New Syncros Capital SL one-piece carbon wheelsets: specifications and prices

Syncros, the Scott components company, surprises us again by bringing to the road bike world the monocoque wheel system, MWS, with which the entire wheel is molded at once to form a tremendously stiff and lightweight set. A technology that Syncros already used in its Silverton SL mountain bike wheels and that now reaches its reference wheels for road.

Extreme lightness and stiffness meet on the new Syncros Capital SL wheels

Simply spectacular. It is the only adjective that comes to mind when we see the impressive Syncros Capital SL wheels. The Scott components firm has presented them taking advantage of the second rest day of the Tour de France and they will have their premiere in the only time trial of the race in which Team DSM riders will use their 60 mm profile version, presumably only on the front wheel as it is the most common use of lenticular at the rear.

Wheels that inherit the MWS technology that the brand created in 2018 to manufacture its impressive Silverton SL mountain bike wheels and to which Syncros gives a little twist in these Capital SL in order to achieve lighter and stronger wheels with incredible figures of 1,170 g the pair of 40 mm profile and 1,290 g the 60 mm ones.

A manufacturing method in which all the elements that make up the wheel, entirely in carbon fiber, are molded together in a single piece in a construction system similar to that used, for example, by the famous Lightweight wheels, Corima or, more recently, Mavic in its spectacular Cosmic Ultimate 45. Similar to the French wheels, the new Syncros Capital SL wheels have spokes that run continuously from one side of the rim to the hub and from there continue to the other end of the rim after making a gentle curve in the hub area. The spokes are placed pre-tensioned in the mold to ensure the best balance between them, resulting in a more balanced behavior of the wheel.

With respect to the Silverton SL mountain wheels, Syncros has improved the way of manufacturing its carbon wheels by eliminating the central casing that housed the hub, which allows to save a few grams while reducing the diameter of the central part, which is an aerodynamic improvement.

Regarding the rim, Syncros manufactures these Capital SL in two versions: 40 and 60 mm profile. Hookless technology is chosen for them, i.e. the sidewalls responsible for retaining the tyre are flat, without the typical hook shape that fixes the tyre. They have a generous 25 mm internal width, a couple of millimeters wider than usual for hookless rims, which makes them ideal for tyres with a 28 mm balloon.

Speaking of tyres, these Capital SL have been created as a complete system, starting from the manufacture in one piece. Aerodynamics, as in all current competition wheels, is important, having carried out an intense development work in the wind tunnel. A quality against the wind where the tyres play an essential role as they are the first thing to be impacted by the wind.

To optimize aerodynamics in this aspect, Syncros has maintained a close collaboration with Schwalbe, regular supplier of tyres for the brand's bike set-ups, which has developed for these wheels a new version of its Pro One that takes on the name of Aero.

Schwalbe has created differentiated tyres for front and rear due to the different impact that the wind has on the tyres on each axle, varying the rubber pattern from one to the other. Therefore, in the front tyre, aerodynamics is prioritized while in the rear tyre, aerodynamics can take a back seat, focusing on lower rolling resistance.

Syncros Capital SL Wheels: Technical specifications

Syncros Capital SL 40

• Weight: 1170 g (front 540 g, rear 630 g)
• Material: Carbon
• Rim depth: 40 mm
• Internal width: 25 mm
• Hubs: DT Swiss 240 custom
• Price: 3999.80 €

Syncros Capital SL 60

• Weight: 1290 g (front 590 g, rear 700 g)
• Material: Carbon
• Rim depth: 60 mm
• Internal width: 25 mm
• Hubs: DT Swiss 240 custom
• Price: 4199.80 €