Share

Wheels and Tyres

NEW – Halo Vortex wheels

A tough, wide rimmed wheelset aimed at the enduro racer - and with a great price tag

The newly released Halo Vortex wheels are designed to compete in EWS races and take a beating week after week. With aluminium rims and an affordable price tag, how will these compare against our benchmark wheels? Here’s a first look at them.

Words: Sean White and Jordan Lunn (Halo)  Images: Halo

HALO VORTEX WHEELS – FIRST LOOK

We’re big fans of aluminium rimmed wheels here at Dirt. We like the affordability, ride quality and the weight is often not a load more than some of the cheaper carbon options. We’ve had success with the DT SWISS XM1501, Crankbrothers Iodine 2 (the latest version), and both the Stan’s MK3 and Stans’s S1 wheels. All have set up tubeless easily and hit the mark when it comes to reliability.

Looking well prices at £410 a pair how will the new Halo Vortex wheels stack up against these proven wheelsets?

Available in both 29″ or 27.5″/650B sizes (but no 26″…) the Vortex wheels use an asymmetric rim design (as have brands such as Bontrager) to equalise spoke tensions. The result is a package that should handle the roughest descents whilst cutting down weight where it isn’t needed. To compensate for the differences in wall length and strength of an asymmetric design, the wall thicknesses have been proportioned to balance out impact forces equally. The Vortex offers offset wheel benefits, without compromise and are 100% assembled by hand.

“After a couple of years of testing we settled on a material that doesn’t prematurely crack under large impacts, is light and recyclable without a huge impact on our planet. 6061 T-10 heat treated Aluminium alloy. For rims, it just makes sense.” Jordan Lunn – Halo Wheels

The bead hook of the rim is square and thick, which brushes off impacts and maximises the potential to make it to the end of the ride or race with a fully sealed tubeless tyre.

“They’ve held up to everything from racing at Tweedlove, shuttle runs in Finale Ligure, the 6 day Trans BC epic, bike park laps in Whistler and EWS competitions in France, America and Canada.” – James Shirley EWS Racer

Designed around 2.35/ 2.5” width tubeless tyres, Halo have managed to eke out every last drop of grip with a 33mm internal width. Tyre sidewalls have more support and volumes are increased. In theory this allows you to run a lower tyre pressure giving more grip.

“It took a little bit of getting used to but after a couple days it began to feel normal. In fact, better than normal! The sidewall of the tyre has more support so you can run softer pressures which provides more grip.”- James Shirley 

HUBS

At the core of the Vortex wheels are Halo’s new and improved instantaneous 3 degree (120 point) pick up MT Supadrive and MT Front hubs. These have sealed bearings and super wide spaced flanges for increased stiffness and durability. The MT hub range is modular and up-to-date – it’s available in Boost and traditional fitments with HG or XD freehubs so the Vortex wheels fit almost all applications of modern frames and forks. Boost Adaptor kits and Torque Cap Adaptors are available separately. With this latest version of the MT Supadrive hub Halo have increased stiffness and reduced flex. They use heat treated, hollow Cro-Mo Steel axles for maximum power transfer.

Utilising a wedge pawl mechanism the Supadrive system is designed to withstand the highest torque loads. It features 13 micro teeth per pawl, so drive is transferred efficiently through a increased surface area.

“Say goodbye to snapped pawls. Single tipped pawls just don’t stand up to what wide range cassettes are throwing at them these days. The Supadrive system handles torque like nothing else. It also sounds incredible, like a pack of angry wasps!”- Halo

SPOKES

Vortex wheels use Halo’s own J-bend double butted, ED coated spokes. The aim is to ensure that riders can get spares for these Halo wheels anywhere in the world without hassle, whether that’s from your local bike shop, or your mates toolbox trackside, should the worst happen.

SPECIFICATION

Available from the box in Halo’s signature double anodised ‘Stealth’ colourway, aftermarket decal kits are also available in 6 colours.

Halo Vortex Details

  • 27.5” and 29” rim sizes
  • Boost and traditional spacing
  • XD driver or HG Freehub bodies
  • Asymmetric rim design
  • 33mm inner width, 38mm outer width
  • 100% hand built
  • Tubeless ready – tape fitted
  • 120 point engagement (3 Degree) hubs
  • Wheel weights 970g front and 1170g rear (27.5”) 1035g front and 1235g rear (29”)
  • Rim weights 565g 27.5” and 600g 29”

PRICES: From £410.00 RRP for wheels and £19.99 RRP for decal packs

Weight Comparisons – pair of 27.5″ wheels:

Halo Vortex: 2140g

Stan’s S1 Flow Wheels: 2034g

Stan’s Mk3 Flow wheels: 1807g

The Halo Vortex wheels will be available from April

halowheels.com

ison-distribution.com

Newsletter Terms & Conditions

Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy.

Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions.

production