This article was produced in association with CADEX
Keith Bontrager’s famous and frequently quoted maxim summed up what consumers can and can’t have in the bicycle industry – “strong, light, cheap – pick two”. But there’s another truism in bicycle design that dictates that a component cannot be both aerodynamic and superlight. The reasons are obvious: an object such as frame tube, rim or a handlebar with a longer, teardrop-shaped profile has a lower drag coefficient than than a round-profiled object. But because the aerodynamic profile uses more material, it is heavier. This has led to an unspoken maxim that pro riders, teams and consumers have to consider each time they’re weighing up their options for a particular stage or parcours: lightweight or aero – pick one.
That was until CADEX launched the Max 40 wheelset earlier this year. Not only does it have a 40mm deep-section rim and an ultra-low weight of 1,249g (without rim tape and valves) but it’s also uncompromising in its power transfer thanks to a unique hub design that integrates carbon bladed spokes with aero carbon hub flanges. CADEX tested it against the two top wheels in the category – the Lightweight Obermayer Evo (1,260g) and the Syncros Capital SL (1,172g) – and has figures to demonstrate that the Max 40 showed better front and rear wheel stiffness than both. It has a 22.4mm inner rim width that creates an aerodynamically optimised interface between the rim wall and CADEX's specifically designed Race GC tyre. In summary, it is the ultimate all-rounder wheel.
CADEX was relaunched in 2019 as a ‘pinnacle performance’ range of high-end components within the Giant group, using next-generation ideas and production methods to produce cutting-edge technologies. The name had been originally used to brand Giant's groundbreaking lugged carbon-fibre frame of 1987, which used new CAD design and volume production techniques that hadn’t been seen in the industry before. Rouleur spoke to Jeff Schneider, global head of product at the reborn CADEX, to find out how – and why – the Max 40 was developed.
“I didn’t have a budget,” says Schneider. “I was basically told it doesn’t matter what it costs, it doesn’t even matter in the first five years if it doesn’t make money… they just said, make the best wheels that you can make.”
Schneider took Giant at its word and the Max 40 was a considerable number of years in the making, as he explains: “The development that we launched in 2019 really started in 2015; We had been working with the Sunweb team [formerly Giant-Alpecin].”
The original CADEX prototypes that the team rode bore the legend #OVERACHIEVE and caused a great deal of excitement. After finishing second at the 2019 World Championships at Harrogate, Matteo Trentin transferred from Mitchelton-Scott to Giant/CADEX-sponsored CCC.
“He came running up to me at the team camp and said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you about these wheels – I’ve never ridden anything like them in my life!’” remembers Schneider. “He was super excited about how reactive they were and I explained to him what we do. He said, ‘I’ve never ridden anything like this that’s given me this sort of feel’. Greg Van Avermaet and Paddy Bevin asked the same questions. The second thing they always ask is how they’re so stiff, but they’re comfortable. And that comes down to what the carbon spoke does to the system. It’s the weight of the rim and allowing some flexibility out of the rim.”
CADEX uses a spoking pattern called DBL – dynamic balanced lacing – that braces the spokes at specific leverage angles designed so that the ‘pushing’ and ‘pulling’ spokes work efficiently under load. It’s a patented system and, says Schneider, is even more effective with carbon spokes that, unlike steel spokes, cannot stretch and de-tension under load.
“This is what we call transmission stiffness. It’s one factor in how we handle the loads on the wheel that make it ride better. You’re going to see a lot of people that are going to benefit from the R&D that we did,” says Schneider. “You’re already starting to see a plethora of companies coming out with carbon spokes, but we’ve locked in certain things that will keep us ahead of the competition. We have a patent on our spoking technology and we will protect that, because that’s one of the key elements that sets us apart from what our competitors can do.”
Schneider also points out that carbon spokes have around 46% of the weight of steel spokes, contributing significantly to the weight reduction, co-moulded to the thin carbon hub flanges.
“The ultimate goal is efficiency – going forward,” he says. “There are various things that help that. Aerodynamics is just one of the important elements, as is weight, but it’s where you put the weight. It’s not so much, hey, I have the lightest wheel, but, I have the lightest wheel where it needs to be light to make it more efficient. I would rather have an insanely efficient, insanely strong, heavier hub with a lighter rim and spoke system so that the rotating weight is less for the rider to move but also makes it lively and snappier to ride.”
As an illustration of this, the internals within CADEX's own R3 48-tooth ratchet rear hub in the Max 40 wheels are not the lightest. Schneider explains: “We’re using chromoly 43, a super hard steel used in camshafts and locomotive gears. It’s heavy but it’s at the centre of the wheel so that’s OK. Ours can take a significantly higher torque load, we also diamond-coat to reduce friction so that you don’t need as much grease. We’re doing 48-tooth in the Max 40 but we’re now looking at up to 110-tooth engagement on a ratchet system that won’t wear out.”
As for the rim, with its wider 22.4mm internal width that’s aerodynamically optimised with CADEX's Race GC tyre, Schneider says: “I’ve always been a fan of bigger tyres and I love seeing the guys riding 30 or 31mm tyres, and today most of them are riding 60 or 65psi. So when you include that, you get a lot of benefit. A lot of this would probably not have been possible had we not gone to disc brakes. That opened up a whole new world of design, how the wheel works and what we can do.”
Schneider concludes: “The Max 40 is the result of a holistic approach, looking at every element of the wheel, whether it’s rolling resistance versus grip versus aerodynamics versus how you handle the loads on the hub. Where we’re at today I think we’ve made the best complete wheel system on the market. It’s the design of the system that makes it unique. The Max 40 is a true revelation.”
To find out more about the CADEX Max 40, check out CADEX's website.
CADEX Max 40 specifications
- Rim material: Carbon
- Rim type: Hookless tubeless CADEX Tubeless System (rim tape and valve kit included)
- Suggested tyres size: 700 x 25C – 700 x 32C
- Rim height: 40mm
- Rim outer width: 28mm
- Rim inner width: 22.4mm
- Front hub: CADEX R3, Centerlock, one-piece integrated hub and spokes
- Rear hub: CADEX R3-C48, Ratchet Driver, Centerlock, one-piece integrated hub and spokes
- Hub compatibility: Shimano / SRAM XDR / Campagnolo N3W
- Bearings: Ceramic
- Front spokes: Super Aero Carbon Spokem front Lacing DBL, 16H
- Rear spokes: Super Aero Carbon Spoke, rear Lacing DBL, 24H
- Weight (pair): 1,249g (with Shimano freehub and without tubeless rim tape and valves)
- SRP: £1,499 (front) / £1,999 (rear)
