Test: Crank Brothers Zinc, a visually special wheel set for the increasingly popular category of gravel bikes. As always when a type of bike is growing in popularity, the component forges make parts for it. It often makes sense, sometimes it is also the attempt to make a quick coin through appropriate marketing without addressing the needs of the target group. We screwed the Zinc Wheels to the bike to find out how this product behaves.
What should a wheelset for gravel bikes be like? More stable than a classic road bike set, that's for sure. He also has to rely on disc brakes. And on thru axles. And please also be suitable for tubeless, in tire widths between 25 and 40 millimeters.
Do the Crank Brothers Zinc meet the requirements?
In any case, they are already at first sight massively different. Supposedly not only beautiful, the unique wheel design also supposedly improves Strength, stiffness and acceleration. The wheels are said to accelerate faster due to lower rotational inertia. The unconventional design brings mass closer to the hub for faster acceleration and deceleration. The holeless rims are tubeless ready and no rim tape is required for a tubeless setup. The rims can be stronger, stiffer and more stable due to the lack of drilling. The Zinc rims are made of 6061-t6 aluminum, an extruded profile is welded and machined. The surface is then bead blasted and anodised. The Twinpair spoke technology is based on the strongest shape in the construction, the triangle, to further maximize strength and stiffness. It is also easy to center the wheels because the spokes face each other. The use of only a single spoke length is positive. This makes it easier to stock up on spare parts, as you can't always get the special spokes everywhere. In an emergency, however, they can be replaced without removing the tire.
The weight is okay. The manufacturer's specification of 1645 grams is not entirely correct. I weighed 1694 grams. This may be due to a different configuration of the end caps or the freewheel. I converted to an XD driver. That was quick and easy. The freewheel has three pawls and 21 engagements. What surprised us: you can't mount a 140 disc on the front wheel. It fits on it, but the brake caliper then touches the spokes. Of course, the 160mm brake disc at the front makes more sense on a gravel bike, but one or the other will want to use a 140mm disc. The Zinc fit 15x100m and 12x142mm thru-axles, that's the configuration I rode.
How did the Crank Brothers Zinc prove themselves?
There were no problems with the Zinc in the test run. I had to re-center once. But that is absolutely not to be criticized for off-road use and a heavy driver. The wheels feel significantly stiffer than the Cobalt Cross Country wheels from the same company that we have ridden in the past. This could be due to the revised rims. Subjectively, the rigidity is still not very high. However, I've never had the feeling that stiffer would be better. On the contrary, the comfort of an unsprung bike is increased somewhat, according to my “popometer”. And that should count more for gravlers who usually want to enjoy a ride than chasing the best time.
We particularly liked the simple tubeless assembly. Well-fitting valves are supplied. The lack of rim drilling makes the process particularly easy. We tried Specialized and Schwalbe tires. In both cases it worked absolutely simply. Rim shape, rim width and also rim base depth are very good. Not everyone found the graphic design and color choice of the rim decals optimal. But that's simply a matter of taste and since the Zinc wheels polarize a bit anyway, like other CrankBrothers products, that's exactly what we wanted. If you put them on your bike, you want to ride something different, something not everyday. Even if the driving performance does not have to hide behind other, conventional wheels.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=aIl1MnnU-Is&ebc=ANyPxKqSoLrAyN6-_9OM5jq2FtyCzILsH8CX5nWNTVqz_WAFBwM86BK-J2n64yDJ98RtaZxSt8GeXCTe1xG1BhS73NhVODyW3w
