A couple of years ago, Race Face introduced its carbon Era wheelset. These wheels, meant for aggressive trail riding, ducked the usually “stiffer is better” carbon mantra we’ve heard for so long. Instead, they leaned toward an ethos of compliance.
Following this release, the brand released the Era SL wheels, intended for the other end of the trail spectrum. Yet, no Era wheel offering was available for the beefy e-bikes.
That is, until now. Introducing the Era eMTB wheels.
Race Face Era eMTB
Race Face uses the same rim for its Era eMTB wheelset as it does for its standard Era wheels. These rims have a distinct profile, front and rear, which delivers the blend of compliance and strength they are looking for.
On the standard Era wheels, the front rim is 18.6mm deep, while the rear rim is 22.6mm. Both rims share a 30mm internal width, paired with a 37.2mm external width. Race Face will carry these measurements over to the Era eMTB wheels.
However, Race Face is boasting a 15% increase in lateral stiffness with the Era eMTB wheelset. How?
The secret sauce is in the spokes. And not only more of them, but thicker to boot. To handle the extra weight and forces an e-bike adds to a wheelset, Race Face uses double-butted J-bend spokes–28 up front, 32 on the rear. The standard Era wheels only have 28 spokes, front and rear.
And the spokes are thicker than the standard Era wheelset. The Era eMTB wheels use 1.7mm and 1.8mm spokes on the front and rear wheels, respectively. Spokes used on the standard Ear wheels measure 1.65mm at their thinnest.
Race Face’s Vault hubs also provide a bit of extra strength to the Era eMTB wheelset. The internal axles on the hubs are now steel, adding strength and stiffness to the wheelset.
Added strength and stiffness, with little added weight. These changes cost less than 200g, keeping the Era eMTB wheels under 2,000g for a 29er wheelset. An MX wheelset weighs under 1,900g.
Impressive for eMTB wheels.
Era eMTB Wheel Details
- Size: 29” & 27.5” (27.5 only available as rear wheel)
- Spacing: Boost
- Hub: Vault (3° of engagement)
- Freehub: Microspline or XD
- Brake: 6-bolt
- Weight: 1,929g (29er) / 1,883g (MX)
- System weight rating: 150kg (330lbs)
- Max torque: 130Nm
- Price: $1679
Race Face Era wheels come with a lifetime warranty. This includes crashes. If you bust your wheels, reach out, and they’ll get you sorted. Check them out at raceface.com.
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