Review: NoTubes ZTR Bravo Team 27.5” wheelset
Though by far not the lightest around, the NoTubes ZTR Bravo wheels make up for it in durability and comfort. What makes this carbon wheelset so special?
Weighing in at 1720 g, the NoTubes Bravo carbon wheelset is no featherweight, when compared to its aluminium brethren. However, when you take its stability into account, its weight starts to look a lot lighter. As I haven’t ever ridden carbon wheels before, I was excited to review them and see how they performed. The question is, does carbon make a difference?
Specifications and use
The ZTR Bravo wheelset was designed for a variety of uses from All Mountain and Trail to Enduro racing, with a focus on the daily rider as well. The one and only Atherton family was also a part of the development team, making sure speed, performance and durability were all accounted for.
| Application | Trail, All Mountain, Enduro |
| Wheel Size | 27.5" (650B) |
| Tyre Type | Clincher |
| Number of Spokes | 28 |
| Brake Type | 6-bolt disc |
| Tubeless System | Tubeless ready |
| Freehub Body | 9-/10-speed Shimano/SRAM; 11-speed Shimano MTB, 11-speed SRAM NX (PG-1130) |
| Rim | |
| Type | NoTubes ZTR Bravo Team Disc 27.5” |
| Material | Carbon |
| Inner Rim Width | 26 mm |
| Hub | |
| Front Axle | 15 x 100 mm thru-axle |
| Rear Axle | 12 x 142 mm thru-axle |
| Freehub | Stan’s® 4 Pawl System®, 36-zähniger Ratchet-Ring |
| Weight Limit | 113 kg rider weight |
| Weight | 1720 g |
The Bravo Team wheelset is available in 26”, 27.5” and 29” sizes, which all offer a 30% increase in lateral stiffness when compared to NoTubes’ aluminium wheels. However, its stiffness is only the beginning. Due to the Radial Impact Absorbing Carbon Technology, or Riact, the wheels are better prepared to take hard impacts. The following video illustrates this concept pretty well. The rim can vertically flex up to 7 mm, which helps the rider get over roots and baby head rocks that they otherwise couldn’t handle.
Video
The inner rim width measures 26 mm and the outer 32 mm. NoTubes put a lot of thought into deciding these widths, which can be seen in their WideRight concept. This ensures the best possible performance between rim and tyre.
NoTubes ZTR Bravo carbon rim: WideRight is the keyword
The entire tyre volume is used and the side lugs are perfectly positioned. This reduces the rolling resistance while offering maximum traction.
NoTubes Neo hubs and freehub body
NoTubes wheels are built up with their proprietary Neo hubs.
NoTubes ZTR Bravo hub: Neo
The hub body is CNC machined and the freehub uses a 4 pawl 36 tooth ratchet system. NoTubes also offers another performance enhancing freehub body known as Neo Ultimate. In this case, there are six pawls that alternately engage in groups of three. This ensures that there are always three pawls in action when you go from freewheeling to pedalling. The freehubs are also cross compatible and can be exchanged with each other.
Front hub: 15x100mm
The hubs are also compatible with all conventional axle standards including Boost. The entire wheel slows down with a 6-bolt disc brake rotor mount.
Mounting tubeless
Mounting tubeless was easy and uncomplicated. The e*thirteen tyres popped right into place with a floor pump at 2.5 bar. Christoph, one of my colleagues, and I decided to have a little fun with it and raced to see who could mount the tyres fastest. Check out the video below to find out:
Video
What Christoph and Benny have to say
Christoph’s feedback
Setup
e*13 TRSr front (1.9 bar) / e*13 TRS+ rear (2.1 bar) both mounted tubeless
Where
La Palma (Canary Islands), Aachen (Germany), Darmstadt (Germany)
His verdict
“My impression on the first ride was: WOW, my bike just got more agile. Due to the lighter rims, when compared to my RIAL 50 wheels, I could better take corners and get the bike moving through the air. I was lucky enough to test these wheels on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, where there are plenty of obstacles to test out how well the wheelset handles hard impacts. NoTubes advertises that their carbon rims have a defined flex and this was noticeable on the baby head rocks and roots. This flex absorbs a lot of the impact, stopping it reaching my handlebars. The wheels gave me the feeling, for the first time, like the bike was doing all the work. If you’ve ever seen videos of World Cup riders basically floating over rocky areas, then you’ve probably thought, woah how did they clean that? With the NoTubes Bravo wheelset, I had that exact thought as I personally floated over similar areas. I chalk this characteristic up to the defined flex that the rims possess. In summary: I really don’t want to give this wheelset back. Personally, I think carbon wheels are going to be very influential in the MTB world in the next few years. NoTubes is using their own concepts and innovation pushing carbon wheelsets down an interesting path.”
Video
My feedback
Setup
e*13 TRSr front (1.6 bar) / e*13 TRS+ rear (1.8 bar) both mounted tubeless
Where
Aachen (Germany)
My verdict
After easily mounting up tubeless, it was time to head to the forest to hit my local trails in Aachen, Germany.
To keep things consistent, I rode the trails that I was most used to at the tyre pressures I always ride with. This gave me a chance to really see how the wheelset preformed, by keeping every other factor the same. When I started my ride, the NoTubes Bravo wheels felt like every other wheelset. The freehub ratchets nicely with its 4 pawls and the hub engages quickly. They gave me the feeling of riding comfortably and controlled trough corners. At 1720 g, there are definitely lighter NoTubes aluminium wheelsets, but the Bravos are much more durable. During the ride, my reservations about carbon wheels faded away with every root, and I was once again amazed by the varied uses of the fibrous material. The NoTubes ZTR Bravo Team wheelset is truly one of a kind and shines with its level of performance and durability, proving that carbon really does make a difference.
