Review: Crankbrothers' New Synthesis E Alloy Wheels
Crankbrothers have announced the addition of several new aluminum options to their Synthesis wheel lineup. Like their carbon counterparts, the aptly named Synthesis Alloy wheels feature a front wheel with a slightly wider rim that's said to be more compliant, which is paired with a stiffer rear wheel.
There are four different wheelsets in the lineup, with intended uses ranging from XC / trail riding to e-biking, but it's the Synthesis E wheelset that's reviewed here (E stands for Enduro), with Crankbrothers' branded hubs.
The front wheel is priced at $239, and the rear is $359 USD. There's also an Industry Nine 1/1 hub equipped version, which goes for $299 for the front wheel and $499 for the rear. The wheels are sold individually rather than in sets, which means you could choose to go with the fancier rear hub to get quicker engagement and still save a little money on the front hub.
There are four different wheelsets in the lineup, with intended uses ranging from XC / trail riding to e-biking, but it's the Synthesis E wheelset that's reviewed here (E stands for Enduro), with Crankbrothers' branded hubs.
The front wheel is priced at $239, and the rear is $359 USD. There's also an Industry Nine 1/1 hub equipped version, which goes for $299 for the front wheel and $499 for the rear. The wheels are sold individually rather than in sets, which means you could choose to go with the fancier rear hub to get quicker engagement and still save a little money on the front hub.
Crankbrothers Synthesis E Alloy Details
• Intended use: enduro
• 29" and 27.5" options
• 6013 T6 aluminum rims
• 31.5mm inner rim width (f) / 29.5mm inner width (r)
• 32 Sapim Race spokes rear / 28 Sapim D-Light spokes front
• Engagement: 17º
• Boost spacing
• XD, Microspline, and HG freehub options
• Weight (29"): 2,072 grams, 939g front / 1133g rear
• Price: $598 USD; $239 front / $359 rear
• www.crankbrothers.com
• Intended use: enduro
• 29" and 27.5" options
• 6013 T6 aluminum rims
• 31.5mm inner rim width (f) / 29.5mm inner width (r)
• 32 Sapim Race spokes rear / 28 Sapim D-Light spokes front
• Engagement: 17º
• Boost spacing
• XD, Microspline, and HG freehub options
• Weight (29"): 2,072 grams, 939g front / 1133g rear
• Price: $598 USD; $239 front / $359 rear
• www.crankbrothers.com
On my scale the wheels weighed in at 939 grams for the front and 1133 for the rear, for a total weight of 2,072 grams for the set, including rim tape and valve stems.
The front rim has an internal width of 31.5mm, and the rear measures 29.5mm.
The graphics are subtle and nearly flush with the rim, which makes wheel truing easier.
Details
Along with using two different rim widths (the front measures 31.5mm internally, and the rear measures 29.5mm) Crankbrothers also used different spoke counts and spoke thicknesses in order to achieve the ride characteristics they were looking for.
The front wheel is laced with 28 Sapim D-Light spokes, and the rear is laced with 32 Sapim Race spokes, which measure 1.8mm in the center vs. the D-Lights, which measure 1.6mm. The good news is that Crankbrothers didn't try and completely re-invent the wheel here – tried and true J-bend spokes are used, laced in a three-cross pattern.
The hub uses a three-pawl design that interfaces with a 21-tooth drive ring, creating 17-degrees between engagement points. The Industry Nine option uses a six pawl driver and 45 tooth drive ring that results in 4° between engagement points.
The rear hub uses a three pawl design and ratchets on a 21-tooth drive ring.
Ride Impressions
I've had two different sets of tires on the Synthesis E Alloy wheels so far, and both seated and sealed without any issues. These wheels saw action on a couple different test bikes, but the bulk of the testing took place with them installed on a Norco Optic. I typically run a 2.5" front tire and a 2.4" rear tire, a setup that worked especially well with the Synthesis E wheels. The concept of having two different different rim widths isn't new, but it does make a lot of sense. The wider front rim helps support the wider tire, while the rear rim width works well with the slightly narrower tread profile. Running two tires with the same width works just fine as well - remember, we're still only talking about a 2mm difference in inner width dimensions here.
