Lightweight Wheels
Lightweight wheels have long been the recognised authority in crafting the most boutique, ultra exotic wheels in cycling. It's a pretty audacious move to take an adjective as ubiquitous as Lightweight and claim it as your brand name. Bold as it may be, Lightweight's unique and daring wheels have always proven worthy of the title. And it speaks volumes that countless pro teams and athletes have paid out of pocket and risked breach of sponsor contract, all so they can benefit from the performance advantage of Lightweight wheelsets.
Like many things in cycling, Lightweight's origins can be traced back to automotive racing. Back in the 1980s, Rudolf Dierl and Heinz Obermayer worked for a German motorsport company building aerodynamic components for race cars. They produced in small batches, working with high tech fiberglass and plastic materials. As a strange offshoot from their usual performance, it had been suggested that they use their composite expertise to build plastic wheel coverings for bicycles. What for? The intent was to protect children's feet from getting caught in the spokes when riding on the back of their parents' bike, quite the contrary to the Lightweight we know today. As it would turn out, the two of them coincidentally found themselves at a triathlon to discover riders had attached these covers to their race bikes to gain an aerodynamic advantage.