British wheel brand Parcours and Belgian technology company Classified have unveiled… ‘the world’s first Powershift-ready disc wheel’.
The new wheel and drivetrain configuration claims to set a new standard in triathlon and time trial performance. It combines aerodynamics from the Parcours Disc2 together with Classified’s innovative Powershift technology.
The Parcours Disc2, combined with the Powershift hub, has already been used at the highest level of racing by world leading athletes, Ruth Astle and Kyle Smith. First raced at the PTO European Open and World Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Ibiza, both Smith and Astle produced strong bike legs.
The Parcours Disc2 is designed to be fitted with a 28-30mm tyre and a 22.5mm internal rim width making it ‘the widest disc wheel currently available’. When combined with a wider tubeless tyre at a lower pressure, the Disc2 allows an athlete to minimise the physiological toll of racing, staying fresher and less fatigued for longer.
The efficiency gains of Powershift technology mean that athletes can benefit from improved aerodynamics due to the removal of the front derailleur and 45% lower chain forces due to larger chainrings and sprockets. In addition to this, the athlete has the ability to maintain an optimum cadence due to the wider range of gears afforded by the two-speed wireless hub.
Classified’s internal hub gear allows the rider to instantaneously switch between a 1:1 and a ‘reduction’ gear (the virtual inner ring) with the touch of a button. The reduction gear has a ratio of 0.686, so with a single 53t-chainring up front, the rider has access to a virtual 36t-chainring. A 50t-chainring would yield a 34t-chainring equivalent when the hub’s reduction gear is used.
The Classified Powershift enabled Parcours Disc2 is priced at £1,099 / $1,449 / €1,429.
Mathias Plouvier, co-founder and CEO of Classified said “We’re thrilled to be working with a like-minded ‘efficiency obsessed’ partner like Parcours to produce the first ever Powershift ready disc wheel.
“Pushing the efficiency boundaries and showing what is possible for a wheel and drivetrain combination is one of the reasons we get out of bed in the morning. We’ve already seen some fantastic results in professional racing, so we’re very excited for the future.”
Dov Tate, founder of Parcours said “We have enjoyed building on our technical partnership with Classified and being part of an innovative and cutting edge working relationship which has created such an exciting product. We are already seeing this create a new standard for triathlon and look forward to building on this in the future.”
www.parcours.cc
www.classified-cycling.cc
