Trek has teased a 32in XC prototype on social media, with the new bike appearing to feature an unreleased 32in RockShox SID Flight Attendant fork.The brand says the new bike will be ridden by Trek Factory Racing for the first time at this weekend's penultimate UCI World Cup in Soldier Hollow, Utah, with Evie Richards seen riding it in an Instagram post.A new 32in cross-country bike had been expected from the brand, with Trek suggesting at the start of the season that its current 29in prototype raced by the team this year may never hit store shelves.A variation of the bike was also spotted in the background in Trek's 50th-anniversary documentary.Alongside the bike is a new 32in RockShox SID fork with what appear to be extended dropouts to fit the new wheel size.While weve seen Foxs RAD 32in prototype fork already in action on Andreas Seewalds World Cup winning KTM Scarp Evo 4 32 prototype, its the first time weve seen anything 32in from rival RockShox.Big wheels The bike looks very similar to the 29in prototype we've seen Trek Factory Racing on this year. trekbikes / Instagram The new bike has a similar suspension layout to the prototype the team has been racing, sharing the a top-mounted rear-shock design with flexstays in the rear triangle.This shape of frame is very common in cross-country, because packaging the rear suspension high in the frame leaves space for two water bottles in the front triangle perfect for marathon races where feed stops can be few and far between. Smaller riders have raised concerns that the larger wheel size might not be suited to smaller frame sizes. trekbikes / Instagram Having Evie Richards ride the bike in the video, and race it this weekend, suggests Trek has worked out one of the more difficult issues with the 32in wheel size.Worries have spread that the new wheel size will put smaller riders at a disadvantage, but at 164cm, Richards appears to be countering that argument.While we dont have a full list of frame sizes, it appears Trek may have solved the issue of making small frames with 32in wheels. Berd logos appear on the wheels. trekbikes / Instagram The wheels of the bike look to be laced together with PolyLight braided Dyneema polyethylene spokes, which we saw on Berd's 32in Hawk32 Gold wheelset in Taiwan earlier this year.It appears to be a different rim profile from those wheels, so we expect these to be Trek or Bontrager's own prototype.The tyres look to be Pirelli prototypes.RockShox SID Ultimate Flight Attendant 32in Little is shown of the new SID Ultimate, but there are some takeaways. trekbikes / Instagram Out of all the brands, RockShox has seemed the most secretive with its ambitions for 32in, with this being the first fork weve seen from the brand with the new wheel size.From the teaser, the new SID appears to inherent some of the design cues from the new ZEB and Lyrik forks, with a plastic portion featuring on the arch that likely covers mounts for a mudguard.It also features Flight Attendant, which we assume will have been optimised for the new 32in wheel size.32in tipping point 32in looks big when compared to 29in. Nick Clark / Our Media It has felt as though 32in wheels have been coming for a little while now, but the addition of Trek and RockShox to the bandwagon feels like another layer of credibility has been given to the wheel size.It seems certain now that the future of XC racing is bound in 32in rubber, but the proof will be found between the tapes during the transition period.

After the World Championships are behind him, Paul Seixas has tunnel vision for one race: confirming that he will not ride the 2026 European Championships on October 4th, a decision made weeks ago. French national team coach Thomas Voeckler has confirmed that their World Championships leader won't b...

At Sea Otter back in April, Wolf Tooth Components had its unreleased hubs hiding in plain sight on several of the display bikes at their booth. At the time, we learned everything we could about the soon-to-be-released hubs, but that did not include when they would hit the market. Well, that time has come, and today, Wolf Tooth is officially launching its US-made hubs for road, gravel, and mountain bikes.As we learned months ago, Wolf Tooths new hubs are engineered and machined in-house in the USA and utilize the ENVE INNERDRIVE system. They will be available in three configurations, covering the needs of road, gravel, and mountain bike riders. Wolf Tooth is selling the hubs on their own for custom wheel builds and is currently partnering with ENVE and We Are One for complete wheelsets. Lets check them out.Wolf Tooth Hubs DetailsLike everything else Wolf Tooth makes, its new hubs are engineered and machined in-house to the exacting standards that the brand is known for. The hubs are made from aerospace-grade 7075-T6 aluminum, with angular form hub shells bringing the Wolf Tooth design language to wheel building for the first time. At launch, the hubs come in three distinct configurations to fit all modern road, gravel, and mountain bikes. Those configurations are:Straight Pull Road / Gravel 24h 326g F/R SetStraight Pull MTB Boost (XC/Trail) 28h 371g F/R SetJ-Bend MTB Boost (Aggressive Trail to DH) 28h / 32h 442g F/R SetStraight-pull Hubs for road, gravel, and XC.The straight pull hubs feature aggressive machining and smart material use for weight reduction without sacrificing durability. The J-bend hubs are built to handle the extra abuse of everything from aggressive trail to full-on DH riding with an oversized aesthetic, and the ability to accommodate both 15mm and 20mm front axles.The J-Bend MTB Hubs are built for hard-hitting riding. Wolf Tooth also designed the hubs with ease of maintenance in mind. This includes consistent spoke lengths per wheelset and standard bearing sizes across the front and rear hubs. They say that the hub ratchets can also be quickly and easily swapped, and theyve included a circlip to hold them in place and ensure they dont fall out while doing maintenance on the trail or in the shop.Wolf Tooths Hubs are currently available in six anodized colors, including Ultraviolet Prople.As is typical of Wolf Tooth, its Hubs are currently available in six anodized finishes: Ultraviolet Purple, Black, Orange, Gold, Blue, and Red. Apparently, there are more colors to come. As usual, you can go to the Color Shop to mix or match colors with Wolf Tooths other components.ENVE INNERDRIVECutaways showing the ENVE INNERDRIVE system.All of Wolf Tooths Hubs run on the ENVE INNERDRIVE system. While the team at Wolf Tooth says it explored designing its own proprietary drive system, they concluded that ENVEs system hit their benchmark targets and struck the performance balance they were looking for. They state that the oversized INNERDRIVE ratchet rings provide benefits over most other ratchet-style hubs.Wolf Tooth claims the larger 42mm diameter drive rings allow for higher engagement tooth counts without sacrificing durability. Additionally, riders can tune the hubs engagement to their preferences with the option to choose between 40T PRO*, 60T, 80T, or 100T drive ratchets. According to the brand, the highest tooth count results in quick, 3.6-degree engagement.Four drive ratchets to choose from to dial in your engagement.Wolf Tooth says that the 40T PRO ratchet is their preferred setup, and it comes stock in the road and gravel hubs. To save weight, theyve milled additional material and reduced the standard ratchets diameter. They claim that when paired with the light force of the INNERDRIVE ratchet spring, this setup has minimal ratchet drag while delivering reliable engagement.Perfect PreloadWolf Tooth says its Perfect Preload System uses a tuned wave washer that eliminates the need for bearing preload adjustments. During assembly, the bearing preload is optimized and dynamically adjusts over the life of the hub. No special tools are required; all the rider needs to do is torque the hubs endcap to spec and perfect preload is set, every time.Enve G SES 4.5Enve M6Enve M8Enve SES 4.5Complete Wheel BuildsOf course, Wolf Tooth is selling its new Hubs on their own so riders can build up their own custom, high-performance wheelset. For complete wheel builds, Wolf Tooth is partnering with ENVE and We Are One, both of which lay up their carbon rims in North America. The complete wheelset options have all of the bases covered, from high-performance road riding to gravity MTB. The options at launch are:Enve SES 4.5Enve G SES 4.5We Are One WhispEnve M6We Are One Triad 29 and MulletEnve M8We Are One WhispWe Are One Triad MulletWe Are One Triad 29Pricing and AvailabilityWolf Tooth new Hubs have a retail price of $729.90 USD for the set ($239.95 front and $489.95 rear). The Hubs and complete wheelsets are available now through the brands website and Wolf Tooths worldwide network of dealers and distributors.wolftoothcomponents.com

