Ares6: Becoming The Official Wheel of Race Across America

You don’t get to be the official wheel of the “hardest race in the world” for nuthin’. You have to earn it. And we did. In every possible way.

Rolf Prima owner Brian Roddy’s RAAM stretch through Arizona was hot – even by Arizona standards. (124 degrees, to be exact), “I was standing on the side of the road puking - with my crew standing there waiting for me to get it together,” he later recalled, “And all I could think was  ‘this is definitely not fun’.

Such is the way Brian spends his “vacations.” No stranger to epic events, he and his team of 4 tackled Race Across America in 2016, swapping off ride segments continually for 6 days, 22 hours and 32 minutes). While his digestive fortitude may have wavered for a moment, his equipment never did. The whole team relied on Rolf Prima wheels – with Ares6 sets as the primary weapon of choice. Not a single hub adjustment was needed, nor was a spoke wrench ever touched. They simply did their jobs. Day in, day out, for over 3,000 miles and across 12 states.  

That no-frills dependability is of course the first characteristic that all equipment – or person, for that matter – must possess if they’re going to complete a feat like this. They’ve gotta be tough as nails. Despite a strong crew of riders and killer support crew, once the race started there was literally no margin of error. With every second on the clock, sleep deprivation and fatigue continually mounting each transition, leg of the race and recovery window was precious time.  Keeping the body functioning became the sole focus. Equipment simply had to work. No muss, no fuss, and problems. Anything else would have proven disastrous.

That’s because RAAM isn’t just a test of survival. It’s a race. It’s about going fast. Luckily, that’s exactly what you can expect with the 60mm deep Ares6. It gets up to speed quickly and stays there until you tell it to stop. In addition to the wicked-fast rim profile, the nature of paired-spokes is that they naturally build into an exceedingly aero wheel. That’s because the amount of spoke-induced drag is dramatically reduced when spokes run parallel together. The gaps between those pairings offer “clean air” in the wheels where they would otherwise be creating drag. Even in a head wind, you simply soar.

Luckily life isn’t just comprised of headwinds, so these aero speed-machines also have to pass the cross-wind challenge – an issue that handicaps hoops in this genre. But luckily, paired-spokes also work to improve handling. With fewer interruptions in air flow through the wheel, and a rounded spoke bed, there is less for wind to grab when it comes from the side. That air thus passes through the wheel more easily, minimizing impact on the rider and allowing far greater control. In the Race Across America, control could not be more important. Afterall, riders are going as fast as possible in all manner of sketchy conditions – from sporadic cross winds in Kansas, the Glass Elevator hairball descent in California or any of the other countless surprises. Considering that many of these take place in the dark, or while the rider is deeply sleep deprived and fatigued, stability and control couldn’t be more crucial.

To further enhance those features it was updated for 2018, increasing internal width to 20mm to better support wider tires, as well as updated to tubeless compatibility. Running wide tires without tubes and thus lower pressures, increases comfort in addition to adding traction, better rolling resistance and improved flat resistance. Afterall, there’s nothing in the world slower than standing still and fixing a flat.

To get to the top of the innumerable descents of course, one must climb. And there is plenty of that to be done. One-hundred and seventy-five thousand feet, to be exact. You can’t be foisting a heavy wheel up all that vert, and here too the Ares6 delivers. At just 1585 grams, there is little penalty for the aero advantage it offers. Indeed, it still comes in at a weight that many would consider a viable option for climbing wheel.

It’s been put through the paces, tried and true in every capacity. But of course, it’s not just for the hardest races on the planet. With those sort of credentials, it’s clearly ideal for every day, every race, and every feat. Fast on the flats, quick on the climbs, ripping on descents and tough as nails.

Written by: Loren Mason-Gere