Basque wheel brand Oquo, a sibling brand to Orbea, has added four wheelsets with carbon spokes to its Road Aero and Road Performance wheelset ranges.
Oquo claims that the replacement of the steel spokes in its LTD wheelsets which were launched last year with Vonoa aero carbon spokes increases the wheels’ torsional stiffness by 17%, as the spokes are stiffer and less prone to elongation under stress than steel. This, it says, leads to a more reactive wheel.
It also reduces compliance, so Oquo has dropped the spoke count from 24 to 20 in each wheel. It’s also re-engineered the carbon layup in the rim to add back compliance to compensate, while it’s used finite element analysis to reduce stress points in the rim section, ensure impact resistance and optimise load distribution.
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The wheelset weights have decreased by 6% on average, with the lightest Road Performance 45 LTD CS wheelset having a 1,223g claimed weight.
Oquo also claims a 2 watt saving in drag for the carbon wheelsets in its wind tunnel testing thanks to the re-engineered design with its flatter spoke profile and lower spoke count, despite the rim shapes remaining the same as its steel spoked LTD wheels.
Four carbon spoked wheelset options
Oquo will offer four carbon spoked wheelsets, two in its Road Aero range and two in its Road Performance range.
The deepest section RA80 LTD CS wheels are aimed at time trial and triathlon use, with an 80mm deep, 23mm internal width rim with mini-hooks and a 1,567g claimed wheelset weight.
The RA57 LTD CS wheels have the same internal width and a claimed 1,373g wheelset weight. Oquo claims that the 23mm rim width offers optimal aerodynamics for 28mm and 30mm tyres.
The Road Performance range includes the RP50 LTD CS with a 25mm internal width and 1,371g claimed weight, which Oquo says targets road, gravel and cobble use and can be used with tyres from 29mm up to 50mm width.
Finally, the RP45 LTD CS is, at 1,223g, the lightest wheelset. It has a 21mm internal width, which Oquo says it has chosen firstly to keep weight low and also because it’s found that, in some markets, riders looking for low weight will want to run tyres narrower than 28mm, and these are better supported by the narrower rim.
All four carbon spoked wheelsets are priced at £2,599 / $3,149 / €2,999.
Free customisation
The carbon spoked wheels turn on Oquo’s own Q10 hubs, which have been redesigned for the carbon spokes’ lower spoke count and to enhance the wheel geometry. Designed and built in its factory in the Basque Country, Oquo claims that their custom bearings and seals and a specially formulated low friction grease help to reduce friction. They’re also designed for tool-free maintenance.
Oquo points out that it’s one of the few wheel brands with its own in-house manufacturing and assembly, which it says gives it greater control over quality than outsourced manufacture. It has capacity to produce up to 1,500 wheels a day, although it says it aims for quality over volume with hand-assembly of all its wheels assisted by machine verification.
It supplies wheels to the Lotto Intermarché WorldTour pro team, which has been using the carbon spoked wheelsets in competition since Omloop Nieuwsblad in February. Its RP50 LTD CS will be used by its four sponsored gravel racers in the upcoming gravel races in Europe and the US.
Since Oquo manufactures in-house there are free customisation options available for the wheels’ rims, logos and logo colours. Oquo offers a lifetime warranty and a three year damage replacement programme.