Starting next week, a group of active Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), volunteers from Tower Lifeboat Station in London will embark on an eight-day, 540km bike ride to raise money for the charity, which saves lives at sea in the UK and Ireland. It will take place from the charitys headquarters in Poole to Lifeboat Pier in London, pedalling one kilometre for each life the crew has saved on the Thames since the station was established in 2002. A core group of five or six cyclists will ride the entire route, visiting other lifeboat stations as they travel along Englands Southeast coast, via Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Littlehampton, Dungeness, Walmer and Whitstable, with additional riders joining the core group for single days. On the last leg, from Gravesend to London, the group are planning to cycle while wearing full gear. The original plan was for the volunteer lifesavers to wear visible gear for most of the ride, and to invite more people to join them on various legs, but after recent incidents of aggression towards members of the RNLI by anti-immigrant belligerents, additional risk assessments have been made to protect the safety of the participants. We've had some really lovely messages of support, but we've also had some horrific messages, explains ride organiser Toni Scarr. So we won't be wearing any RNLI gear in various critical locations. We're also looking at the timing of where we go past a few places as well. We may well need to change our route.Founded in 1824, and now operating 238 lifeboat stations and 240 beach-based lifeguard units around the UK and Ireland, the RNLI is a charity that is entirely reliant on donations to perform its service, which has seen volunteers save over 146,700 lives to date. Having just had a recent intake of new volunteers, the Tower RNLI riders are using the challenge to raise money to help with training and equipment costs. Based on the River Thames, providing a 24-hour search-and-rescue service on one of Britain's busiest waterways, Tower RNLI is currently the busiest lifeboat station in the entire country, with the crew responding to over 600 calls out from HM Coastguard every year. The goal of the ride is to raise 10,000 to help equip and train the new lifesavers so they are ready when the next emergency happens. The second of January next year is our 25th anniversary, Tower RNLI volunteer and full-distance rider Nick Harding told Cycling Weekly. We've been on 11,930 shouts in those 25 years, and 540 lives have been saved. When we started planning the ride, we were on 530, so the distance keeps getting a little bit longer. Actually, its 541 lives saved now, he adds, explaining about an incident the crew responded to last week. If we need to throw in a couple of legs, or go around a park a few times [to make up the growing number], then we will, but we'll see how we feel towards the end.Even before donning their rescue gear for the final leg, the group is likely to look a little different to the average group of riders. We're all using our own bikes, Harding tells me. There's quite a wide range someone's on a Brompton. I'm on a nice Cinelli gravel bike myself. Harding is a keen bikepacker, but the group will be very mixed, with some less experienced members. We're not doing massive daily distances, but we want to visit as many lifeboat stations on the way as we can. Our longest day is 49 miles and our shortest day is the last day from Gravesend, which is just under 30.Like all good ideas, the seed for this concept was planted during a conversation in a pub, during the Towers Christmas party last year. I was chatting to Toni [Scarr], and she said, let's do a group ride to mark the anniversary. By the end of the evening, she'd recruited half the crew to the cause. And this rides is what has transpired from that conversation.It transpires that Scarr has previous in this department. In 2014 she organised a Tower to Tours challenge that saw RNLI volunteers (in relay) run from London to Dover, swim the English Channel and then ride to the town of Tours in Centre-Val de Loire in France. So really, by comparison, this lot are getting off lightly."There's just a lot and going on and we haven't fundraised for a while," Scarr tells me. "But we've also had a massive recruitment recently. last time it was similar, in that we needed to train a whole load of new people, but that was 10 years ago. So, it has come round to that focus again. And it sounded like fun."Support the Tower RNLI crew through their JustGiving fundraising page.

Filippo D'Aiuto has won stage 3 of the Giro d'Abruzzo 2026. As the early breakaway's lone survivor dramatically, a bunch sprint was seemingly on the cards before the 24-year-old Italian sensationally held off the chase in a nerve-biting finale. Thursday's stage 3 saw the peloton ride from Oricola t...