The wheels felt solid and comfortable, although when it comes to judging compliance I'd be hard pressed to name an aluminum wheelset that I've ridden in the last couple of years that felt too stiff. Now, I could rattle off the names of carbon wheelsets that were on the harsher side of the scale, but with aluminum that harshness isn't nearly as common. Still, the Synthesis wheels didn't give me any reason to complain as far as overall ride feel goes, no matter if I was plowing through a jumble of roots or trying to see how fast I could blast through a berm. They're nice and quiet, too; the freehub emits only a subtle clicking sound when coasting, and there weren't any distracting spoke pings or twangs to be heard.
A full speed rock smack caused this dent, but it was the only ding that occurred over three months of riding.
The only issue I ran into was my own fault – a mis-judged bunnyhop during a night ride caused me to smack the rear wheel into a square edged rock as hard as possible at full speed. That resulted in a dent and a flat spot one one side of the rim, but the tire stayed on and I didn't lose any air. I've since straightened the dent out as much as possible, and the wheel's still going strong.
When I pulled the freehub body off the Crankbrothers hub I found that some moisture had made its way in, sneaking past the rubber seal the sits between the freehub body and the hub shell. There wasn't any rust, and the cartridge bearings themselves were all spinning smoothly, but it's worth a mention. Of course, I live in a very, very wet part of the world, especially this time of the year – riders in drier climates likely wouldn't have anything to worry about.
Speaking of hubs, the 17-degrees between engagement points on the Crankbrothers hub isn't the fastest out there; riders who place a high priority on have ultra-quick engaging hubs would be better served by going with the Industry Nine option. Personally, the slower engagement didn't bother me once I was out on a ride, but I did notice it when switching to a wheelset with faster engagement.
Pros
+ Comfortable ride feel
+ Proven design: J-bend spokes, 3-cross pattern
Cons
- Not the fastest engaging rear hub
Pinkbike's Take
 | The Synthesis Alloy wheels are a welcome addition to Crankbrother's wheel lineup. The market for wheelsets in this pricepoint is extremely competitive, but the Synthesis Alloy E wheels are well built with a straightforward, no fuss design that makes them worthy of consideration. |
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Member since Feb 1, 2009
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I buy my own stuff which is never top of the line, I used it until it breaks or wears out and then I buy another one. Low cost, good performance, great looks and reliability are the most important factors.
Honestly? i think they should make their own hubs with more POE to keep them as an alternative to slightly pretentious Industry 9.
I've used mostly Spank rims for the past several years. I also know and ride with a few employees, and I know from talking to them that buying a good quality off the shelf hub is not easy. They ended up making their own, which turned out to be a real labour of love even with in house production facilities.
Looks are really important, and the CB wheels on test do look very good. Very nice. I was surprised by the weight actually. The POE doesn't really bother me but the weight... it is more than I thought. I couldn't tell by riding them though. The feel of the front, I don't want to sound corny but it does offer a different ride feel. It's something I rate highly, and never even thought about before.
Crank Brothers have always been innovative. Now they are leaning towards innovative, but being more practical also, and they have come a long way in terms of reliability.
People need to forget the past faff. The new guard had pulled the ship together and they are going really good things.
My stupid thumbs never do quite what I ask them to do.
Hopefully this is true. Crank Bro’s came out the gate swinging early on. After multiple failures with Crank Bro’s products over the years though, I don’t even consider them anymore. Hope they can bring the engineering to the design, like you are saying.
The mallets have been on my bike about 50% of the time since 2013, including a trip down the fast lane of the freeway at 110km/h. I think that classes as reliable.
The brass cleats wear out quickly, which is the only downside.
I'm also not a fan of DT Swiss selling their mid spec 1700's wheels with only 18T ratchets and their 1501's alloy sets with 36T ratchets. But at least they offer a relatively cheap way to upgrade the ratchet to a finer one (54T).
Cheapest I can do an I9 rear would be $600.
Than again, what do I know. I'm more of a carbon top end option kind of guy myself, so not really target market for these.
I'll give one more benefit of lesser POE that hasn't been mentioned, less pedal kickback.
Also, why "stuck" doing a custom wheel? There are plenty of online and retail shops that will build you a wheel of your choosing for not too much more than a pre-built (and machine-built; even the cheapest the custom builds may have a little more human touch). And there are still plenty of 142 rear hubs around.
These wheels are worth looking at because of how compliant rims are despite being plenty stiff in corners.
Luckily most of the manufactures "got the message" and offer hubs in the middle. Hope, new Shimano hubs, Mavic ITS4 and ID360, e13, DT Swiss 36T and 54T ratchets etc. all in the range of 6° to 10° which seems like reasonable compromise for cost/durability/speed of engagement.
