Almost any deeper section carbon wheel rim you can think of nowadays adopts a bulbous U-shape, which is claimed to increase stability in crosswinds. That wasn’t always the case; seven or eight years ago, a V-shaped rim profile was prevalent.
Reynolds has been one of the few brands to continue to use the V-shaped profile though, on its top-spec Blacklabel Aero rims, although its less pricey rims have adopted a U-shaped profile.
New rim profile is not quite V-shaped, not quite U-shaped (Image credit: Reynolds)
Now Reynolds has blended the two profiles with its latest BL 46 Pro DB, BL 46 Expert DB and AR 46 DB wheelsets. They’re not quite U-shaped, but the sides of the rim taper upwards, with a much smaller rounded section towards the top – a sort of semi-U.
As with many deep section aero rims, the DET 2 rim profile bulges out from the flanges, which are hooked rather than hookless. In its case, the internal width is a not super-wide 21mm, but the maximum outer width of the rim is 31mm, with the full rim being 46mm deep. Reynolds says that the tubeless-ready rim is aero optimised for 28mm tyres.
It says that its rim profile is designed to handle a wide range of wind yaw angles, such as would be encountered in the real world, rather than just a narrow range of yaw angles tested in the wind tunnel. This is claimed to offer increased stability so that riders can more easily maintain a more aero ride position.
Reynolds says that its CR6 laminate and resin result in the top-spec BL 46 Pro DB wheelset having an extremely stiff, torsionally resistant rim.
The Pro level wheels use the Reynolds/I9 Torch hubs with 6-degrees of engagement (Image credit: Reynolds)
The rim is laced to Blacklabel Torch hubs which Reynolds co-developed with hub specialist Industry9, with a three pawl freehub with a very small 6° engagement angle thanks to Industry9‘s offset pawl freehub mechanism, which leads to fast pick-up.
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Range, specs and prices
The new rim is hooked for compatibility with a wider range of tyres (Image credit: Reynolds)
Reynolds is offering its new 46mm rim profile in its three different wheel ranges: Blacklabel Pro, Blacklabel Expert and AR. All are offered with a lifetime guarantee on the rim.
The Blacklabel 46 Pro DB wheels are the premium option and use the Blacklabel Torch hubs with Sapim CX-Ray spokes and alloy nipples, spoked 20 front, 24 rear. Reynolds claims a 1,397g wheelset weight.
Move down the range and the Blacklabel 46 Expert DB wheelset uses the same rim, but with 24 Sapim CX-Ray spokes front and rear laced to Reynolds/Ringle Super Bubba X Road DB hubs with a three pawl ratchet with 8° engagement. Claimed weight increases to 1,430g.
Finally, the Reynolds AR46 DB wheelset has Sapim Sprint spokes with brass nipples, a new Reynolds/Ringle SRX Road DB hub with a 3 pawl freehub with 12° engagement. Reynolds says that it weighs 1,604g.
Price for the top-spec Pro wheels is $2,299.99 / £2,446.50 / €2,330
Expert spec wheels are priced at $1,899.99 / £2,026.50 / €1,930
AR spec wheels are priced at $1,449.99 / £1,543.50 / €1,470
Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.