The new POC Sonal time trial helmet has an elongated design and comes in two widths to unlock as much speed as possible.POC was the first brand to bring out an oversize time trial helmet, the Tempor, back in 2012. The Tempor changed the consensus on how these specialised helmets should perform.Other brands have released huge helmets in recent years. But it wasnt until EF Pro Cycling asked for a new time trial helmet for the 2026 Tour de France that POC began to work on one. Now the Swedish company has officially launched the new helmet.The Sonal takes a new view of rider aerodynamics by focusing on a rider's whole body rather than the head in isolation and uniquely comes in two sizes matched to shoulder width rather than head size, POC says.It features an elongated front designed to deflect air flow at the high-pressure zone that typically forms at the front of a helmet, which adds drag, instead it guides the airflow smoothly around the helmet and over the rider's body.Two widths The helmet treats the head and body as a single aerodynamic unit. POC The Sonal comes in two shell widths to treat the head and body as a single aerodynamic unit.Mangus Gustavsson, POCs director of hard goods, says: Our objective with the Sonal was to create the fastest, most aerodynamic helmet possible and to make it work for more riders, because we know a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work in time trial.That's what led us to develop two distinct helmet sizes based on body and shoulder width, since airflow over the whole body not just the head is what ultimately creates the right aerodynamic profile."POC says riders with shoulders narrower than 37cm in a time-trial position should opt for the narrow Sonal; riders with shoulders wider than 37cm should go with the regular size. The helmet comes in two wdiths. POC It adds that the shells have the same internal size for heads spanning 51-59cm, which covers most small to medium-sized helmets.This means riders get a shell matched to their shoulder width without needing to worry about head-size fit separately, POC says.So how fast is it? The helmet provides a significant improvement in aerodynamics. Jered Gruber / POC POC says aerodynamic performance always depends on the specific rider. But it claims testing shows the Sonal provided a significant improvement in aerodynamic performance in both widths.Tested against the already very fast POC TT helmets and at speeds we typically see in modern TT and track events, 60 km/h, the Sonal delivers average savings of 15 to 20 watts, POC says.Vision and comfort POC says the Sonal was designed to provide a full range of forward and peripheral vision. POC POC says another important aspect of the Sonal's development was vision.The helmet is designed to offer a full range of forward and peripheral vision. This has been achieved by designing the helmet's forehead angle to match the riders line of sight without requiring head movement, POC says.The helmet comes with a clear lens and a tinted lens for use in different light and weather conditions. These are secured by magnets so you can swap lenses quickly and securely in seconds. The helmet fit can be adjusted at the rear via a Boa dial. POC The POC Sonal has an elongated body. POC Despite its size, the helmet is also said to be comfortable to wear for extended periods. This is thanks to its weight (440g and 490g for the small and regular widths, respectively), light padding, Boa adjustment and its balance on your head while in a TT position.The Sonal will be available from POCs website in October, with full availability next spring. It costs 550 / $660 / 600 / AU$1,000.You may like 9 of the best aero helmets, as tested by BikeRadar Dont buy new wheels a second aero helmet will make you faster for less

POC has finally launched a suitably radical successor to the Tempor, the time trial helmet that started an aerodynamic revolution when it debuted at the London Olympics back in 2012 and was possibly the first to be compared to Spaceballs on social media. The Swedish brands headline claims for the new Sonal, which was used by EF Education-EasyPost in the Tour de France, are a 15-20 watt saving at 60km/h and a lower weight, but the most groundbreaking is that it comes in two shell widths so that both narrow- and wide-shouldered riders can achieve as optimal an aero profile as possible. POC doesnt claim it, but this must be the first TT helmet that comes in different shell sizes for the same head circumference. Our Tech Editor Aaron Borrill has been riding the medium over the tail end of his TT season.(Image credit: POC)There will be more Spaceballs comparisons, but POC is better than most people realise at explaining the real science behind the sci-fi aesthetics. Before the Tempor, time-trial helmets were teardrop-shaped almost without exception, with long, tapered tails that released airflow smoothly off the back of the riders head. Additionally, a lower-volume helmet was considered to be better simply because it was a smaller object to push through the air. But POCs approach with the Tempor was to make the helmet an integral part of the riders overall profile rather than treating the head as an isolated object.It was big and bulbous instead of sleek and long, and POC admits it took time for the Tempor to win over doubters. It was ridiculed, and Gustav Larsson, with whom it was developed, finished only 16th in the 2012 Olympic time trial, four minutes behind gold medallist Bradley Wiggins, who was wearing the classic teardrop design. The Tempor seemed in danger of falling out of favour with the pro racing world (although it was always loved by the UK time trial scene) and POC played it safe with the stubby, more versatile Cerebel in 2014. Then Dan Bigham revived the Tempor in the latter half of the decade with his HUUB-Wattbike track team, winning national and international team pursuit titles and then using it with the