People who remove pawls also ride without sealant in their tires-not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
I hate wet feet
And I don't get the less-pedal-kickback argument. I ride bikes with a high level of anti-squat (Pivot, Ibis) but have never experienced actual pedal kickback, except when I demoed a SC Bronson (which had terrible kickback). For me, pedal kickback is a non-issue.
Tearing knobs off isn't as much of an issue when the ground is relatively soft, and I haven't run into any durability issues so far.
Bontrager Line Comp 30's are about the same weight, have 54poe with the option (for 20 bucks) for 3 extra pawls to set up with 108poe, and ride great! Seals aren't DT or i9 good, but neither are the seals on the Crank Brothers hubs.
Oh-and the Line Comps are $300!!
Crank Brothers have worked hard and stopped making awful disposable products, but unless you get a set of these for waaaaay below list price, they're a lousy deal.
No doubt the Bontys are less expensive, but in my opinion, there's good reason.
Lastly - and perfectly serious question for all - does anyone ride with spare spokes? In 30 years, I honestly never have. If I ever did some self-supported touring I might, but I never do when trail riding.
Most wheelsets have a couple length spokes. If you have J-Bend spokes, pretty much every shop should be able to cut you a $1 straight gauge spoke to make do until you find a shop with one of the (two commonly stocked) Sapim spokes. As far as these wheels go, they aren't out of the ordinary with spoke lengths or spoke selection. Matter of fact they use two of the three spokes I most commonly use. What's good, is they have dropped the proprietary spokes - that is a solid win.
Otherwise, like sngltrkmnd, I never carry extra spokes. This wheelset wouldn't make me rethink that either, knowing both the D-Lights and Races are reliable.
I won’t speak for my colleague here, but odds are he would agree generally that any extra butting - or it’s extreme manifestation, blading - only means more performance and durability for many riders. Bladed spokes have an aero profile without any lost integrity due to the way they are chemically and mechanically flattened. Indeed they’re actually stronger than straight-gauge or even rounded butted spokes, because they flex more, which means that the material sustains a greater volume of shock and stress cycles before eventual failure (years later). Thousands more in many cases. They often ride better, particularly up front, for those exact same reasons of designed flexibility. Thus, on the highest-end wheelsets in MTB one will sometimes find the range-topping (and wallet shocking) Sapim CX-Ray. To the new wheelbuilder or purchaser the CX-Ray seems like a peloton special made for the Tour; to experienced wheelsmiths the CX-Ray is a super durable rocket ship of a spoke. Aerolites are rough DT Swiss equivalents, with classic DT quality. I would say go for them, as long as you’re not riding downhill or are over, say, 190-205 in riding gear. Even then, with a 32-hold build, expert assembly, and something like CushCore installed you would probably still be fine. I ride enduro on a front wheel built up with 1.8-1.5 mm DT Revolution butted spokes on a highly compliant Stan’s ZTR rim. I have had absolutely zero issues. Hope that helps. Just make sure your builder has/you have a quality aero spoke holder to prevent winding when lacing them - the only major theoretical drawback to building with aero wire. Just takes more time and skill. Hope that helps!
And personally I love CX-Rays, both building with them and riding them, but they are so expensive, you'll really have to want that extra modicum of performance and weight savings. If you are the type that has to have the best of everything, and no experience is spared, it's THE spoke.
As anyone reading these comments will note, we take bike tech pretty seriously in Toronto - and ironically so, given that we don’t have any actual mountains here. But hey, it’s like anything else: sometimes the passion burns a little brighter in paradoxical locations. Lots of people join the US Navy from landlocked states; the best tennis players in the world are now from the Balkans; if you want to study Russian history go to university in Illinois; if you want a Michelin star open a sushi restaurant in Europe; etc. My point is that the industry has some legitimate expertise on the East Coast, too. Either of us would be happy to chat spokes with anyone willing to reach out to us. Wheels are a passion here.
And indeed, Toronto does have some good mechanics and wheel builders, and some great riders to boot. I was pleasantly surprised after moving here from Newfoundland, to be in such good company.
HUNT wheels offer a great value, but the reliability is questionable. It's Tairin Wheels out of Canada that has me curious (about $450 for 120poe rear wheel manufactured in Canada.)
