The DT Swiss CRC 1400 SPLINE db 24 wheelset has got a massive task for this test. The wheels needs to cover multiple grounds besides its intended usage determined by DT Swiss.

For one, it should fulfill its prime mission, namely to provide an excellent performance in competitive in cyclocross and gravel races, while being performant in adventurous multi day bike packing endeavors. Certainly, not everybody is keen to race and hunt the best possible times. For them, a snappy, light weight, or maybe aesthetically pleasing appearance is of higher importance. The DT Swiss CRC 1400 SPLINE db 24 meant to satisfy the latter objective with its 1389 grams weight.

Given DT Swiss reputation and clear position in higher price segment, it ought to justify its asking price and provide advertised high performance. In addition, I wanted to stretch the scope of its indented use as well.

After having received the carbon wheels, I did a brief set up followed by mounting the 140mm discs with the rather handy center lock disc interface. When racing, I always go for 622 mm (29″/700C) diameter. On one hand because of the of the current UCI regulations, on the other hand, in terms of ride dynamics, the 29er has an upper hand compared to the admittedly versatile 650B size. At least in my book it does.

The 22 mm inner width matches the designated tires I used for this test quite nicely. All tires were set up as tubeless. They were of varying width, manufactured by Vittoria, Panaracer, Continental and Schwalbe. All of them locked in nicely, meaning no compressor was needed for the installation. Air loss must was non-existent which is a testament to DT’s well-sealed, hookless tubeless design. All in all, the tubeless set up was a pain free process. The 22 mm Inner width let the tire exploit its true volume nicely.

There was no time to spare. So as soon as the wheelset was set up and ready for the first race, we headed over to Holland and Belgium for the first races. The wheels were used in 2 different bikes for the test, a Specialized Sworks Crux and a Ridley X Night SL disc. What stood out from the get-go was the insane acceleration provided by the DT Swiss CRC 1400 SPLINE db 24. There are way lighter wheels out there than its 1389 grams and it can’t be attributed to the placebo phenomenon.

The freehubs DT’s 36-point engagement system just adds to this fast picking-up. I nice buzzing sound is a bonus, at least in my books anyway.  The used 12 mm Thru axle system makes the wheels-swap straight forward execution. In a CX race keeping the momentum is not as relevant as in other disciplines. In long gravel races the inertia or the lack thereof plays a more important role. On the other hand, a light steering is a must.

For my built [58-59kg] and my mediocre power output, the rigidity of the wheels is more than enough. I was unable to challenge its stiffness to the fullest. My test mate with his 78kg and punchy riding style reported the high level of stiffness as well. That can be partially attributed to the hub design which has been modified with a larger flange and an adjusted angle. DT statement of added 15 percent enhanced stiffness is not an exaggeration.

Thankfully the mandated maximum width of 33mm wasn’t exceeded on this setup. But there is a subconscious difference of a 33mm and 33mm width. Somehow, in this case it manages to squeeze out more out of this limited width in a good way. The rough and relentless race conditions were a great opportunity to test the sturdiness of the built in, well proven DT Swiss 240s hubs that are mated with DT ProLock Squorx ProHead alu nipples and DT aero comp® straightpull Spokes in 2-cross (1:1) Spoke pattern. Fortunately there was no spoke/nipple loosening during the whole test instalment to report.

During the competition the wheels were jet-washed, and given the time constrains, minimally maintained. But that was on purpose too, as we wanted to see how far they can go with minimal care. The frequency of the races [2x per weekend, from December till February], ridden by different riders under highly varying conditions, like frozen bone-dry tracks all the way up to nasty mud and slush covered surfaces challenged the wheelset significantly. Cleaning was kept to minimum.

Thank to its subdued design and graphics [waterslide decals] the dirt wasn’t as evident. The DT Swiss CRC 1400 SPLINE db 24 wheelset is very ‘submissive’ in this department. Nothing outstanding as if its tagline went like: “My inner values lie somewhere else”.  I wish, its grand performance was demonstrated more by way of a tad flashier design. The wheelset can be easily mistaken for a generic, cheapo wheels that are to be had all over place for the fraction of its price. However, taste is very personal matter.

