Partington Wheels
Wheels - equally essential to all bikes but not all wheels are created equal, especially not wheels from upstart Australian brand, Partington. To ride with Partington wheels is to experience an engineering epiphany, a sublime sensation that starts the moment you set out onto the road.
Founded by namesake Jon Partington to reimagine advanced wheel production and performance, Partington wheels are designed and made in Victoria, Australia, where they exist in good company, only a stone's throw from Baum and Prova cycles.
Cycling and motorsport have always drawn close parallels, and that's undoubtedly true of Partington. Originally a machinist, Jon became a design engineer, working on transmissions and powertrains for companies like Prodrive, Antonov, and eventually Ford. Then, in 2012, he went back to academia as a PhD scholar at Deakin University in Advanced Composites. That collective experience and dedication to knowledge set him on his path to founding Partington Wheels.
We're plenty familiar with boutique bike wheels at Above Category, and clearly, we've got a bit of a thing for Australian design and craftsmanship, so it should come as no surprise that Partington wheels caught our attention. However, while there's no shortage of exceptional bicycle wheels these days, it's a rare occurrence that a brand appears and elevates the art at their first attempt.
Partington's flagship product, the R-Series wheels, are nothing short of exceptional. From a distance, they look like a modern aero wheel but get them in your hands for a closer look, and you'll soon realize they're anything but. Spin one in your hands, and you'll be struck by their weight - or lack thereof. Tipping the scales at only 1200g, the R-Series are about as light as an aero disc-brake wheel gets. Take another look, and the eye will skip from one stunning detail to another.
You'll likely notice first the striking carbon spokes, still a rarity even in this late age of bicycle technology. Follow one down from the rim toward the hub, and you'll note that the spoke doesn't simply end at a flange but rather wraps around the hub shell and returns to the rim again.
The engineering is imaginative; their design and execution flawless. But riding Partington's R-Series on the road reveals just how genuinely transformative a set of these wheels can be. For a long time, we've accepted the trade-off: for stiffness, we give up compliance. For weight, we give up tracking. And for aero, we give up a little bit of everything. The modern crop of elite wheels have all made strides in unifying those pillars, but none have achieved it with such exquisite perfection as Partington.
Here at Above Category, we're honored to be Partington's premier North American partner. We've put a lot of miles on the R-Series wheels ourselves, and we can say with certainty that they're an upgrade to your road bike that you truly won't regret. We get a very limited quantity of these wheels incoming from Australia each month. If you're keen to get a pair of your own, place your order here now. With any questions at all, feel free to reach out!
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