Three spoke wheels have long played a role in cycling's aero events and these designs have largely been proven effective for many time trial, track, and triathlon uses. Black Inc, as a requirement of their sponsored pro's created the Black Three for top-level competition. Each wheel takes about 200 hours to build, meaning the Black Three is produced in small batches for very limited retail availability. As aero wheels in general have gotten more efficient, lighter, and more capable in varying wind conditions, the time, cost and engineering behind advantageous 3-spoke designs has been harder to justify. At the highest levels of road and triathlon the athletes know there is advantage to be tapped into. The carbon masters at Black Inc have engineered their Black Three Clincher Front Wheel to be aerodynamically superior and light enough to produce, despite the cost and labor required. The Black Three Clincher has a tubeless ready rim, and Black Inc recommends tubeless use for loweest rolling resistance, grip and ride quality.

This stunning, full carbon, rim brake front wheel was developed with all of the current aerodynamic understanding as it applies to bicycle use. The rim and "spokes" are wider, with a slight taper and angled surfaces. When used with the proper tire size, the frontal zone becomes an advantage, not a hindrance, as the air is drawn closer to the rim, and in this case, passed along the shape of the spokes in a very clean path, with smoother flow at the right turbulence level, and generating the laminar "push" that has come to define the best aerodynamic bike wheels and frames. The shape and function of the spokes moves seamlessly from rim to hub, reducing as much dirty air as possible. With aero forks now opening up to allow cleaner airflow, the Black Three has the capability to maximize total advantage.

Black Inc utilizes Structural Monocoque Construction to create the Black Three, resulting in unified structure that maximizes the carbon lay-up. TexTreme carbon is used, and this spread tow prepreg fiber system offers considerable reduction in weight over the competition, but also attains greater rigidness as well as increased strength. TexTreme also improves impact tolerance and combines that with superior surface smoothness. In other words, the material creates a lighter, stronger, more resilient wheel. Performance and use are appreciable, and don't discount the fact that the Black Three can better sustain travel and storage, as well as incidental impact.... Read More