A few years ago at Sea Otter, Syncros introduced the Silverton SL carbon wheelset—a mind-boggling full-carbon feat of engineering. Each carbon spoke, melded directly to the rim, bent slightly on its way around the ‘hub flange’ before meeting with the rim on the other side. The hub itself tensioned the wheel upon installation by wedging the two sides apart. The weight? 1,250 grams. At the time I thought that was about the lightest mountain bike wheel I’d ever ride. 

Then I went to Baja and tried Roval’s latest head-turning upgrade. The Control SL wheels weigh in at a feathery 1,240 grams—on par with the brand’s CLX 50 road wheels—and they do it with regular spokes. 

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Escaped from the forums, tested here: It's Light Bicycle, IRL

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