Danish quartet when he masterminded their world record-breaking ride in 2020. So POC relaunched the Tempor and rival helmet brands responded with similar designs with larger frontal profiles as the idea of making the head an integral part of the riders whole profile became mainstream. The next giant leap came when Giro unveiled the Aerohead II at Paris-Nice in 2024: an enormous nosecone design that pushed the outer limits of the UCIs bounding boxes and elicited a similar reaction to the POC Tempor 12 years earlier. (Image credit: POC)Perhaps POC should have been first to punch that particular missile-shaped hole through the air, but the Sonal looks likely to have made up any lost ground with its elongated front and contours at the side and rear, which closely follow the human body, and it may well have gained some ground by offering two shell widths.As is now well understood, theres no absolute fastest helmet their aerodynamic performance is very dependent on the riders individual body shape and position on the bike. A helmet thats fastest in the wind tunnel for one rider might not be fastest for the next, but by offering two shell widths, the Sonal is designed to test faster for a broader range of riders. POC says: Results from testing with the [EF Pro Cycling] riders show that with both widths of the Sonal there was a significant improvement in aerodynamic performance. Tested against the already very fast POC TT helmets and at speeds we typically see in modern TT and track events, 60kph, the Sonal delivers average savings of 15 to 20 watts.(Image credit: POC)POC advises riders with shoulders narrower than 37cm to choose the narrow size, while those with shoulders wider than 37cm should choose the regular size. Measurement is taken at the outer shoulders in a TT/aerodynamic position.Both the narrow and regular width shells share the same internal helmet size, spanning head circumferences 51-59cm covering most small to medium-size heads. This means riders get a shell matched to their shoulder width without worrying about head-size fit separately.The Sonal is built to international protection standards and certified to EN and CPSC. POC also says that the wider form and internal structure, which are optimised for deformation in a crash, also provide an additional safety buffer. Theres no Mips rotational impact protection system.(Image credit: POC)Despite the larger surface area, the Sonal is relatively lightweight at a claimed 440 grams for the narrow and 490 grams for the large. The Tempor is 520 grams and the Giro Aerohead II 570 grams. Its available in Hydrogen White and 'Uranium Black Matt' and its priced at 600/ 550 / $660. Thats a little bit more expensive than the Aerohead II but below the Kask Mistral 3.0, as worn by Filippo Ganna.POC Sonal first ride impressionsTech Editor Aaron Borrill has been testing the POC Sonal here are his initial thoughts.(Image credit: David Collard-Berry)I first caught a glimpse of the POC Sonal at the Tour de France Grand Dpart, where it was being field-tested in the wild by EF Education-EasyPost on Stage 1s team trial in Barcelona. As an ardent time triallist and resident tester here at Cycling Weekly, I managed to twist POCs global director of PR Damian Phillips arm and had one delivered to my house just a few days later.Having spent much of the early TT season using the Giro Aerohead II Mips, it was an easy transition as the two share some design similarities the front overhang and elongated proportions. The big difference between the two helmets is the weight: the Sonal is lighter (my medium weighed 435g) and doesnt feel as pronounced or weighted when lifting the head or moving side to side. The fit is good, too, and tailorable via the retention dial at the rear.Damian made a point of emphasising the two size options regular and narrow (riders with shoulders narrower than 37cm), which has aerodynamic and fit implications should you get that wrong. With medium-sized shoulders, I opted for the regular version, which fits my shoulders and back almost perfectly. Its worth noting that time trial helmets dont fit like regular helmets, and youll need to position it so that youre looking just over the bottom of the visor when in the time trial position. Often, this means the visor is sitting well above your field of view when youre standing, almost tilted backward. Youll need to experiment with this so the tail and shoulder interface aligns as intended when stretched out in the extensions.If theres one area Id like improved, its the helmet strap and buckle system. Im a big fan of magnetic buckles and would like something like this included on the Sonal in the future. That said, the straps are easy to manage with no flappy ends once youve arranged the straps to fit your chin, any excess strap can be doubled over and inserted into the fabric keeper.(Image credit: Dean Johnston)In terms of performance, its hard to quantify whether the helmet truly is as fast as claimed. Without empirical testing in a wind tunnel, this would be guesswork, but it does require a disciplined position, as the long tail and elongated front/rear design will act as an airbrake if youre moving about and not locked in. Of the six open time trials Ive used the Sonal for, all of them (bar one) felt incredibly fast. Ive managed a 25-mile personal best and recorded four sub-20 10-mile times, including two course personal bests and my first sub-20 minute Bentley 10 on the H10/8 in Hampshire, known for its wind-exposed layout and grippy and challenging surface. The one occasion I struggled was in heavy, turbulent crosswinds where I felt the helmet catching the wind. As such, Id personally only use the Sonal in conditions where there's a block head or tailwind, or if the wind is calm to mild.Ive got two more time trials remaining, including some testing with AeroSensor in the coming weeks, after which Ill file my final thoughts and write the review.