For good measure, wheels were lent to a junior UCI rider as well who unfortunately ran out his spares. This way we gained even more feedback for different [A-racer] perspective. Albeit his own wheels were slightly lighter, he was deeply content with DT’s sturdiness, quick freehub engagement, and keeping the frozen A-line way easier.

We didn’t give the DT Swiss CRC 1400 any slack. Just right after the first installment of the test (CX racing) had been concluded, we mounted the wheelset into a SantaCruz Stigmata CX/Gravel racer and headed over to States to challenge the upcoming some early season gravel races. Here, the wheels had a way more taxing job to accomplish. Clearly, a gravel event is a very multifaceted one. But that’s exactly we want to learn firsthand: does it perform equally well despite hugely different surfaces? Thus far, the DT Swiss CRC 1400 lined up for 6 different events, equipped with the following tires:

Vittoria Terreno Mix G

Panaracer GK 38

Challenge Gravel Grinder

All of them mated nicely with CRC 1400. Only the Challenge Gravel Grinder caused some hassle when it was being set up as tubeless. The relentless nature of the event beckoned a premature end of the test period due to the negligible maintenance and self-supported manner of the events. Let alone the fact that one of the test members is not exactly tech savvy, meaning, the way he treats its equipment is anything but desired.

Thankfully there was just one outstanding, extreme event where sleet, frozen rain and snow slush our tester had to face. That’s been a rather extraordinary conditions that caused headache whether the hubs will take the beating as well as the rims that were running on deflated Challenge Gravel Grinder tires the last 24 miles. Given the harsh conditions, our tester opted to carry on instead of repairing the damaged tire. Frozen hands and lost feel prevented a quick tire change anyway. Despite slowing down to an almost walking speed at places, it’s been a touch-and-go undertaking. The rough, half-frozen gravel road just elevated the chances of an ultimate damage of the rim.

To heighten the disaster – merely 5 miles to go – the front tire had a puncture. The calamity could not be greater! The rider crossed the finish line, half-dead but with the CRC 1400wheels intact. We don’t know how much the supple nature of the deflated Challenge tire contributed to the rim damage limitation, and what has been the part of the CRC 1400’s robustness which made sure that the damage had been kept to a bare minimum. We can’t asses the integrity of the rims, though nor can we inspect the internal structure.

Since thus unlucky occasion, the wheels were subjected to another 3 races, and they functioned perfectly. As alluded at the beginning, I wanted to stretch the wheels indented application by subjecting them to more radical testing grounds. Just as gravel races are popping up everywhere, “enduro style” racing is also gaining popularity. At these events only certain stages are timed. On those challenging downhill sections one is better off riding a usual cross-country bike. Sure, you can tackle this part of the course, but way slower, gingerly. The purpose of these events is to push the envelope.

To keep up with fellow racers riding on hardtails and full suspended bikes was a great challenge. Sure, it comes down to skills too, no question, truth be told, though, the speed we generated with a gravel bike like the SantaCruz Stigmata equipped with DT Swiss CRC 1400 wheels was stunning. Thanks to the low tire pressure hovering around 20psi in the ballpark, numerous bottoming out was to be expected. And they came in spades. The familiar sound of hitting the rim hard was omnipresent. Since the wheels kept their integrity, the massive abuse non-withstanding, we decided to go for broke, and roll the dice. The wheels didn’t fail!

Similar riding attributes can be attests to those we learned while racing CX. Here, the snappiness of wheelset isn’t an absolute necessity. Steep – albeit short – climbs were littered with gravel, sizable sharp chips and ruts that managed to disrupt a flowy ride. The steering was considerably more agile. We were happy to have a shallow rim height of 24mm. In my eyes, it is a next-to perfect blend of snappiness and a little bit of wind cheating. Admittedly, we had an event where a better aerodynamics would be preferable, meaning 30-40mm rim height, but I wouldn’t trade this lightness for a more aerodynamics as far as gravel racing goes.

