Road Boost Wheels Now Available Aftermarket
Road boost wheels have been standard on some bikes types recently such as the Focus Paralane2 electric road bike and the Focus Atlas gravel bikes. However, getting an after-market wheelset or even the correct parts to build one for these bikes has been difficult. Boost hubs are wider than conventional hubs by 10mm increasing the axel width from 110mm from 100mm. Increasing the axel width on the spacing on the hub flanges means the bracing angles of the spokes can be improved and therefore a stronger and stiffer wheel is possible. Having boost wheels also means tyre clearance can be improved along with wheel strength.
What is road boost?
Road boost wheels are 12x148mm on the rear and 12×110 on the front. Its the front wheel that has been the issue due to lack of aftermarket wheelsets and 110mm hubs with a 12mm axle. The rear hubs are the same standard as mountain bikes but the front is a new standard as mtbs run 15mm instead of 12mm.
Fortunately, road boost wheels are now available from DT Swiss.
These wheels were available at the time of writing this and are suitable for road electric bikes and gravel bikes:
HE 1800 HYBRID disc brake wheel
The entry level road wheelset has semi-aero 32 mm deep and 20 mm wide (internally) rim, optimised for 25- 35 mm tyres, making them able to cover a huge variety of roles as required.
HEC 1400 SPLINE series Hybrid E-Road Wheel
The road wheelset has a 19 mm wide (internal) aerodynamic wheel and that has been designed from the ground up for 25 to 28 c road tyres and reinforced to handle the extreme torques that electrically assisted bikes produce
HGC 1400 SPLINE series Hybrid E-Gravel Wheel
The gravel wheelset has a 24 mm wide (internal) aerodynamic wheel and that has been designed from the ground up for 35 to 50 c gravel tyres and reinforced to handle the extreme torques that electrically assisted bikes produce
In summary
An increase in stiffness means more efficient bike handling
A shorter chainstay can be used given the wider wheel
Pivots on suspension frames can be wider apart
Using a wider rear hub means a better choice of chainrings
Boost wheels improve clearance on the forks and rear frame.