Wolf Tooth is making hubs now, and theyre as pretty as youd expect. Rounded aluminium barrels with angular spoke mounts and simple white branding. With six colours at launch, here's yet another opportunity to carry a personal touch throughout your build. For a recent build a silver Blackheart Road Plus I opted for blue. It started with the little details: matching rotor lockrings, a headset cover, bottom bracket, seatpost collar and even bottle cage bolts. Now, the hubs carry that same splash of colour into the wheels. Its enough to make the bike feel uniquely mine.There is, of course, plenty of competition for colourful bits. Chris King, White Industries, Industry Nine and Hope have long given wheel buyers reasons to stray from black. Wolf Tooths Kurt Stafki readily acknowledged the established players, but said the new hubs have more to offer than just a splash of colour. "In addition to bringing another eye-catching set of colour options to the table, our hubs are reliable, easy to service, and customisable via the ratchet tooth counts," he said.That last detail brings a second company into the story. Inside Wolf Tooths new hubs is Enves INNERDRIVE mechanism, chosen after Wolf Tooth tested competing systems and even prototyped its own.Conversations with Wolf Tooth and Enve revealed why Wolf Tooth chose to license the design, and what Enve hopes to get from making its technology available to other brands.The Hubs(Image credit: Wolf Tooth)Wolf Tooth today launched its hub range with three models:Straight-pull road/gravel: 24-hole drilling; claimed weight of 326g per pair.Straight-pull XC/trail MTB Boost: 28-hole drilling; claimed weight of 371g per pair.J-bend MTB Boost: intended for aggressive trail through downhill riding; 28- or 32-hole drilling; claimed weight of 442g per pair.All hub shells are machined in-house in Minnesota from 7075-T6 aluminium and come in black, red, blue, gold, orange and ultraviolet purple, with more colours promised.Once youve settled on a model and colour, theres another choice to make: how quickly you want the rear hub to engage when you start pedalling again.Enves Innerdrive mechanism uses two facing toothed rings. Their teeth engage when you pedal, transferring your effort to the wheel. When you coast, the teeth slip past one another, producing the familiar freehub buzz.Wolf Tooth offers 40-, 60-, 80- and 100-tooth options. More teeth mean less movement before the mechanism engagesuseful when picking your way through technical terrain or getting back on the power out of a corner. Wolf Tooth says fewer teeth reduce drag while coasting.The road/gravel hubs come with the lighter 40T Pro ratchet. Riders who prioritise quicker engagement can move up the tooth counts, with the 60T and 80T options sitting between the two extremes.Why Wolf Tooth chose Enve after protoyping its own system(Image credit: Wolf Tooth)That choice of ratchets was only one reason Wolf Tooth set aside its own internal design in favour of INNERDRIVE."We spent a long, long time testing hubs, including our own internal design, which we tested and prototyped alongside existing options," said Wolf Tooths Marketing Manager Zach Dolinaj.Testing took in Minnesotas distinct seasons, including what the company calls "Salt Season," when road salt joins the moisture and grime. If you want to know how bearings and seals cope when conditions turn unpleasant, Minnesota gives you plenty to work with."Choosing INNERDRIVE gives us what we believe is the most balanced, high-performance hub available, focusing on bearing load/life, robustness of the drive mechanism, POE options, weight, and serviceability," Dolinaj said.Inside the shiny exterior, INNERDRIVE's large, opposing toothed ratchets sit over the bearings, which is meant to reduce stress on the axle and bearings to help prolong their life.Then theres bearing preload: the small amount of force applied to take up play in the bearings. Too much can add friction and accelerate wear; too little can leave unwanted movement. INNERDRIVE's Perfect Preload system handles that adjustment with a wave washer. Tighten the end cap to the specified torque, and the system sets the preload for you.Thanks to these features, Wolf Tooth says maintenance requires no special tools. Riders can swap ratchets to change engagement, while a retaining circlip keeps the freehub and ratchets in place during servicing.These practical touches continue in the rest of the hub design. Standardised bearing sizes across the front and rear hubs simplify sourcing replacements, while consistent spoke lengths within each wheelset make keeping spares more straightforward.None of this has the immediate appeal of, say, purple anodising, but it helps explain what Wolf Tooth means by hubs that are "easy to live with".So