TECH SPECS: Partington R-Series MKII R39/44
Price: £5,499.00
Weight: F: 538g / R: 635g Pair: 1173g as tested.
Rim Dimensions: F:39mm R:44mm
Rim Widths: Int. 21mm Ext: 26.5mm
Spoke Count: F: 20 / R: 20
Rim Type: Hooked
Tubeless / Tubes: Both
More Information: partington.cc
The Partington R-Series MKII R39/44 wheelset is one of the lightest and most expensive disc clincher wheelsets in the world. Manufactured in Victoria, Australia the wheels are the brainchild of company founder and engineer Jon Partington, who moved to Oz around 13 years ago but hails from the UK and has a background in the motorsport and automotive industries.
The R series MK II R39/44 wheels, or just ‘Partingtons’ as I have taken to calling them for want of a snappier description, sit at the very sharp end of the cycling wheelset pyramid alongside the likes of Lightweight, Syncros, and Princeton Carbonworks. They feature carbon fibre rims, bonded carbon spokes and carbon fibre hub shells, with all of the bearings coming from brand technical partner CeramicSpeed. Cadel Evans is also a brand ambassador and has provided feedback on the wheels.
The wheelset features a hooked rim, can be used with tubes or tubeless, and weighs a claimed 1160 grams. I don’t think there are many hooked, off-the-peg disc clincher wheelsets that come close to that weight at the moment.
To quote Partington on the product and its philosophy, they are “aimed to be the best-performing products on the market, for people who want the most desirable high-performing cycling componentry.”
I’ve been able to test the wheels over several months and with two different bikes during this summer and autumn to see how they performed and if the performance justified the very high price tag.
Design and Aesthetics
Aesthetics-wise, the R series wheels have a subtle, un-fussy finish and look. The rims themselves have an understated matte finish, with a single, simple grey band with a black ‘Partington’ logo on the rim opposite the valve hole, and that’s it. No huge logos, or inspirational quotes here.
From a distance of a few metres, you could be forgiven for not particularly noticing them at first glance when fitted to a bike. The rims look similar in finish to a myriad of other matte carbon rims. It’s probably the wider, glossy carbon spokes however that initially…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…