAt the heart of the Turbine R wheelset are the new Vault hubs. Race Face chose to go with an oversized aluminum shell in order to increase the lateral stiffness of both wheels (in general, shorter spokes create a stiffer wheel). The increased driveside flange diameter is also said to increase torsional stiffness, a factor that's become even more important given the number of wide range cassettes on the market. This isn't the first time we've seen oversized hub shells used – Chubb / e*thirteen's design uses a carbon shell bonded to aluminum flanges – but the design does stand out among the other less girthy hubs on the market.
All of the bearings in the hub are the same size (6902), a little detail, but one that's always welcome to see when it does come time to install fresh bearings.
Removing the endcaps and pulling off the XD driver (a tool-free process) reveals guts of the Vault hubs: six pawls, each resting on their own little leaf spring and housed in the hub body. Those pawls are offset into two groups of three, which means that when they engage with the 60-tooth driver body the hubs have a very quick 3-degrees between engagement points.
Rims Rims widths have grown wider over the last few seasons, and these days an internal width of 27-31mm seems to be the sweet spot for running 2.3” - 2.5” tires without adversely affecting the tire profile. The Turbine R rims hit the mark, with a 30mm internal dimension and a 20mm overall height. The rims are constructed from 6069 aluminum, a material that was chosen due to its increased impact resistance over the more commonly used 6061 aluminum.
28 straight pull spokes are laced to the Vault hubs with a three-cross pattern, and due to the offset rim design all of the spokes measure 284mm. That offset rim design puts the spokes 4.5mm closer to the non-drive side, which helps even out the tension difference that typically occurs with a non-offset rim. Five spare spokes are included with the wheels, and if for some reason you managed to wreck a rim, maybe while channeling your inner Josh Bender, Race Face offers replacements for $150.
PerformanceGetting the Turbine R wheels set up tubeless didn't pose any problems, and I was able to get a 2.5” Maxxis Minion DHF WT and a 2.35” e*thirteen TRSr mounted up without breaking a sweat. A few scoops of sealant and some time with a floor pump was all it took before they were ready to roll.
The wheels that I had on before switching them out for the Turbine R were nearly the same weight, so the swap didn't make it feel as if I was being carried up the trail on the wings of angels or anything quite that drastic. At 1730 grams they're not radically light, but that's still a very reasonable weight for a set of aluminum-rimmed wheels, especially ones aimed at aggressive riders.
While the weight may not have been instantly noticeable, the Vault hubs' quick engagement was. There's virtually no lag when starting from a standstill, and in slow speed technical sections it only takes the slightest amount of backpedaling before the pawls lock into the drive ring. I never experienced any skipping or slipping, and after months of use the area around the pawls is still free of any grit or grime.
Wheel stiffness can be difficult to gauge, especially when you add wide tires into the mix, but the Turbine R wheels certainly aren't flexy noodles. They felt reassuringly solid, and during hard cornering or landing healthy size drops and jumps there wasn't any unwanted flex or unnerving noises, and all the spokes have stayed well tensioned.
The Vault hub's engagement mechanism does seem to cause slightly more drag than other designs. I never noticed it on the trail, but if I gave the wheel a spin it would stop rotating a few seconds sooner than a DT Swiss 240 or a Chris King. I performed this experiment with the brake caliper removed and the same tire on both wheels in order to control the variables as much as possible. I wouldn't say it's a huge deal, but it is a trait worth mentioning.
What about hub noise? Despite having six pawls, the sound of the Vault hubs when freewheeling wasn't as loud as I'd expected. It still has the distinctive buzzing sound of a high engagement hub, but it's slightly muffled, as if the hub were spinning inside of a cardboard box. I'm personally not a huge fan of obnoxiously loud hubs, and for me, the Vault strikes a good middle ground – it's loud enough so that hikers or other riders will hear you, but not so loud that wearing earplugs seems like a good idea.
DurabilityThe Turbine R wheels have seen plenty of hard use, including shuttle laps on trails better suited to a DH bike, and the rims are still true and dent-free. There were certainly a few landings that I was sure would have a least left a ding or a flat spot, but so far, so good. The rims' flat black finish seems to hide scratches well, and there aren't any glaring reminders of close encounters of the geologic kind to be seen.
Pinkbike's Take | It's a combination of features that makes the Turbine R wheelset a solid option for riders in the market for a new set of wheels. Wide, strong rims, a quick engaging hub, easily replaceable spokes, and a competitive weight all add up to a wheelset that should be capable of surviving even the hardest chargers out there. - Mike Kazimer |
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Im also a big fan of running J bend spokes that can be got at any bike shop??
