PiRope is a brilliant company, I became aware of the company through a friend from the Xterra scene. The engineers not only build extremely cool looking wheels, but also extremely light ones. As the name suggests, it is about a circle and ropes. So a rim, a hub and spokes. But PiRope manufactures very special spokes, not like conventional spoke manufacturers from steel, but from high-performance fibers that are bundled into a mesh.
Of course, the first thing to consider is the weight.
Front wheel: 517g
Rear wheel: 601g
Wheelset: 1118g
The weight is unbeatable, and that with a wide 30mm rim. I could hardly believe it. I paired the wheels with 160mm 6-bolt discs and Maxxis IKON tires, front and rear.
And off we went on the trails. The rapid acceleration was noticeable immediately. This is of course due to the low weight, but I was also very surprised by the stiffness. On my home trails around Vienna, on the so-called Kahlenberg, I beat my bike up and down. At the beginning I was still a bit cautious, but when I recognized the potential of these wheels, no root or stone could stop me from stepping on the gas.
Turning into corners is done within milliseconds, the maneuverability is hard to beat. Can a wheel with "laces" be as stiff as a wheel with properly forged spokes? And how. Since conventional spokes only absorb tensile stress, the "cord" is also much more comfortable in absorbing impacts. And it acts in the same way in the curves, light and manoeuvrable.
After riding the wheelset for a number of months and kilometers, in training and in races, there is now minimal bearing play, but they are still perfectly centered. You run almost like on the 1st day.
I rode the following races on it:
Austrian Championships XC
Salzkammergut Trophy Marathon "All Mountain Route"
Xterra Germany, European Championship
Bike The Bugles Marathon
Red Bull Dolomitenmann
Xterra Trentino, ETU Cross Triathlon European Championship
TriesX Cross Triathlon Sardinia
Kamptal Trophy XCO
Rally Di Sardegna mountain bike stage race 4 days
In order to get the last bit out again, the engineers in Chemnitz, Germany, will take a look at the wheelset and prepare it perfectly for me. There will be a small update and another improvement, you can be curious.
If I could pique your interest go to PIROPE and order your own wheel set.