Many races already in the books, and plenty to be attempted that are coming up more and more frequently. Chances are good, the wheelset will be tested on a Specialized Sworks Diverge too, just to see how it behaves on different rig.  Also, the DT Swiss CRC 1400 is destined for an extended bike packing endeavor in in southern part of Europe. Here, much chunkier tire will be used to gain more actual and direct experience with fattier tires, but most of all how it performs under heavy load off the beaten track in remote areas sans external support.

And with that the first test-installment is concluded, and will be followed up soon with the next part. The race season is extensively long – many test miles are ahead of us. Nevertheless some provisional conclusion can be drawn all the same. Thus far, the DT Swiss CRC 1400 performed well even beyond its intended use. Not only did it have to face grueling conditions and tasks, but also took some major beating along the way. It’s a small wonder that any wheelset could withstand all this and keep its integrity.

I am not fond of the “one size fits all” moniker, but if you have to have just one wheelset, it should be something like the DT Swiss CRC 1400! What is even more appreciable, is its serviceability, spare parts availability, adjustability – mainly concerning the axle standards  – and at the bottom line, it’s fantastic reliability. The second installment of the test will soon follow!

What the manufacturer says:

A pinnacle of the Cross Road category – the CRC 1400 SPLINE® db 24. A wheelset for everybody who likes to race away from the tarmac, no matter if it is a cyclocross race, a gravel stage-race or the prestigious after-work race with your colleagues through the forest. The high-end full carbon tubeless ready rim is laced to a straight pull 240s based hub, combines maximum reliability for the harsh off-road use with superb performance. Being extremely lightweight and reactive, fast accelerations and jumping over obstacles will be even more fun with the CRC 1400 SPLINE® db 24 mounted on your cyclocross bike.

Equipped with 24 mm high, tubeless ready carbon rims, DT aerolite® and DT aero comp® spokes, Centerlock mounts and 240s based SPLINE db hubs with Ratchet freehub system. For 12/15×100 mm thru axle, 9×100 mm QR at the front and 12×142 mm thru axle, 10×135 mm QR at the rear. End caps for quick release included.

Rim Design

The rim of the CRC 1400 SPLINE is made for the tough offroad useage. CX-tires of 32 mm and even wider gravel rubbers get an ideal support through the 22 mm wide hookless rim. At the same time the rim comes up with only 24 mm of rim depth and an astonishing 390 g on the scale. The hookless rim design allows for an optimized arrangement of the carbon layers and fibre orientation to increase the impact resistance. Last but not least the rim is tubeless ready menacing off-road usability through increased comfort, better rolling resistance and less pinch flat risk.

SPLINE® Technology
With straight pull spokes and the use of specific lacing, superlight hubs as well as high end rims featuring key DT Swiss technology, SPLINE® wheels make for a perfect training and racing partner.

Ratchet System
This patented freewheel system uses precision ratchets, featuring extremely high load capacity and reliability. The no tool concept allows for an easy execution of routine maintenance.

Straightpull Technology
The term Straightpull refers to spokes with no bend at the head. This design allows for an ideal strength to weight ratio when compared to conventional spokes. Due to their more precise alignment and direct trajectory, straight-pull spoke technology creates a stiffer, more responsive wheel.

DT Pro Lock® Technology
A patented liquid injected into the nipple thread allows for extremely durable wheel builds.

Maximum system weight: 120kg.

More information: http://tidd.ly/f31db441

Nowadays, a new “me-too” wheel producer seem to pop up week by week on the international market place. While I wouldn’t call ScopeCycling a brand new venture, the founding year of 2013 doesn’t indicate an overly long track record, hence we shouldn’t expect an extended expertise.