I tend to rely on personal experience. I went from selling my bike with high engagement hubs to demoing a few bikes lately. Demo'd a Santa Cruz MegaTower with those DT Swiss 370 hubs and noticed the low engagement right away. Things like trying to get in quick extra pedal strokes before somewhere I need speed... it felt like I lost 1/3 of the power I was putting down. And tech climbing it was really obvious... but also technical slow descending... get in short pedal strokes to move around obstacles and such was much worse with low POE.
People will disagree, but after riding both styles back to back on my local trails... I can't go back to low POE.
take it from someone who is aggressive on wheels,these are by far the most durable rim i have used whilst riding in the south of spain (malaga)
couple that with the fact that they are very light for an alloy rim and at an affordable price i can honestly say as a privateer racer i would definatley consider buying this wheelset,
plus it comes tubless ready with valves set up ready for use!
www.speedgearbike.com/439071341
Unless you mean you're looking for _wheels_ with wide rims on boost hubs. In which case there are many places, online and brick & mortar, to pick out custom wheels.
(Perhaps a non-Boost frame is less likely to fit a big tire on a really wide rim, but that's still not the rim being Boost or not, that's the whole system of tire and wheel. It still might not even fit a big tire on a really narrow rim.)
They could have any rim, provided the rims are the correct diameter for the frame and are mounted with a tire that is the correct width for the frame. (Noting that rim width has an effect on tire width, so the size listed on the tire may not match the actual measurable size of the mounted and inflated tire, depending on the rim.)
www.tairinwheels.ca
They come out of the box nicely true, and the nice subtle graphics gives a great first impression. You don’t notice the lack of POE at all once you start riding but on the parking lot test you notice it. I’ve ridden prototype version of these wheels down top of the world hitting all the sharp edged rocks without any issue or going out of true, and then down earth circus (berm mania...) on Creekside at full speed with full confidence.
Most important thing for wheels for me is how they hold up over time is support. Crank brothers has been very responsive and helpful to me when I’ve had questions or issues with their stuff, always responding quickly and solving my problem - even when it was my fault.
I've been on these alloy wheels for just a short time after two seasons on the carbon model, and I do notice that they don't seem to spin up quite as quickly as the fancier version, but thinking about price point, I think this is a fair compromise for a $600 wheelset. From a ride quality perspective these less expensive hoops seem to ride just about as well as the far more expensive ones. That said, I cannot speak to durability of the alloy wheels just yet. I need to put some more time on them.
As to carbon, if CB would send me some I could comment, so far I haven’t ridden anything even remotely compliant that is not a very light XC racing rim. And we all know virtually all carbon rims fail like any other - they don’t dent, they don’t come out of true, they just crack and require lifetime warranty. However... CBcarbon rims seem to be the most durable since the bead wall is very thick. Possibly thickest out there, while they still weigh like competition. CBros and those funky ZIPPs seem as the only carbon rims worth checking. Everything else feels like bullshit as usual. Time and time again I ride something that is loud and stiff as hell
Spank wheels are really good but they don't look anywhere near as good as the Synthesis Es.
I would definitely buy a front one. Rear, maybe for the sake of aesthetic continuity.
The boxes were sweet, double boxed and MADE IN TAIWAN - not China, which is an instant win in my book, especially as I didn't have to worry about wearing my NBC suit to open them.
Fresh out of the box, nice looks. Satin black with gloss black graphics. Sweet feeling bearings, quiet freewheel. I feel a lot of the weight is in the steel freehub body. I bet it would lose 100g by switching to alloy.
It was nice to have a mullet wheelset to try, and the new DHR2 2.4s mounted up easily with a floor pump. Rims pre taped and valves installed was a new one for me. I'm used to doing it myself and I don't enjoy it, not least because it adds to the cost and the setup time. You get new wheels and you just want to ride, but you can't because you forgot to order tubeless tape last week.
Anyway I ran mine for a couple of rides on a Mega 290 which was an interesting experience because I've been using that bike for months in 29/29. Threw the 27 on the back and it was a lot different, especially around tight turns. The smaller wheel which is definitely a lot stiffer than the existing DT wheel made it corner like an animal. I almost fell into a few turns until I got used to it. Catching backsides was easier too, and the wheel never felt like it was flexing over rocks or through berms.
I got a Capra 29 a couple of weeks later and set it up with the mullet wheels. I did a few days of riding - Leeds Bike Park, Danny Hart's bike park, some trail centres.