This type of product is likely aimed at OEMs. Folks look at the retail price of the rims not realizing they'll be on an online retailer the end of the year for 45% off.
Raceface do some things very well, but as you say, there's no way in hell I'd be handing over that kind of cash for a wheelset form them, when there are so many better, proven options out there.
I have ran numerous sets of Traverse SL's with the star ratchet internals with no problems and built up a few of Rovals 28H rims to hopes with J-bend spokes for set and forget wheels. I think people hate Roval because Specialized bought them. Personally I see the wheels they make as good value and find they perform well.
Plus anyone else think that setup had an unacceptable amount of drag? Poor brake setup most likely.
"The Vault hub's engagement mechanism does seem to cause slightly more drag than other designs. I never noticed it on the trail, but if I gave the wheel a spin it would stop rotating a few seconds sooner than a DT Swiss 240 or a Chris King. I performed this experiment with the brake caliper removed and the same tire on both wheels in order to control the variables as much as possible. I wouldn't say it's a huge deal, but it is a trait worth mentioning."
You realize those wheels are crap, right? In the year i owned mine i needed to true them about six times and the bearings needed to be replaced. You have to pull the ratchet ring to pull the driveside bearing, FYI.
They had numerous dings on the exterior of the rims and they were super soft and noodly when riding. Yeah, they were only $600. Knowing what i know now I'd ride a set of stans wheels, mavic wheels or a built set of hopes on anything before i got another pair of traverse fattie ALs.
My i9 enduro 30.5s that replaced them are leaps and bounds better
Exactly. Gave an Easton Wheelset a shot. Regret doing it.
No, it doesn't.
The aluminum wheels have a DT swiss 360 based hub. They're 3 pawl.
The carbon ones use the 36t star ratchet
No star ratchet.
The current gen of roval wheels are not star ratchet unless they're carbon. It's bullshit marketing when they're specifically claimed "DT Swiss internals"
I will never roll with anything other than standard nipples and j-bend spokes. Blows my mind that Race Face asks and outlandish $1100 for these when you can get a set of ztr flows on hopes - arguably the best trail bike wheelset for the money available - for $600. Or the new hope enduro wheelset for $550.
I like the burly ass hubs though, but for this coin I'd spend a little more and just go i9.
I do agree that the proprietary crap has to go...you can get all the benefits without the blatant cash cow that proprietary parts provide RF.
I got really juice up over these dura ace wheels. i have them still and stuck with now. my rim crack and is now discontinued, its so proprietary that i can't even order from a diff company. it really blows because the hubs and flat spokes are beautiful, though I had my dream wheelset so beautiful so dead now.
30mm internal diameter? More like 30mm internal width.
Not sure if we are ready for a 30mm wheel size yet...
In the UK I can buy a set of hand built Hope Pro 4's on high end Spanks or even on Carbon / Carbon Kevlar rims for the same price or slightly cheaper.
I'm guessing they won't stay at that price for very long as off the shelf wheels. But if they do then someone ought to stop smoking the funny cigarettes.
I kinda like the look of the hubs but will stick to Hope (or some Chris King when I've sold my liver) for now
Also, try getting the spokes when you don't have at least half a week left to wait for them. Good luck!
Straight pull is complete BS and has only been invented by the wheelmakers to lower production cost:
1. One less step in making the spokes themselves = cheaper
2. Hub shells are usually smaller in diameter, which makes the forged billet that is needed smaller. Also reduces the time on the CNC to get the hub. Look at traditional and straight pull hubs from DT Swiss to see what I mean. The RF wheelset here with the big diameter is a rare exception.
3. Wheelbuilding time is reduced when they are built in great quantities at a factory by lower level personnel. Its way faster to thread the spokes through the hub, they don't turn and twist inside the hole, etc. Watch the "Inside Cube" report on pinkbike, where they are building wheels out of DT Swiss straigt pull components.
Its a rip off.
*Disclaimer: This also does happen to regular J-bend spoked wheels, but it is the exception. With straight pull it is the norm.
Straight pull spokes were designed to eliminate the main stress riser in a spoke -at the bend. It's a better design from an engineering standpoint, not a conspiracy.
Also most straight pull hubs I have seen are significantly more expensive, and I imagine that is because the spoke hole has to be precisely milled at an angle.