On the other hand, I had the pleasure to talk shop with Rik Kusters, the co-founder of Scope at the Eurobike where I learned a lot about their take on wheel building, attitude and manner they go about their business. After the discussion went deeper, I realized that there is much more behind the brand than one would presume…

The company’s experience in professional cycling includes over 350 races, which contributes to the appreciation what such an undertaking entails. Rik Kusters’ enthusiasm and passion for what they do was omnipresent. Mind you, being business savvy and having technical expertise are two completely different attributes. It is all the more important since, according to their statement, they develop carbon wheel technologies on their own and always aim the “best in the class” status. It is not a cocky statement, especially considering the market attitudes in the high-performance carbon wheels category. Hence a certain skepticism seems justified.

Scope’s slogan “NO EXCUSE” relates to their cycling careers back in the days. This rider mentality is being translated seamlessly into their business: winners have a plan, losers have an excuse. Therefore Scope Cycling states: No Excuse!

It’s also worth mentioning that all Scope’s research and development is managed internally as well as at the Research & Development center in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Therefore an access to a deep well of technologies and know-how accumulated at the surrounding universities is a great bonus for the company. Scope collaborates and partners with those institute intensely.

Although Scope Cycling achieved a level of quality, they keep innovating passionately in order to push the boundaries and to keep their status to be the best in class. While talking with them one gets the notion that there is a massive amount of ubiquitous ingrained curiosity and passion that keeps the motivation high to improve even more.

According to their statement, Scope approaches the wheel as a system instead of blending separately designed components together. Hence, every component is developed by Scope in order to create an impeccable set-up for the final product. Scope wheels cover all cycling discipline, both on and off road.

In this detailed review I’ll test a model from Scope’s off road category.  The new racing O2 off-road wheelset caters for a devout MTB/CX audience, be it a gravel, CX, or XCO racer. The 25mm internal width and hookless bead rim established himself in the middle ground, as Scope calls it an unparalleled wheel option for both gravel bike and cross-country mountain bike racing.

The proficiency they gained with the first iteration of road-wheels had been shared with this new O2 wheelset up to an extent. The major targeted attributes Scope wanted address were a proper balance of weight, lateral stiffness, certain comfort and long term durability. Interestingly, Scope joined forces with tire producer Schwalbe by develop the new O2. The bottom line was a 31mm external, 25mm internal rim profile with a hookless tubeless bead.

The tubeless rim depth hit a sweet spot of 23mm. In case you construct the rim wall higher comfort aspect diminishes, let alone the increases weight associated with deeper wheels. Speaking of which, 1380g for a racing wheel-set is respectable considering the long term durability fact. More on that later… The rationale behind this cooperation was to gain an AAA certification from Schwalbe. The German tire manufacturer rates all wheel producers concerning the best sealing interface between rim and tubeless tire.

With Local Reinforcement Technology (LRT), Scope tries to further boost the durability. The spoke bed is impressively thin. Material is added only around the molded-in spoke holes to withstand spoke tension. That enables Scope a 10% weight drop while strength and durability was supposed to be kept the same level.

The Centerlock hubs are a developed in house with wider hub flanges for spoke bracing angles adjusted to their offset rims.  The optimally sealed SKF bearings contribute to the resilience too. Bearing-wise an optional CeramicSpeed upgrade is available. Common industry-standard compatibility is provided, hence Thru-axle endcaps, Shimano or SRAM XD bodies and boost or non-boost hubs.

One of the appealing point of this wheelsets is its versatility to use it in all off road segments. We meant to apply it in Cyclocross, Gravel racing, XCO and marathon/stage racing. The test was kicked off in middle of cross season, so we hurried up to set them up tubeless and start racing with them on the weekly basis. Despite the relentless weather later in the season I had zero concerns as for the durability in cross races, based on the assumption if they are durable enough for XCO, they may hold up well everywhere else too. It was just the frequency of races and minimal maintenance that started to cause me headaches.

The wheels were to be transformed into the imminent XC season right after the cross season. The wheels earned tons of accolades for their snappy acceleration, stability and wide range of adaptability in terms of tire width. The UCI-mandated 33mm width was never an issue, nor was the dedicated mud-tire width of 30mm. And for good measure we tested them with 25mm and 28mm road tires too just learn how they behave under pure road conditions. I cannot speak for the tube version, but running them tubeless gave us a confident feeling of no-burping. Running them as low as 20psi on 25mm road tires is not advisable, though due to the banishing stability in fast corners, mostly downhill.

