ENVE Composites Launches the First All‐Carbon DH Rim 13

February 1, 2012 – Ogden, UT, USA – ENVE Composites is pleased to announce the release of the first full carbon downhill rim. For the last five years ENVE has been at the forefront of the bicycle industry pushing the limits of what is achievable with carbon fiber. This has been highlighted by the Santa Cruz Syndicate's success on the World Cup Downhill circuit over the last two years. In September of 2009, ENVE’s first DH specific prototypes were pulled from the molds and delivered to the Syndicate for testing. Since that delivery, ENVE’s DH specific rim has been raced to more than fifty podiums on the professional race circuit.

Key Features:
DH specific 100% uni-direction carbon fiber construction provides:
  - Unprecedented tracking and cornering performance
  - Sizeable weight savings over DH specific alloy rims, most DH specific alloy rims weigh between 580-660 grams
  - Improved stiffness over DH specific alloy rims

Proprietary Toughened Resin System:
  - Guarantees superior strength and impact resistance when compared to much heavier alloy rims
  - Dampens trail feedback

ENVE Patented Molded Spoke Hole Technology:
  - Virtually maintenance free wheel builds
  - Stronger spoke holes allow for higher spoke tensions

DH Rim Technical Specs:
- Hole Counts: 32
- External Width: 30mm
- Internal Width: 21mm
- Depth: 31mm
- Weight: 475 g
- ERD: 535 (includes internal nipple)
- Nipple: Pillar Internal 3/16” Hex
- Rim Tape: ENVE
- Spokes: DT Competition

ENVE’s latest product, being the first of its kind, is a race‐bred design that was developed in conjunction with local pro riders and Santa Cruz Bicycles’ Syndicate race program. The full carbon DH rim provides true performance benefits; most notable are the vast increases in durability over the traditional alloy offerings on the market. Advancements made to the carbon DH rim throughout the 2010 season, resulted in Steve Peat being able to race on the same pair of race wheels for the entire 2011 season. According to ENVE’s Jake Pantone, “this success, along with those of other test riders was the trigger that set into action our plan to release this highly specialized factory race rim for public consumption.” “Being the first full carbon downhill clincher to successfully race and then win a World Cup was a huge accomplishment. Being the first to offer the same World Cup worthy race product to the public is the culmination of a lot of hard work,” said Jason Schiers, ENVE’s founder. “Firsts are hard to come by in our industry. In this case, I think not only did we get there first, but I think we are changing the game.” said Schiers.

In the beginning of ENVE and Santa Cruz Syndicate’s partnership as Schiers put it, “The DH environment and extreme capabilities of riders such as Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, and Josh Bryceland are the most defining way to demonstrate what sets ENVE branded products apart from all others.” This sponsorship along with others provided ENVE engineers with real world feedback to fully develop and refine a gamechanging product. Over the last year, ENVE has made a sizeable investment in their R&D Testing Lab.

“Our investment in new testing equipment has strengthened our ability to take real world results and feedback, validate it in the lab, and then reintroduce it to the athletes and testers to confirm the changes we’ve made. This process is very apparent in the DH rims. We took what we were learning from our pros and test riders, and made changes accordingly. As a result we believe that the new DH rims are the best riding and most durable mountain rims on the market today,” said ENVE’s VP of Operations Joe
Stanish.

The high‐performance characteristic of the ENVE DH rim is attributed to a proprietary manufacturing process, targeted laminate, and a purpose driven design. The ENVE DH rim is 31 mm deep and features a 21mm inner bead to bead width making it the ideal platform for riders running wide downhill tires. The new ENVE DH clinchers also include a progression of structural modifications that improve ride performance and strength without any notable weight penalties.

The new ENVE DH rims are only available in 26 inch, 32 hole configuration and weigh 475 grams/rim. Retail is set at US$999/rim, and complete pre‐built wheel sets using DT Swiss or Chris King hubs start at US$2,750.

About ENVE Composites
Located in Ogden, Utah, ENVE manufactures carbon fiber rims and components specifically for the bicycle industry and is at the forefront of the emerging outdoor manufacturing sector. ENVE wheels and components are chosen by the best cyclists in the world including the United Health Care Pro Cycling Team, the Santa Cruz Syndicate, and celebrities like Lance Armstrong, who recently rode ENVE mountain wheels at the 2011 XTERRA World Championships. ENVE is one of the only companies in the bicycle  industry to manufacture in the U.S.A and all ENVE wheels are handmade in Ogden, Utah.

www.enve.com