When a small brand starts jostling shoulders with the big guys, it’s time to take notice. A name that simply didn’t exist just three years ago, Knight Composites have surged ahead, producing wheels designed to be uncompromisingly fast and to work with the wind rather than against it. Their blueprints backed up with real world scientific evidence, by starting fresh, Knight have quite literally reinvented the wheel.

The product of a partnership between three friends and industry innovators, Knight Composites benefits from the combined knowledge of the former lead engineer at Cervelo, the founder of Reynolds Composites, and the know-how of a senior insider at both ENVE and Felt. In short, this team boasts over 40 years combined experience at the forefront of carbon fibre technology and innovation and has a proven record of excellence.

Backed up by Science

With an unparalleled level of access to one of the finest wind tunnels in the world, what sets Knight apart is the sheer scientific discipline of their approach. Designs streaming from the University of Toronto's wind tunnel, which produces 10 times less turbulence than their rival’s setups, Knight Composites are made in better test conditions for better precision, and constant refinement. Before even releasing a range, Knight’s engineers retested all the data out there, making sure it stood up in real world situations. What they found shocked them.

Knight Composites 95 Clincher Wheel

 

While the focus on splitting air as you encounter it is often the most intuitive approach, Knight found that the trailing edge of the wheel was where the gains were made, not as the air was split, but in how it was brought back together, cleaning and smoothing your path through the air. In essence, many leading wheels were simply being built backwards - a fact that their limited time in the wind tunnel couldn’t tell them. Building their wheels with these insights into the fluid movement of air, all Knight Composites wheels use a T.E.A.M technology, or Trailing Edge Aerodynamic Manipulation technique, to better craft their wheels for top level competition.

 

Building better

Knight Composites 35 Clincher Wheelset

 

Backgrounds in both frame making and wheels, Knight Composites design their wheels to work efficiently and homogeneously with your bike, rather than against it to help you drive forwards. Designing wheels and building them though, are two completely different things.

 

Rigorously designing not just their wheels but also their construction process, at every possible stage, Knight take the steps to make sure that their wheels are long lasting, durable, strong and, crucially, fast. The carbon fibre is made from an evenly distributed resin matrix, the layers of carbon fibre that compose these wheel are uniformly aligned and joined, meaning guaranteed thicknesses, and low variance, wheel to wheel.

Knight Composites Mountain Bike Wheels

 

Using an innovative EPS carbon fibre construction, Knight approach wheel construction with the same scrutiny and attention to detail that has seen carbon frames improve immeasurably in longevity, strength. Though a standard in frame manufacture, this technology is an innovative procedure in wheel technology, assuring a smooth internal structure, whilst also ensuring that all air, potentially trapped between layups, is fully dispersed, meaning that the possibility of cracking or defects in the wheels redefines reliability in the realm of wheels.

 

The range split between road and mountain bike wheels, Knight Composites offer up both rim and disc brake wheels, and are renowned for their former, with their doubled brake track thickness and heat management properties. This design ensures these wheels can be run with latex inner tubes and are supremely durable, meaning that your investment isn’t going to be short-lived.

Knight Composites 95 Clincher Wheel

 

Their road rims starting at 35mms in depth and optimised for use with 25mm tyres. Rim depth ranges up to a rather astounding 95mm. On some wheels this could prove a handful yet with Knight Composite rims this actually offers a positive thrust in crosswinds, whilst remaining far more stable than competitor offerings.

 

Knight Composite's mountain bike range is made up of light, tough and strong carbon constructed wheels that offer impressive responsiveness on the climbs and bombproof credentials on the descents. Split between Trail, Enduro and Plus wheelsets, these mountain bike wheels have varying internal rim widths, 25mm, 30mm and 45mm respectively.

Knight Composites Downhill Mountain Bike Carbon Wheels

 

Already witnessing results at the highest level, athletes using Knight Composites have taken wins at the Mountain Bike World Cup as well as the Tour de Suisse - no mean feat for a company yet to celebrate its fourth birthday.