Much to my regret and lack of time, the wheels got jet-washed most of the time. So a lurking noises and bearing issues were to be expected. Well, even after time period of 3 month, we didn’t detect any suspicious noises. But a proper hub maintenance was overdue. I cannot speak for the optional CeramicSpeed bearings durability but the built in SKF with proper sealing did very well indeed.

Should the O2 wheels to be built deeper than 23mm for sandy cyclo-cross sections? I am not an advocate of deep wheels for cross races, as a moderately kept height that keeps the weight at bay and provides fairly high stiffness is more appropriate in my opinion. In case these wheels are used as road wheels, [for training purposes, for example] a deeper rim would make more sense.

After a brief XCO intro in Italy where we had the perfect opportunity to set it up tubeless and re-adapt it to MTB applications, we were good to go and kick off the next test installment: MTB stage races. No other discipline, in my experience, gives you this wide variety of aspects and factors to learn all attributes of the wheels. As usual the wheels were built in in a Trek Top Fuel. Thankfully to set them up tubeless was an easy task. Which cannot be said about non-tubeless tires. Here, without compressor and repeated process there was no way to keep them sealed.

The manner the Scope O2 accelerated and kept its nimble character has been carried over from what we experienced first on cyclo-cross tracks. Its true character shone more on rather unforgiving rocky downhill tracks were sudden turns and abrupt direction changes were a daily fair. Tire grip was just one of those needed ingredients that was necessary in these conditions. All the more so in case of Michelin JET XCR we raced on. Yes, this calls for highest attention to be paid and be alert all race long, since these tires, while insanely fast, are famously intolerant of rider failures. I remedied that with lowering the tire pressure from my usual 20 psi down to 18psi and then, at places on paths with less amount of rocks down to 17psi. That is truly exceedingly low, my race weight of 58kg and clean riding style notwithstanding. Yet, the rationale behind this experimentation was also to find out Scope O2 ‘pain tolerance’ without denting and subsequently damaging the rim completely.  So far so good, however, and only at 16 Psi I got remembered to stop pushing the boundaries any further.

For the sake of experimentation I swapped the JET CCR for Schwalbes Rocket Ron. But this didn’t prevent it from hitting the rim considerably. There were 2 stages the rim got approx. 10 mediocre and couple of rather hard hits. I was pretty sure, these hits killed the rim for good. I had heavy conscious being so hazardous, and maltreating them this much. Nonetheless, I frantically wanted to know how far I can push them. Pretty far, let me put it this way, as the Scope O2 took the beating literally. The only caveat was an intermittent burping which I chalk up to the extremely low tire pressure. I didn’t have the pleasure until now to test any wheels with such narrow rim width [25mm] that would able to prevent a burping at such low tire pressure.

Thanks to centerlock disc mount as standard it was a no brainer to swap discs which I did 2 times for malfunctioning disc brakes. It was almost a forgone conclusion that the wheels will do well given my weight and riding style. But how would they perform under different conditions. Case in point my team mate sports 80 plus Kg. That said, he attested similar characteristics in regard to acceleration, nimbleness and keeping the momentum. The tire pressure had to be adjusted though, especially for higher rider weight but most of all due to his more aggressive riding style [down-hill background.] I predicted a damaged, dented rim all over the place. Happily the wheels survived this trial too. Granted, he treated them more gently than usually but still, the wheels proved once more that despite its low-ish weight of 1380gramm they are not limited to the most weight conscious riders only.

The next experiment came about by chance as I have got to make an entourage for a team member who happens to race enduro. As a result of his crash during stage 2, and demolishing his heavy-duty wheels in the process, there was merely one remedy how to save his racing weekend. Yes, I gave him the Scope O2 with heavy heart. Undeniably, I was hugely intrigued by how this light weight wheels would fare although we knew we played Russian roulette. Thankfully the remaining stages were rather gentle, meaning loaded with pedaling liaison parts and the downhill parts weren’t as taxing. But still, it was a proper enduro race, and playing around whit wheels designed for XCO-duties is just not suitable.

