They cost 7000€, they debut a new profile and are some of the most expensive wheels in history

Wheels that cost more than many bikes we see on the roads. This is the presentation of the new Lightweight Meilenstein Art wheels with which the German company takes a step forward in its most iconic model to make them even stiffer, more aerodynamic, and, of course, with the spectacular lightweight weight that is the brand's hallmark.

Lightweight Meilenstein Art, the evolution of one of the most mythical wheel models is here

For many years now, Lightweight wheels have become an object of desire for those cyclists with a very healthy bank account who wanted to enjoy the unique sensations of some of the stiffest wheels on the market and, at the same time, with an ultralight weight that provides an unparalleled feeling of speed and acceleration on their bike.

Now, Lightweight has evolved its best-selling model, the Meilenstein road wheels that adopt the Art surname because that is precisely what they are, a true work of art of engineering applied to cycling.

RECOMENDADO

Pogacar and Vingegaard draw, Simon Yates wins the stage from the breakaway, and Healy is the new leader

DT Swiss Notice: Immediate stop for certain wheels for safety

"I just smiled the first five kilometers": Van der Poel and Rickaert explain the breakaway that no one understood

Tom Pidcock confirms that he will be at the European XCO Championship

Van der Poel almost achieves the feat in a stage won by Tim Merlier

Tom Pidcock wins the XCO World Cup of Andorra with another epic comeback

The great innovation presented by these new Lightweight Meilenstein Art wheels is found in the structure of their rims, where the Friedichshafen firm has come to call it Alpha Rib Technology. A new manufacturing method in which the wheel, instead of having a hollow interior like in almost all models on the market, is built with a series of internal carbon partitions, ribs in the Lightweight terminology, which, obviously, due to their transversal arrangement, provide an extra lateral stiffness to add to the already enormous stiffness shown by their predecessors.

A lateral stiffness that Lightweight wheels have always boasted and that is based on the construction with carbon spokes that, in a single piece, are joined from end to end of the rim. A technique that remains but with the extra feature that the spokes are not only glued to the point of the rim where they are inserted but the arrangement of these ribs is matched with their position to make the anchoring even more solid on them.

Of course, unlike the early Lightweight wheels, the German brand has long taken aerodynamics into account. These Meilenstein Art wheels benefit from the current trend of wider rims that allow optimizing the aerodynamic section to obtain maximum benefit and stability even in crosswinds. Tubeless rims, of course, with a throat width of 22.9 mm for a 45 mm profile, clearly indicating their versatile use.

The hubs also contribute to the great stiffness of the set and maintain their peculiar pentagonal structure wings within which we find the internal mechanisms of a DT Swiss EXP 180 hub. Despite this increase in stiffness and the greater amount of material that comes with using a wider rim, Lightweight manages to reduce, thanks to the optimization of the lamination allowed by Alpha Rib technology, the weight of their wheels, which are at 1,190 grams.

We can find them in two versions, standard, with steel bearings and the usual white logos, and their Schwarz Edition alternative, or Black Edition if translated into Spanish, which, apart from their black logos, have Ceramic Speed bearings which obviously reflects in their price that goes up to €6,990, compared to the €6,550 of the standard version.

Lightweight Meilenstein Art: Technical specifications

• Price: €6,550 (Standard version) / €6,990 (Schwarz Edition version)
• Weight: 1,190 g (+- 3%). 550 g front, 640 g rear
• Profile: 45 mm
• Internal width: 22.9 mm
• External width: 28.6 mm
• Spokes: carbon, 20 on both wheels
• Hubs: Penta Fly DT Swiss Exp 180