Totally impressed with the wheels to be honest. They look sweet, the price is good. The bearings are nice, the weight is acceptable. I might be tempted for the i9 rear hub if I were to buy a set - and the great thing is you can buy a set in any configuration you want. I'd been itching to try the mullet configuration for over a year and these wheels make it easy without having to make a custom set.
I think as a concept the wide/light front and narrow/stiff rear definitely works. The front does track well through off camber bits like at Hamsterley Forest. Line holding is definitely better than on previous wheels I've used. Pinged it off the rim a few times too but no dents which proves they are definitely harder rims than Stan's flow.
On the back, nothing much to report. The wheel has clocked up some serious air miles and hit a few rock gardens at full whack and it's still straight. It did what it was supposed to do.
You pinkbike guys are losing perspective you test too much high end gear
Just for kicks, name a hub with slower engagement? I can start with DT Swiss hubs of which some still come stock with the 18T ratchet. Other than that I can't think of anything that is less than 24 POE.
And @Boosting, it is a con, because it's a detail that many riders will be looking at when comparing this wheelset against others in a similar price range.
I got a pair for a test too. Hubs, let’s be honest, they are a bit short on POE, and folks who measure their... hub value by how many POE it has per dollar will always complain.
So let’s focus on the rims. And they are very nice. They ride very very nicely, everything seems smooth. Carbon bladi bla, the most compliant thing about carbon is the ability to criticize own purchase after spending so much money. rims Excellent finish quality, installation of tires is very smooth, better than on DT Swiss. I really appreciate that everytime I need to fix a flat. They definitely feel more compliant than DT Swiss Ex471 but it maybe due to width. I’d totally consider these rims for trail riding as spares and CB says they will set them as spares as well. My single one only worry is the thickness of the rim sidewall, even thinner than DT. But I didn’t have a chance to ride them on DH tracks. After all, no matter how thin DT feels, they can-take loads of beating without denting.
Did I say how smooth they roll? Yes they do. Luxury!
And please People - don’t whine on POE unless you are climbing like JK Weed or a trials rider... If you can do a pedal kick over 4ft gap, then I’ll get ya, other than that... leave it to professionals. You are not signaling any technical prowess, Riding skill or buyer instinct, only first world whining potential
The rear hub engagement isn't great on paper admittedly, but the hub has been reliable and fairly well sealed. These alloy wheels are about 1/3 the price of the carbon wheels with the same hubs, so from a performance per value proposition these are winners in my book.
During the ride, IDK, they felt fine. I didn't weigh them and thought "damn these things are slow to get up to speed", and now that I see the 2kg+ weight that confirms what I thought. No real complaints about them, but they aren't anything fancy.
Here is what I think about them :
The wheel set was delivered in two boxes and when I have seen them for the first time and put them out of the box I was absolutely stoked how they look and how light they are.
I have ridden them in Bikeparks, on hometrails and in urban conditions and I have recognized much more stiffness than on my old wheel set.
Therefore you have much more control in corners, rock fields and downhill sections even if they are an Enduro wheel set.
Additionally they are pretty light so that gives me more control over the bike.
My only wish for the wheelset would be some more clicks in the rear wheel hub to get better engagement.
I hope to help you with this short review.
Photos and videos are uploaded to my Instagram account (@juliuseiden)
The narrower with also helps keep the sidewalls more protected against strikes for the same size tire.
There are more consideration than just the feel, I would speculate.
next review:
Pros: "They're round"
I have put several hours into them, mine are 29" & fitted tubeless with Schwalbe tyres. The fitting of the tyres was easy but the rim still has loads of tolerance meaning it won't blow off when you slam a turn, equally you can change tyres in the garage without turning into the hulk.
The wheel felt good on dirty off camber sections, I really did feel the rim profile suited itself well to the tyres I was running. I love the fact the rear wheel is slightly stiffer than normal, then the front has a little more compliance. Now I am no expert rider but I do like churning out the miles, they were faultless. I started to see how low I could go on tyre pressure whilst smashing through the local rocks at Eastridge woods, no dings, no marks. Maybe I was lucky? But I have a feeling CB have nailed the rim design. Can't afford carbon? Don't want carbon? These are right up there as some of the best for sure.
The pimp in me would like to see some colur added to the range, I wonder of they will do some coloured decals?
All in all I would spend my own money on these wheels, if you have any questions about my testing then feel free to reach out - @sandy_plenty. As I said above I am no expert but I know a good wheel when I ride one.