Long story short, yes both the rider as well as the wheels ended up unscathed. He was beaming all over his face since the lion part of the stages were mastered easily given the low weight. He made up time [which he lost on descents] on uphill sections considerably. Unfortunately we can nor quantify the bottom line net gain, or loss for that matter. But based on his statement the unprecedented agility and associated acceleration saved him massive amount of energy. Would he keep the wheels for the next endure round coming up? Net necessarily. As he acknowledges, he would have to treat them gently on merciless downhills. Subconsciously he was certainly limited. But again, we are talking about extreme scenarios. The wheels weren’t slated to be subjected to a test like this. At the end of the day it makes me pay kudos to the Scope team for designing the wheels the way they did.

Now, the long-winded test carries on. In addition to the gained first experienced above, more stage races and 24 hour solos will follow. As for the time being the wheels are subjected to gravel races. They already went through a monster-cross event. They aren’t more demanding than a usual XCO race. Sure the rigid fork stresses the wheels more, however the rest of the conditions are comparable to XCO. Based on my experience thus far, they deal fairly well with monster-cross tires up 2.1 inch width. I will test them with slightly wider tires as soon as I am lucky to find an adequate test mule sporting a proper tire clearance. But from now on I pay high attention to maintenance since my curiosity is ballooning vastly in regard to its toughness, durability and resilience. If they fail eventually, down the road, it shouldn’t be caused by carelessness.

It remains to be seen whether all the boxes in my test agenda are going to be ticked. Granted, it is an unusual test, by which I try to prove the versatility and robustness of the wheels. I was already asked to provide them for the 3rd EWS round coming up soon. Since its quickly earned good reputation is inflating, it becomes hard to give them a rest. Thus far no truing was needed, but if we keep them testing even between races [for training purposes], it is just a matter of time of a complete overhaul. Unless the Scope O2 prove me wrong. The test remains a suspenseful story. Please tune in for the following installment

What the manufacturer says:

The Scope O2 is a purpose-built XC and gravel wheelset without any limitations. It weighs only 1.380 grams and combines lateral stiffness with comfort and durability. The rim is optimized for the use of tubeless tires. The rear hub features an extra wide flange distance and a 2:1 spoke pattern in order to achieve an equal spoke tension. As a result, the O2 will help you to accelerate your ambitions on any terrain.

• Lightweight
• Extreme durability
• Improved stiffness
• Improved compliance

DEVELOPED TO PERFORM

All Scope wheelsets are developed as a system. The hubs feature a characteristic wide flange distance and as such allow for an equal spoke tension. Combined with our off-road specific wide full-carbon rim the O2 offers a very high lateral stiffness to minimize power loss and guarantee predictability and efficiency. To build the rims for the O2 we make use of the Local Reinforcement Technology, a unique production technology which was developed in-house. Instead of reinforcing the entire spoke hole section, we locally strengthen the rim at the spoke hole itself. By doing so, we are able to reduce the overall weight of the wheelset by 10 %. The tire bed of the O2 was developed in collaboration with Schwalbe and is optimized for tubeless tires. It offers an internal rim width of 25 mm. Being hookless, it allows for perfect mounting, inflation, and on-pressure properties. The hubs are compatible with a wide variety of axle configurations. You can adapt your Scope wheels to nearly any frame of your choice by switching the end caps.

SPECIFICATIONS

Rim height: 23 mm

External rim width: 31 mm

Internal rim width: 25 mm

Weight Boost: 618 grams/762 grams

Weight Non-Boost: 609 grams/751 grams

Hubs: Scope

Spoke count: 24/28

Axle system Boost: TA 110 x 15 mm, TA 148 x 12 mm

Axle system Non-Boost: TA 100 x 15 mm, TA 142 x 12 mm

More information: https://www.scopecycling.com/product/o2/?radius=495