"I had already heard very good things about it from trusted people and in particular I was positively attracted by the fact of having a very wide and well-rounded heel as I was firmly convinced that the major cause of punctures is not attributable only to the tyre, but precisely to the width and shape of the rim bead, which causes pinching in the event of rim-tyre-ground impacts. So talking about them with Michele (Favaloro Ed) we decided to try them and we immediately discovered all the other qualities” – Juri Ragnoli
"I really appreciated the fact of not having to put the classic tape, both for simplicity and for the lower risk that a breaking spoke could puncture the tape itself. I chose to use a 31,4 mm internal channel rim not only for the greater volume of air, but above all for the fact that greater width means greater lateral stiffness and therefore riding precision without affecting absorption, on the contrary. But the thing that made me opt for these wheels is the ease of driving, the incredible absorption of stresses, especially with HDPE Berd textile spokes, while remaining extremely precise laterally, and then the reliability combined with lightness, in my opinion truly at the highest levels” – Juri Ragnoli
The composite part
The rims project comes from RaceFactory's know-how in composites and textile engineering combined with an accurate analysis of the stress nodes.
Engineering resources and experience in CAD design and FEM simulations of complex systems were used to optimize the section and layering of the composite to the maximum.
Therefore, the simple manufacturing of a mold was not limited to being entrusted to others, but the rim is to all intents and purposes a creation of the company.
The composite layering is developed in-house, and is protected by a Confidentiality agreement; this is because a lot of work in finite element FEA simulations was needed to arrive at high strength and light weight results.
Different "virtual" rims refined with FEA are rolled and destroyed to test the resistances, choosing the best one.
The SWBT series MTB rims are very complex to roll and very sophisticated, they have many more pieces and reinforcements in the stressed areas compared to standard rims.
This is why they achieve very high resistance, stiffness and tearing results at the nipple, despite having a reference weight for channel and giant bead.
High TG components are used for the matrix part (resins), along with long cure cycles.
Another peculiarity is that from the very beginning RaceFactory (among the very first in Italy already in 2019) has chosen not to paint its rims, which are perfect from the mould. The surface is incomparably harder than painted rims.
Racefactory wheel sets have already won 2 world championships with Lorena Zocca and Benedetta Toschi, 2 silver medals at the XCO World Championship in Patagonia with Simona Ce', Italian Marathon Championships with Daniel Pozzecco, Efrem Bonelli and Gabriele Depaul, silver medal at the Swiss EPIC with Martino Tronconi in 2022. They also finished all the ABSA Cape EPICs, including the 2023 edition (with 2 teams), an edition that made various "illustrious" victims in the wheel sets.
The lamination quality must be extreme, since there will be no varnish to cover or mask possible defects. The resin matrices contain special filters that protect them from UV rays.
This also lends a hand to the environment (paints and solvents are not used).
The rims are produced in 2 channels, wide and extra wide:
• SWBT 28.4 (36,2mm width, 28,2mm channel, 4,0mm bead)
• SWBT 31.4 (39,8mm width, 31,4mm channel, 4,2mm bead)
The SWBT 31.4 are also available in a version with carbon lamination optimized for Enduro/All-Mountain.
From the outset, all rims are assembled only in the version without holes on the native tubeless channel, which does not require tape, and avoids all the problems associated with it (latex penetration and nipple corrosion). The absence of a hole in the channel also eliminates the injury of the carbon fibers in the channel to the full advantage of resistance.
SWBT molds are distinguished by the “RF” logo stamped into the rim and the flat valve face to prevent water from entering the rim.
The unique 4,0mm and a whopping 4,2mm SWBT (Super Wide Bead Technology) extra wide bead for the SWBT 31.4 is very strong (about 30-70% thicker than standard rims), and together with the lay-up of the skins in the area significantly increases the longitudinal and torsional stiffness of the rim while reducing the possibility of damage to the tire in the event of a pinch flat.
All channels have an asymmetrical section, with an offset of 3,0 mm to largely balance the camber of the wheel, and therefore uniform the tension value of the spokes between the two sides of the wheel as much as possible.
The hub part
The new series of World Cup Edition 2.0 hubs was born out of several months of testing in the winter training period and in competition with prototypes, which served to acquire data for product development and optimization, which culminated in victories at the Dolomitica Bike 2022 World Championship of Lorena Zocca and Benedetta Toschi and several podiums in important races of the athletes who use RaceFactory.
Rigorously built in Italy, in the "Motor Valley" of F1 engines, work has been done on various points compared to the previous series:
1) Height and distance of the flanges. The flanges have been raised and further optimized. This data is very important; the greater it is, the more the camber angle increases; the wheel acquires more precision and driving smoothness. The difference in tension between the left and right spokes (unavoidable in any wheel for geometric reasons which include the cassette and front disc space) also benefits by being reduced. We therefore went in a logical direction, contrary to some realizations, with very low flanges more typical of a road hub than of one developed for MTB. The figure shows (1) and (2) profiles of high-end hubs used in MTB in comparison with the RaceFactory hub (black line). The notable difference in height and distance of the flanges is easily appreciated.
2) Moving the flanges further towards the rear cassette side and towards the disc side for the front, in order to further reduce the tension difference between the two sides.
3) A new custom production system for freewheel springs with micrometric preload measurements. Magnetic systems have been completely discarded, due to the mass and inertia typical of these systems, which can cause problems in managing sophisticated 66-tooth engagements such as the one used in the 2.0. Races are also won on the wire; the 66 teeth in the rack reduce the arc of circumference of the cranks necessary to create the engagement, by 45% compared to a 32Z system and by 63% compared to a 24Z system, for blistering acceleration.
The weight of the hub set is very low (278g), the result of many hours of FEA optimizations by the designer.
The smoothness of these hubs, already at the highest levels, has remained unchanged. An extremely precise CNC construction in ergal 7075T6 with construction tolerances of a few microns and strict controls in thermo-conditioned rooms with precision instruments ensure axial alignment accuracy worthy of Swiss watchmaking.
By constructive choice, thanks to very precise tolerances, no axial pre-load washer is used, much less shims.
The RaceFactory MTB hubs are available in 3 versions:
- Reference World Cup Edition 2.0 (titanium freewheel mechanism)
- Endurance (steel freewheel mechanism)
- All Mountain (steel freewheel mechanism)
The sets are assembled with Alpina Hyperlite spokes custom produced by Alpjna for RaceFactory in Italy, with SAPIM CX Ray, and upon request with carbon-titanium spokes and Berd™ textiles in UHDPE (Ultra High Density PolyEthilene).
