WTB’s New Carbon CZR and E-Ready HTZ Rims

[Press Release] – Mill Valley, California – November 12, 2020 – What is happening!? 2020 has been a tough year, to say the least. With everything spiraling into continual chaos, it seems appropriate to introduce something to help improve the control and dependability in your life. Something you can always rely on, regardless of your riding persuasion. WTB’s flagship CZR carbon rims outperform the competition and do so at a more affordable price, while bomber HTZ alloy rims are designed to endure the unforgiving life of an e-bike rim.

All-new CZR carbon rims provide unbeatable strength while also coming in lighter than the competition. Reinforced spoke beds, proven 4D angled spoke hole drilling and an asymmetrical design provide all the necessary ingredients for an incredibly durable carbon rim. Add in the Solid Strip integration of our TCS 2.0 system and you now have a system that is not only easier to set up tubeless, but also nearly impervious to losing pressure in the event of a broken spoke. CZR is available in two internal widths – 23mm for the gravel-centric and 30mm for the mountain-focused. The CZR i23 gravel rim is available in 24-hole or 28-hole configurations and weigh 331g and 345g, respectively, while the enduro-ready CZR i30 is available in 28-hole or 32-hole configurations and weigh in under the competition at 472g and 484g.

“Throughout the process of ride testing, we went through hundreds of rims, dozens of layups, three rounds of rider testing and a complete mold re-design before we were satisfied with the results,” explains Evan Smith, WTB’s principal engineer. “Once we reached an ideal strength-to-weight ratio, we then tested it until we were certain it couldn’t be better. In this case, we’ve be riding the final design for nearly a year. Since we began testing the final iteration of the CZR, not a single tester has broken a rim. Seemingly unbreakable while remaining lighter than the competition…we’ll take it.”

We realize you likely want more than a guarantee we couldn’t break them, so we sent them to an unbiased third-party lab to conduct destructive testing against what we considered to be the best carbon rims available at the time. In other words, the carbon rims we’d ride if we didn’t have sweet rims ourselves. When compared to the competition, tests proved our CZR carbon rims to be laterally stiffer and more impact resistant while also coming in at a lighter weight. To be precise, our CZR i23 rims proved to be 38% more impact resistant than their direct competition while our CZR i30 rims were 10% more impact resistant. Why are we trying to convince you that these rims are tougher than 2020? Because that’s what is most important when you’re paying a premium price for top-tier performance. Luckily, even our premium price is lower than the competition, with all CZR carbon rims carrying an MSRP of $569.95.

We understand things happen, which is why every CZR carbon rim comes with a limited lifetime warranty as well as a no-questions-asked crash replacement policy. Ride with confidence knowing that if you break a rim, you’ll receive 50% off the MSRP of its replacement.

• While-Riding Policy: Original owner receives a free rim replacement if their CZR rim breaks while riding. Regardless of line choice!
• Non-Riding Policy: Original owner receives 50% off replacement rim MSRP if their CZR rim breaks while not riding. This includes during transport or storage.

Regardless of their benefits, carbon rims may not be the best option for every rider. E-bikers specifically, where additional descents atop a heavier bike can drastically increase the wear and tear on a bike’s components. The new HTZ rims are proudly overbuilt for a subset of riders who simply want an affordable rim that can withstand anything and everything on the trail. HTZ rims boast an increased wall thickness of 25-30% over our KOM Tough enduro rims in order to ensure they’re capable of withstanding the additional forces of a modern e-bike.

Asymmetrically offset spoke holes help equalize the spoke tension of a wheel build, while the symmetrical outer profile distributes impact forces throughout the entire rim rather than absorbing them by one side more than the other. HTZ rims are available in i23, i25 or i27 widths at an MSRP of $94.95 while i30 and i35 widths are available for $99.95.