20 mm deep, 25 mm wide aluminium alloy tubeless compatible rim.
 
Unlike the other wheels in the Ward Performance range, these Ward Resistance Wheels are not in fact designed to be 'fast' through minimising the different forms of resistance, but instead are designed to actually maximise the various forms of resistance to intentionally make the 'slowest' wheels possible. At first, you may think this is pointless, but allow me to give some examples of when this might be useful:
 
Warming up on rollers - race wheels have such little resistance that a proper warm up is not possible. Save taking another bike and/or turbo!
Training on rollers - now sufficient resistance is available on rollers to complete hard intervals, even Team Pursuit turn power efforts!
Riding with slower riders - perhaps you have a much slower friend or significant other that you would like to be able to ride or train with, but your ability levels are too far apart? Put the weaker rider on some of the Carbon Ward wheels and the stronger rider on these Ward Resistance Wheels and you might even find the usual stronger rider is now the one begging for mercy!
 
Shallow rim depth gives the maximum spoke length, which increases rotational drag of the spokes, while also providing a more compliant ('comfortable') ride quality compared to modern stiff rims. Box section rim shape is unaerodynamic, maximising pressure drag, especially at yaw angles (cross winds).
 
Wide rim width may usually make the wheel and tyre system more aerodynamic, but it is useful to have similar width to the race wheels, so that rim brake brakes need little to no adjustment when switching over. Note: Most “23 mm” tyres measure 25-26 mm on these rims. “25 mm” tyres measure around 27-28 mm.
 
Despite being shallow, these rims are seriously heavy duty, rated for loaded touring and tandems. As well as being strong and robust, this means heavy! The increase in mass, which due to the shallow depth is also located further from the hub, increases the inertia of the wheel. The effect of this increased inertia is noticably higher resistance to push against when spinning the wheels up fast, like at the start of a sprint, especially on rollers. This allows for much higher peak power to be obtained on standard rollers.
 
Aluminium braking surfaces provide excellent and predictable braking properties without having to use special and/or expensive brake pads. Also prevents overheating issues associated with full carbon rims and allows the use of higher inflation pressures.
 
Heavy duty high profile sealed bearing hubs, utilising reliable but also easily replaceable sealed cartridge bearings. These hubs, but also the spoke type and spoke count, make for seriously strong and durable wheels.
 
48 (yes 48!!) round j-bend spokes are used in each wheel to maximise the spoke drag. Radial lacing in the front wheel and 4x cross laced in the rear wheel. These are more cheaply and easily obtainable, should they need to be replaced and provide increased lateral stiffness compared to most other spokes.
 
Front Ward Resistance Wheels are all quick release for quick swapping to a race wheel between warm up and race. It is particularly convenient to use a Ward Resistance Wheel in the front and the intended race wheel in the rear, for track bikes where changing the rear wheel and associated chain tensioning takes a little longer.
 
See wheel testimonials here.
 
These wheels have a lead time of around 2 weeks from ordering as this model is not usually ready built in stock, but is meticulously hand built to order. Disc brake or track rear variants incur a longer lead time as the hubs are made to order.
 
All wheels are supplied with High Pressure Tubeless rim tape. It is light weight, yet super strong and durable. We have tested it with a clincher tyre to 200 psi (on a 60a rim) with one single ply without any issues. It is thinner than traditional rim tapes, which makes mounting tyres easier.
*Specification subject to change
 
All Ward wheels are hand built here in the UK, so if the standard wheel specification is not quite to your liking, please get in touch and we can discuss other options. Perhaps you would like different spokes, spoke count, lacing, hubs, nipples, or even a completely different custom build? These can all be achieved with a longer lead time. Price may vary.
 
We only have stock of rim brake variant at the moment, but are developing a disc brake variant, so please leave a message if you are interested in a disc brake version.
 
Note: The wheels pictured are not the production Ward Resistance Wheels. They are a custom set which closely resembles the Ward Resistance Wheels. Wheels will come with tyres and tubes fitted, but without cassette.