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Williams Cycling Brings Us 24mm Wide Clinchers With Ceramic Bearings For $589 In The New System 22 Wheelset

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Williams-System-22

The direct to consumer model can sometimes provide great value, but also sometimes provide untested junk. Williams Cycling has been around since 2006, so its safe to say they are a solid company, and not a fly-by-night operation. Built on the notion of providing great value by selling direct to consumer, they  are best known for selling wheel sets that are about half the price of major brand names when compared feature-for-feature.

The new System 22s are designed to bring an affordable climbing wheelset to market that still punches with the big guys. At 1489g, and using ceramic hybrid bearings and CX-Ray spokes, the wheels check off the boxes of something much higher in price. Just like their new cross siblings, they feature a niobium alloy rim to keep the weight and cost down.

Check out the specs after the jump, as well as a great video from owner Keith Williams explaining the direct to consumer business model they are following.

rear hub cross section web  6pawls

Featured on the System 22 wheelset, Williams also has a new hub design called the Six Sixty, that features 3 degree engagement. There are  6 pawls have engage 3 at a time, and alternate their engagement with the 60 tooth ring, effectively fibing 120 points. This is becoming a common way to increase engagement points, similar to Sram’s Double Time or 6-pawl Industry Nine hubs. The road hubs also are able to change the cassette body without the use of separate adapters of tools.

FEATURES –Williams-Rim-Profile

  • 22mm rim depth
  • 24mm rim width at braking surface
  • Blunt edge rim technology
  • Hand built construction
  • Hybrid ceramic bearings
  • Ultralight Niobium Alloy rim
  • Sapim CX-Ray spokes
  • Six-Sixty hubs with 3 degree engagement

The wheel set comes with rim strips, quick release skewers, and brake pads. The wheels do not require special brake pads, but Williams includes them because they simply say its nice to put fresh pads on with a fresh set of wheels. They have a 190lb weight limit.

www.williamscycling.com

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bikermark
bikermark
9 years ago

“The road hubs also are able to change the cassette body without the use of separate adapters of tools.”

Translation: the dish is the same for Campy and Shimano; you can swap the cassette body without needing to change the axle; you still need a spacer to run a 10 speed Shimano cassette.

Hello
Hello
9 years ago

My last experience of hybrid ceramic bearings was with Easton’s EC90’s. Soon as any water got near them the metal ball cage would rust solid. What a nightmare. After replacing the bearings several times I gave up. Fitted steel bearings and got rid of. Never again.

MM
MM
9 years ago

The spacer comes with the wheels. I have two sets of Williams wheels. Both are rock solid. Always gotten great service from them as well.

sillybike
sillybike
9 years ago

Support your LBS! Interweb cant fix your bike! Its nice and fun to have a LBS to go to!

RC Speed
RC Speed
9 years ago

+wide rims with 19mm hook
+Sapim spokes
+1489g

-Blunt edge technology? That is alot of marketing about nothing. This is a 22mm height rim…nothing aero about it.
-3 deg pawl engagement…. For MTB great, but for road, overkill.
-120 points of engagement will be adding unnecessary drag at the free hub. Again overkill for road.
-190lb weight limit…deal breaker

Velo
Velo
9 years ago

I think they have a new System 28 which wide also. I’d like to see them make a 35mm deep version that’s more aerodynamic.

tommyp
tommyp
9 years ago

I’d be curious to know the bare rim weight.

Daniel Arbuckle
Daniel Arbuckle
9 years ago

I have been riding a set of S30x wheels for over a year. I’ve been nothing but amazed my the durability and performance of the wheels. The engagement is instant and solid, while some may say its “overkill” for me its the best part about the wheels. For the price I feel like its hard to beat Williams wheels.

WC
WC
9 years ago

@tommyp: Williams website lists 445g

Also look at: http://www.bikehubstore.com/category-s/210.htm

SCVT
SCVT
9 years ago

I’ve owned pairs of the S30s and S19s over the past five years and have been really happy with both of them. The S30s popped a spoke and Keith sent a replacement ASAP, no charge. The S19s held up on my ugly VT roads like a champ. Had some questions about 11spd compatibility more recently on the S19s and their technical service guy was awesome.

tommyp
tommyp
9 years ago

@WC, thanks for the weight info. I rode 32 hole Mavic Open Pros for years, which at 425 grams, with eyelets (double, I think) had no weight limit and were not considered “climbing wheels”. I also remember Mavic GEL 280 tubulars. Now those were climbing wheels. Nothing new here, move along.

Bnystrom
Bnystrom
9 years ago

Unfortunately, rims aren’t as light as they used to be. I remember when 300 grams or less was common for tubular rims and I’ve ridden rims as light as 199 grams. The trend to fewer spokes killed them off, as light rims can’t handle the additional tension require with a low spoke count and they can be pulled out of shape because of the larger gaps between spokes.

Although I had been a devoted tubular rider since the mid-70’s, the fact that currently available tubular rims are at least as heavy as clincher rims and tires are so much better, I’ve now converted to clinchers.

If you want “climbing” clinchers, Kinlin XR-200 rims are easily built into sub-1300 gram wheels, using hubs generic Taiwanese hubs and a combination of Sapim Laser and Race spokes (20/24 with a 16/8 spoke rear), all available from bikehubstore.com. At 175#, I’ve been riding 1283 gram wheels for a couple of years and they’ve held up great. Best of all, they cost under $250 to build, so even if you had to pay someone to build them, they’re still a bargain. No, they aren’t wide rims, but if you want really light, you can’t have wide, too.

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