Lighter?. Stiffer? Got that one too. We planned for these two, but those two attributes by themselves were simply not enough. They needed more, so we designed a whole new rim to build them around, the Hed C2 rim. By obsessing over design, and with the modern miracle of CAD, the C2 rim is 23mm wide, and only 430g. Finally a rim has caught up to the advances that clincher tires have made in the past 2 decades. But what makes 23mm better than the ubiquitous 19mm rim? Width. Picture a standard 23mm tire on the C2 rim. Tire and rim width are the same, the sidewalls are fairly straight, and the width of the rim spreads the tread contact patch out. With straighter sidewalls, and more rubber on the road, cornering is an entirely new experience. The sidewalls don’t flop over in a hard corner, and more rubber on the road is, well... better. C2s should be run with lower pressure, since there is more air volume in the wider tire profile. The same tire on a 19mm rim looks more like the profile of a light bulb. The curved sidewalls flop over under hard cornering, there is less rubber on the road, and more air pressure is needed to prevent pinch flats. All good, but what we’ve described so far could be called "quality of ride" improvements. Very nice, but what else is there? What else is lower rolling resistance. 20% lower. (see our white paper on rolling resistance) Hed Classics models. Lighter, stiffer, stronger, faster. AND, a pure joy to ride. So good we even surprised ourselves. Specifications: Sonic hubset black bladed stainless spokes Scandium alloy C2 rims Weights in grams Front: 597 Rear: 779 Total: 1376 UPGRADE TO FLAMME ROUGE Flamme Rouge wheels are the ultimate. If it can save weight or save watts, we use it. Flamme Rouge Sonic hubs are built to the same exacting tolerances as regular sonics, but save weight with a carbon hub shell and forged titanium ratchet ring. Ceramic bearings are used to reduce weight and rolling resistance. Ti skewers are lighter than stock steel ones. 6/4 Ti spokes in the Flamme Rouge wheels weigh even less than the lightest steel spokes available, and their comparatively larger diameter makes them stronger than steel. The Scandium alloyed rims on FR wheels are lighter, stronger, and stiffer than unalloyed models. The closing meters of the race are where everything counts; Flamme Rouge wheels are built for one thing only. They are built to win. Specifications: Ti skewers Bladed titanium spokes Scandium alloy C2 rims Ceramic bearings Weight Front: 587 Rear: 760 Total: 1347