Journal | Hunt Bike Wheels

Prepare for an onset of dot watching excitement across Italy.

First thing that came into my mind when I woke up this morning.

“I’m going riding.”

Second thing that came into my mind;

“My medical insurance probably doesn’t cover this, best not crash!”

I had only made contact with Himalayan Singletrack the day before I left the UK so I was really pleased that they managed to come up with a single day trip for me to get out of the city and see some of Nepal from a bike. Expecting the terrain to be somewhat mountainous I also tentatively asked if it could not be too gnarly as I had a course to teach the following week!

ROB HARWOOD has been a rider for the Hunt Open Dev Team since it was first announced. Hailing from the lanes and b-roads of Essex, UK, there is nothing more Rob likes than a long day spent out on the bicycle (and finished off with a few beers). Until recently, Rob has been keeping things on the tarmac, however, the draw of gravel has brought this roadie to enjoy the adventure that venturing off the beaten path offers. Spending weekends in Scotland and Wales, as well as being co-founder of a bunch of great guys as ColVelo Collective (read below for more) - Rob sets a bench march for being an ambassador for not only Hunt Wheels but the wider cycling community in general. 

We managed to wrangle in Rob to answer a few questions for the latest edition of On The Drops. Enjoy.

Early this morning in Australia, Hamish, our Hunt Australia and NZ Manager was meant to meet the highly respected Ultra Endurance Cyclist Mike Hall for a rolling interview for Kinesis UK as he raced the Indian Pacific Wheel Race. As you can see from his Instagram feed below, tragedy had struck Mike Hall's ride.

RideInPeace Mike Hall, an inspiration to us all.

We have a few very special things happening at Hunt so in keeping with this trend we thought it'd be best to all out a South Downs bikepack adventure to celebrate, and record it for a film... WITH A HELICOPTER!

Donated to us for a few hours from a (very, very cool) friend of Sarah who works here at Hunt, we gathered at the top of the South Downs armed with a fleet of Mason Bokeh go anywhere, ride anything bicycles, to make a film celebrating the launch of some exciting products and special new adventures for one of our crew.  

Starting on Friday December 16th, I am attempting to cycle 107 kilometres a day, every day, until Saturday April 1st. 107 days in total.

That's 11,449km - or the equivalent of cycling from London to Geneva, Switzerland, every week for 15 weeks in a row.

With the advent of tubeless tyre technology taking the road, cyclocross and gravel scenes by storm, Hunt has always striven to improve how tyres are anchored to the rim. Depending on the particular wheelset, a Hunt wheel sports either a Hook-less or Hooked rim profile to take care of securing the tyre to the rim. You can read exactly what H-Lock Wedge (HLW) sidewal rims are here. However, we have also chosen to take the tyre/rim interface one step further with H-lock.

I had this week all planned out – Wednesday was going to be a leg-breaking, lung-busting 215km ride from home out across the Strines to Holmfirth, then up the ‘Moss, over the Glossop and Macclesfield, up the Cat and Fiddle and home via Buxton. Then a cold intervened and I decided something a little more low-key and less chest-infection-inducing was more in order.

I decided that I’d tick off another ride on my list instead – the Monsal Trail tunnels. Having ridden on the trail as a youngster, and knowing that the tunnels had been opened up in 2012 after some grant funding to make them safe, I had fancied getting up there and riding the entire length of the trail for some time. As it is flat all the way, I thought it would be less likely to transfer the lurgy to my chest and have me running to the GP for the dreaded antibiotics.

Hunt Open Dev team member Chris Hall was lucky enough to spend a few days tackling some of the biggest climbs that the Italian Dolomites have to offer. Chris reports on his trip:

A few days in Italy, it would be rude not too! On a ride organised by Traverse Aravis   a group of Ripcor riders ventured on this search for the best climbs that Italy and The Dolomites have to offer.

Our brand new range of Carbon Disc wheels was recently launched and has generated a huge amount of interest. They embrace the latest rim technologies to enable the wheelsets to deliver some of the lightest weights available on the market. Industry magazines and websites often ask questions about the H-Lock Wedge (HLW) sidewall rims used and the benefits they provide. Hunt owner Tom Marchment recently answered a few and we thought the answers might be useful if you wanted to be completely up-to-date on the latest tech: