FFWD F2R-190 Ceramic Wheels - Road Bike Product Review

If you're looking for a super light pair of climbing wheels, then you might have found your answer with the FFWD F2R-190 Ceramic Wheels. These hoops are made by FFWD - short for "Fast Forward" - a Dutch bike company that specialized in high end bike components and race quality wheels. The wheels weigh in at a scant 1,022 grams for the pair, not including skewers, which is just 456g for the front wheel and 566g for the rear wheel.

As you might expect, the wheel name derives from the hub construction, which contains hybrid ceramic bearings. The rims are carbon, and FFWD includes carbon-friendly brake pads with the wheels. The setup puts 20 spokes in the front and 24 spokes in the rear - and those are bladed spokes in each wheel, a nice plus. The rims themselves are shallow, so in some ways, the bladed spokes offset some of the possible aero loss of the rims.

The retail price is $2,250 for these lightweight climbing wheels, including skewers and brake pads. They are rated for riders up to 80kg in weight (about 175 lbs.).

Visit the FFWD web site for more product information.

Read a full review on Cycling News for the FFWD F2R-190 wheels.