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Magnesium is not a material that comes up frequently in bicycle parts, despite having properties that should raise the eyebrows of anyone in the cycling industry. Luckily, that has been changing in recent years thanks to Allite and its Super Magnesium alloy.
Originally developed for defense, this material has plenty of uses outside of the military thanks to its properties of being 30 percent lighter than aluminum while being stiffer and stronger gram for gram.
Also read: Day 1 random finds at the Taipei Cycle Show 2023
Allite has already debuted the material in a bike frame through its in-house brand, Vaast. Now Allite is forming the alloy into rims, where its properties should shine bright to make a light, comfortable wheelset.
The increased strength and impact resistance of Super Magnesium lets Allite make its three new rims super light. The 27mm deep Super Mag 370 Road rim weighs just 375 grams, while the G380 Gravel 700c rim comes in at 405 grams, and the G370 650b gravel rim comes in at 376 grams.
The road rim features a 21mm internal rim width, while the gravel options both have 25mm internal rim widths. All three models are 27mm deep. There are 24- and 28-hole versions available in the road model, while the gravel versions add in a 32-hole option on top of those.
Where these rims should in theory shine brightest is with their vibration damping capabilities. Allite’s own testing shows 24 percent peak vibration reduction over carbon rims, and 16 percent reduction over aluminum rims. That will be appreciated on any surface, but gravel riders should be especially intrigued by the possibilities of a lightweight, strong, comfortable wheelset — and one that shouldn’t cost too much at that.
Also read: Vaast R/1 road bike review: Magnesium tubing offers a distinctly cushy ride
Why hasn’t this super-material made it to rims before? Well, that’s because it’s hard to work with.
“Magnesium is fundamentally a very different animal,” said Patrick Bonifas, an engineer at Allied who was at the Taipei Cycle Show. “We have to design things differently.” Luckily, Allite has figured things out.
For now, Allite’s plan is to sell the rims to the OEM market. But the idea is to eventually make the rims available directly to consumers, and to one day make fully built wheels complete with Allite designed hubs.