why choose these over Enves own hubs? Colour, customisability and domestic production, argued Stafki. "Compared to Enve, customers will be able to ride with a Made-in-the-USA hubshell, with colour options and ratchet selection based on style and preference," he said.Enve technology, open for licensing(Image credit: Wolf Tooth)For Enve, supplying the technology represents a reversal of roles. Before developing a drive mechanism of its own, the company used Mavics ID360 in its hubs. It knows the appeal of building around an existing design as well as the large amount of work involved in creating an alternative.Enves VP of Product, Jake Pantone, said INNERDRIVE took roughly two years to develop before launching in 2024. Wolf Tooths decision to license it is therefore a particular kind of endorsement: a fellow manufacturer tested the alternatives, including its own prototypes, and chose Enves engineering instead.We've opened the technology up for licensing, and so we've licensed it to BMC, to Wolf Tooth, and there's a handful of other brands who are looking at the opportunity to use INNER DRIVE, Pantone shared.That raises an obvious question: does Enve want its internals inside everyone elses hubs?"Right now we're not necessarily looking to be a DT Swiss, like we're not looking to grow and establish a hub business unit per se."Pantone described licensing as validation rather than a revenue driver. The development effort was first and foremost about producing a dependable mechanism for Enves own wheels. Having another manufacturer choose it gives that work a life beyond Enves product range.We really believe INNERDRIVE is a really nice, simple, low-maintenance system. And so it was great that someone like Wolf Tooth recognised that and wanted to use that same drive mechanism."Hub pricing(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)At launch, hubs will be shipping worldwide from the Wolf Tooth website, and are also available internationally via its distributor and dealer networks.Front: $239.95 USD / 205 / 270Rear: $489.95 USD / 410 / 540The set: $729.90 USD / 615 / 810Wheelset optionsWolf Tooth is selling seven in-house wheelset options featuring the new hubs:Enve SES 4.5 - $2950Enve G SES 4.5 - $2950We Are One Whisp - $1975We Are One Triad 29" and Mullet - $1975Enve M6 - $2400Enve M8 - $2400First Impressions(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)I've been riding the blue Wolf Tooth hubs laced into Enve SES 4.5 rims since late July. Sunny, dry late-summer miles are hardly Minnesotas "Salt Season", so any verdict on bearing life will have to wait. I have, however, used INNERDRIVE in Enve wheels previously without issue, which gives me confidence in the mechanism inside these new shells.The looks certainly deliver. I like the hub's angular shapes and the way the machining gives the hubs character beyond their colour. Alongside the matching Wolf Tooth details elsewhere on my Blackheart, they make the build feel uniquely mine. The finish remains pristine, too, without a scratch or ding despite some questionable off-road choices.Enve says it has no plans to offer colourful hubs itself, so this is one way to bring that personal touch to an Enve-equipped build.Freehub sound is personal, but with the 40T Pro ratchet fitted, this setup sits on the quieter end of the spectrum with just a pleasing buzz. Wolf Tooth sent along alternative ratchets to try, and swapping them was remarkably painless. I particularly appreciate the retained internals. With other systems, I've misplaced a spring or two when the freehub body came away while swapping cassettes or changing a tyre. And watching Keegan Swenson search for lost freehub springs in the gravel at Unbound this year only reinforced the appeal of keeping those small parts in place. To me, it's an easily overlooked but much-appreciated detail. At $729.90 for the set, Wolf Tooth's hubs are close in price to White Industries offerings, and below Chris Kings $890 R45D Centerlock pairing. Its very much a premium purchase, but priced in familiar territory for riders considering colourful hubs for a custom build.With wetter weather approaching all too soon, Ill continue testing these in less favourable conditions. For now, Wolf Tooths distinctive machining, coordinated colours and straightforward ratchet swaps are a compelling package.

Tim Wellens has admitted that he was shocked by Philippe Gilbert's scathing criticism of his decision to turn down a call-up for the World Championships with Belgium, opting to focus on goals with UAE Team Emirates- XRG for the remainder of the season. The veteran all-rounder, who has featured promi...

In the latest episode of the road.cc podcast, the Olympic Gold medallists share their thoughts on the future of men's racing...