Sea Otter 2013: HED's new wide, tubeless Ardennes Plus

 Following on the heels of its very well received Ardennes wide-format aluminum road clincher wheels, HED has now released the next evolution called Ardennes Plus with an even wider profile plus tubeless compatibility.

HED's new Ardennes Plus grows 2mm to 25mm across (external width) while the depth is nearly identical at 24.5mm. Internal width is roughly 20mm – 5mm wider than Mavic's Open Pro. The aluminum extrusion is now tubeless-ready, too, with a deep center channel to ease installation and pronounced 3mm-wide shelves to help securely lock the bead in place. Airtight rim tape is included and, as always, users are free to use traditional tube-type tires as well.

Despite the increased width and depth, claimed weight climbs just 15g to 465g thanks to more finely tuned wall thicknesses. Moreover, the more rounded shape is supposedly more aerodynamic than before with HED saying the new 'Plus' rim beats the old C2 extrusion at yaw angles over 15 degrees when using 23mm or 24mm-wide tires (which also suggests improved handling in crosswinds). The 25mm width also closely mimics the latest top-end aero carbon wheels, too, so there's less brake adjustment required when swapping between racing and training wheels.

For all our Sea Otter 2013 coverage, click here.

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