FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EUGENE, Oregon, March 5, 2008
Rolf Prima Wheels Score Big in Wind Tunnel
Eugene, OR – Rolf Prima travelled down to the low speed wind tunnel in San Diego last February with a van full of the top wheel brands to find out how they stacked up against the 2008 competition. The results may surprise you, but the credibility of the test facility and the testing protocol shouldn’t.
The aerodynamic performance testing was conducted at the San Diego Air and Space Technology LSWT which has conducted nearly 100,000 hours of testing for military, civil and aerospace development programs. It has provided testing for nearly 150 professional and amateur cyclists including Lance Armstrong and the Discovery Cycling Team, CSC, Astana, Phonak, Slipstream and World Ironman Champions Chris McCormack, Norman Stadler and Michellie Jones.
The aerodynamic wheel testing protocol was developed by a team of engineers at the LSWT which is considered the “gold standard” in the bike industry. The wheel is fixed to a stationary structure and is driven at a constant speed of 30 MPH while a flow of air is directed at the wheel at angles from 0 to 30 degrees. Wind resistance is measured via a strain gauge on the wheel fixture and is calculated into grams of drag.
Click on wind tunnel results and compare the efficiency of various wheel models. The results may surprise you as many brands boast aerodynamic benefits that the wind tunnel simply doesn’t validate.
Since all cyclists must overcome air resistance created by forward motion and the prevailing winds, how FAST you can ride is dependent on how efficient you are in lowering air resistance. Other than a rider’s position on the bike, your wheels are the most significant way to reduce wind resistance. An efficient aerodynamic wheel will allow a rider to significantly reduce air resistance and ride FASTER than a rider with greater power output on less efficient wheels.
Over a decade of smart engineering, design and real-world testing have made Rolf Prima the industry leader in lightweight, high performance bicycle wheels. Only Rolf Prima’s patented Paired Spoke Design Technology allows you to build wheels with lighter rims and fewer spokes which yields considerably less drag without compromising wheel stiffness, durability or stability.
All Rolf Prima wheel systems are engineered to advance lightweight aerodynamic performance and were developed for individuals with top-level performance in mind. Rolf Dietrich is the inventor of the paired-spoke bicycle wheel design. All Rolf Prima wheel systems are hand-built in Eugene, Oregon and are protected by numerous patents in the US and other countries with several non-exclusive license agreements in force.
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Contact: TJ Walsh [tj@rolfprima.com]
Rolf Prima Incorporated
750 Commercial Street, Suite 1
Eugene, OR 97402 USA
Voice: 541.868.1715
Web: rolfprima.com