Partington R-Series MKII R39/44 carbon disc wheels

£5,500 Premium-priced ultralight wheels with a difference

Australian-made Partington R-Series wheels are claimed to be the lightest tubeless-compatible clincher wheelset in the world. With a claimed weight of just 1,160g for a disc wheelset, our test set tipped the scales at 664g for the rear and 554g for the front (including valves) so were ready to roll at 1,218g. This is remarkably light for proper aerodynamic wheels combining a 39mm deep, 26.5mm (21mm internal) front rim and a 44mm deep, 26.5mm (21mm internal) rear.

Partington build their wheels very differently to the norm. The all-carbon hubs forgo traditional flanges with spoke holes. Instead, the hub flanges have channels that lock in the unique v-shaped In-Tension spokes. Each carbon spoke effectively creates two spokes by tensioning at the rim, wrapping around the hub and re-tensioning at another point on the rim. Partington claim this creates even load distribution, helping make these one of the most laterally stiff wheels available.

To try these, I swapped out lightweight Black Inc Fives on my Super Six Evo and found the nigh-on 200g saving over the 1,412g Black Incs noticeable when heading uphill. Similar to the Black Incs and Cadex 42s, the Partingtons also had impressive lateral stiffness (all three have carbon spokes).

Even though the R-Series feel stiff, they aren’t uncomfortable. They feel very taut and responsive when you’re putting the power down, but when you’re riding over broken road surfaces or speed humps, for example, and the forces are external, the wheels feel impressively compliant.

I ran the R-Series with 28c Pirelli Cinturato tyres, which came up just under 28mm wide. With an external width of 28mm, the rims are ideally suited to similar-width tyres, but can be run with smaller or larger volumes too. Although 28mm sounds fairly narrow, they gave the feel of the 30mm tyres I’ve been running on my Vitus Venon Evo.

The rims are made with moulded-in inserts for the unique spokes, and are moulded around a foam core (that stays in place), similar to Corima’s premium carbon rims. Since the tyre bed of the rim is smooth and undrilled, tyres seal without the need for messy tape or the risk of unwanted leaks.

The slick hubs have also been designed and made in house. Because of the unique spoke configuration, the top-quality Ceramic Speed bearings can be positioned in a ‘floating’ design aimed at reducing the load and stresses on the bearings, to produce smooth spinning and minimal energy losses under different loads. The freehub has 42 teeth for a quick 8.57˚ point of engagement that adds to the high-performance feel.

These wheels are one of the very best I’ve ever tried. They’re as responsive as Cadex’s carbon wonders (the 42s), and lighter than Zipp’s fabulously fast and flighty 353 NSWs. They are, however, built with predominantly proprietary parts. And, at £5,499, they’re £2,300 more than the 353s and more than double the 42s. So, despite the fascinating design with fabulous performance, I think I’d go for the other premium wheelsets with 95% of the performance and 50% of the cost. Warren Rossiter

“The all-carbon hub flanges have channels that lock in v-shaped In-Tension spokes”