Stan's NoTubes

ZTR Alpha 340 Team Wheelset - Tubeless

With the cyclocross crowd or big brutal riders in mind, Stan has developed the ZTR Alpha 340 Team Wheelset to be suited to the rigors of cyclocross or fire road racing while still being light enough that they probably weigh less than your current race-day road wheels.

As with their Alpha 340 Pro Wheelset, Stan has developed these wheels to be light, durable, and to suit tubeless tire systems. The rims for the Alpha Team wheelset are exactly the same as the Alpha Pro, except that the Alpha Team wheels have a greater spoke count: 24 radially laced spokes in the front with 28 spokes and two-cross lacing in the rear. They've paired DT Swiss Supercomp Black spokes with the DT Silver Alloy nipples to add strength with just a breath of additional weight compared to the Aerolite on the more expensive wheels. This means that though they weigh just 125 grams more than the Alpha Pro wheelset, they can accommodate a rider who weighs up to 230 pounds, whereas the Alpha Pros are recommended only for riders up to 190 pounds. So you're gaining a serious degree of practicality and utility, while sacrificing little on the scales.

The 6061 Alloy used for this rim has a machined braking surface and a 22.6 mm rim depth. For the front hub they use the American Classic Micro while for the rear they employ the American Classic Road 205. The RD 205 Hub from American Classics is truly a wonder since it manages to add stiffness, strength and reliability to the hub while still staying, at only 205 grams, breathtakingly light. With the lightweight hubs, these are wheels that can be used by a rider of any size and over just about any surface condition, yet they're still lighter than most top range road-specific clinchers. Race them on the road from April through August and then stick 'em on your cross bike in October.

The real ingenuity of the wheels emerges once Stan's BST or Bead Socket Technology becomes clear. BST is a patented design feature that was created to mimic the tire bead shape and retain the bead securely for a tighter tubeless seal. It is a more efficient shape that works better with the tire interface whether you use tubeless or tube-type tires. The shorter sidewall of the rim allows the tire to fit better against the inside of the rim. With BST rims, the tires are allowed a natural round shape and won't suffer from sidewall preload, which makes them more prone to fold under strong lateral forces when you are cornering hard in a local crit. Lowering the rim side wall makes the rim and the tire more stable, increasing control and confidence, and the best part is that it saves nearly 40 grams per rim. This weight savings is exactly where you want it for the greatest performance gains. BST is found only on Stan's No Tubes rims or those licensed by them.

The ZTR Alpha 340 Team Wheelset is compatible with any Road Tubeless or standard clincher tires with tubes. Since the rims have a wider inside rim cavity with shorter sidewalls they will improve overall tire performance at equivalent pressures as well as decrease pinch flats if you run them with tubes. The design will allow you to run slightly lower pressures by effectively using 4mm more of the tire: the combination of short sidewalls and wider internal rim widths makes the 24mm wide rim perform like much wider 30mm wide rims but in a much lighter package.