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| Lake Biel is surrounded by some world-class riding opportunities-and the DT Swiss factories. |
RBA took to the skies to visit DT Swiss in their home city of Biel, Switzerland, where we were treated to some choice riding in the rolling forested hills surrounding the lake which bears the same name as the city. The buzz was about wheels, but the big treat was to visit the factory and see how and why DT Swiss became the first name in spokes, and as of late, pre-built wheels.
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DT swiss logo on factory
DT Swiss' new facility, where it produces rims, spoke nipples, and mountain bike suspension components. |
DT Swiss actually has two factories in Biel-which is the ancestral home of the world's most prestigious watch makers, like Rolex (250 meters away from factory II) Rado, Omega, Tag Heuer, and Swatch. The heritage of precision manufacturing makes Biel a perfect location for DT Swiss, who in the longstanding tradition of Swiss clock-making, farms out some of its processes to neighborhood firms. The original DT Swiss factory has been in near-continuous operation since the mid 1600s, when its wire making and metal forges were powered by water wheels. The factory still straddles the stream, which also made electricity for the plant when it was modernized centuries later. The original ruins still stand, and the functional hydroelectric plant upstream, is now used for educational purposes.
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| The ruins of the original DT factory where water wheels once powered the forges. |
DT Swiss' top clincher wheel is the RR 1450 Mon Chasseral, which weighs (as the moniker mentions) 1450 grams a set. The low-profile welded-aluminum rim is powder-coated white, with red and black graphics, and machined braking tracks. The spokes are conventional double butted, which surprised us because we expected bladed spokes-at least for their flash value. Quick releases are the new RWS, twist-on types with stainless steel skewers. The hubs use the ultra-reliable DT Swiss star ratchet freehub design and the sealed bearings are stainless steel (ceramic composite bearings are available). Like all of its road wheels, freehub bodies are available to fit Shimano/SRAM or Campagnolo cassettes.
Road testing the Mon Chasseral wheelset was a pleasure. The aluminum rim feels smooth under braking and tracks well at speed. Ultra high-tension spokes are made possible by DT Swiss' hexagonal-head ProLock nipples. Performance was a sure-riding blend of lateral stability, and vertical compliance.
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| The machine that welds the rims at DT Swiss. |
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| ...and the one that rolls the aluminum extrusions into a coil that will be cut into three rims. While the rims are rolled, tiny holes are forged into the braking tracks to serve as wear indicators. |
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| The machine that rotary forges each butted spoke. Most spokes are pulled or "drawn" into their butted shapes, but DT Swiss believes (and time has proven) that forging the butted profile makes for a more durable spoke. |
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| ...and the sight of thousands of nipples being individually machined from monstrous coils of wire, and then prepared for their journey to wheelbuilders around the world. |
Still in development, is the RRC 1250, with a Swiss-made carbon clincher rim and ceramic bearings. The 1250-gram wheelset is beautiful to behold and rides as good as it looks, with black, bladed spokes and red graphics. DT Swiss is presently putting the RRC 1250 through intensive testing and, if all goes well, we should see it around the first part of 2009.
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| RRC 1250: the "C" stands for carbon, the 1250 is how many grams the pair weigh (slightly less, actually), and the price? Well, if the RRC 1250 passes its final exams with straight A's, you'll pay about $3500 to ride 'em. |
DT Swiss is in the unenviable position of making world-class, very expensive, truly high-performance wheels that don't have the seductive look of the aluminum-spoked, CNC-machined Fulcrum or Ksyrium wheels that pepper the present market. The easy sell, would be to let potential customers ride a set for comparison-and experience the phenomenally good performance that a well-executed conventional rim with stainless steel spokes will deliver.
What seems very Swiss about DT Swiss is their honesty in labeling-for instance; the 1450-gram, RR 1450 Classic. The silver/gray anodized, double-eyelet aluminum rim, star-ratchet freehub system, double-butted, bladed spokes and top-drawer, hubset are the backbone of the DT Swiss wheel lineup-laced together in a conservative 28-spoke radial front and a 28-spoke two-cross rear pattern. It doesn't get more Classic than that. The smile behind the preceding words is that EVERY DT Swiss wheel could be considered a classic build. Swiss Honesty is refreshing indeed.
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| RR 1450 Classic wheels are exactly what their name suggests-a classic example of the do-anything road racing clincher. Double eyelets in the rim at each spoke hole give the 1450-gram wheelset an unlimited weight rating. |
DT-Swiss uses a pressed-together rim design as well, and it uses a better-than-most joining process, where an aluminum sleeve that matches the inner diameter of the hollow rim extrusion is pressed into the joint. The sleeve joining method makes for a rounder wheel build, and it serves to reinforce the seam against direct impacts. The R 1900 is a "more affordable" sport-racing wheel with a more conventional hubset (the freehub uses a standard pawl-type ratcheting system) and a deeper, semi-aero rim profile that allows for fewer spokes (20 radially laced, front and 24 two-cross, rear). The Pro-lock nipples are black-treated brass instead of aluminum, but the quick releases are DT Swiss' new RWS types. The all-black R 1900 is a sexy looking wheelset that should be a frequent sight at club races and on select production sport-racing bicycles.
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| DT Swiss R 1900-wheels for the discerning masses. |
And, before we close this window into the Swiss wheelgoods maker, we'd love to give you a closeup look at the RWS system-a replacement for the nearly obsolete quick release. New industry standards that require the bicycle to be ridden safely with the standard quick release handle in the open position have pushed wheel makers to develop alternatives. The RWS handle releases from an internal ratchet with a push on the centrally located red button. This action frees the operator to tighten the wheel in 1/4 or 1/2-turn increments, and then to stow the handle at the most convenient angle.
The RWS wheel retaining system is slightly slower than a conventional quick release, but more secure and easily understood. The steel version weighs 43 grams (front) and 48 grams (rear). The titanium RWS weighs 36 grams (front) and 39 grams (rear).
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