Reynolds announces three new 46mm depth wheelsets with novel rim profile
Lightest 'BL 46 Pro' wheels have 1,397g claimed weight
Almost any deeper section carbon wheel rim you can think of nowadays adopts a bulbous U-shape, which is claimed to increase stability in crosswinds. That wasn’t always the case; seven or eight years ago, a V-shaped rim profile was prevalent.
Reynolds has been one of the few brands to continue to use the V-shaped profile though, on its top-spec Blacklabel Aero rims, although its less pricey rims have adopted a U-shaped profile.
Now Reynolds has blended the two profiles with its latest BL 46 Pro DB, BL 46 Expert DB and AR 46 DB wheelsets. They’re not quite U-shaped, but the sides of the rim taper upwards, with a much smaller rounded section towards the top – a sort of semi-U.
As with many deep section aero rims, the DET 2 rim profile bulges out from the flanges, which are hooked rather than hookless. In its case, the internal width is a not super-wide 21mm, but the maximum outer width of the rim is 31mm, with the full rim being 46mm deep. Reynolds says that the tubeless-ready rim is aero optimised for 28mm tyres.
It says that its rim profile is designed to handle a wide range of wind yaw angles, such as would be encountered in the real world, rather than just a narrow range of yaw angles tested in the wind tunnel. This is claimed to offer increased stability so that riders can more easily maintain a more aero ride position.
Reynolds says that its CR6 laminate and resin result in the top-spec BL 46 Pro DB wheelset having an extremely stiff, torsionally resistant rim.
The rim is laced to Blacklabel Torch hubs which Reynolds co-developed with hub specialist Industry9, with a three pawl freehub with a very small 6° engagement angle thanks to Industry9‘s offset pawl freehub mechanism, which leads to fast pick-up.
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Range, specs and prices
Reynolds is offering its new 46mm rim profile in its three different wheel ranges: Blacklabel Pro, Blacklabel Expert and AR. All are offered with a lifetime guarantee on the rim.
The Blacklabel 46 Pro DB wheels are the premium option and use the Blacklabel Torch hubs with Sapim CX-Ray spokes and alloy nipples, spoked 20 front, 24 rear. Reynolds claims a 1,397g wheelset weight.
Move down the range and the Blacklabel 46 Expert DB wheelset uses the same rim, but with 24 Sapim CX-Ray spokes front and rear laced to Reynolds/Ringle Super Bubba X Road DB hubs with a three pawl ratchet with 8° engagement. Claimed weight increases to 1,430g.
Finally, the Reynolds AR46 DB wheelset has Sapim Sprint spokes with brass nipples, a new Reynolds/Ringle SRX Road DB hub with a 3 pawl freehub with 12° engagement. Reynolds says that it weighs 1,604g.
Price for the top-spec Pro wheels is $2,299.99 / £2,446.50 / €2,330
Expert spec wheels are priced at $1,899.99 / £2,026.50 / €1,930
AR spec wheels are priced at $1,449.99 / £1,543.50 / €1,470
Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.