Easton EC90 XC 29er MTB Front Wheel
The all-new EC90 XC wheel takes the proven durability of the EA90 XC wheels—and drops half a pound of rotating weight! The EC90 XC is the lightest UST wheel on the market. In fact these wheels are about 200-grams lighter than the closest UST competition.
Carbon, aluminum, nothing else comes close. And this isn’t a typical “race day-only” wheel. EC90 XC wheels features the superior impact resistance of Easton’s proprietary ABC (Armored Ballistic Composite) materials. It’s similar to the stuff the military uses in ultra-light body armor and other ballistic applications.
Thanks in part to Armored Ballistic Composite you’ll find your wheels spinning straight and true after seasons of abuse. These wheels can shred rough trails all week long and then go on to win world cup XC races on the weekend. UST compatible out of the box takes the stress out of riding tubeless and the hubs are easily convertible to accommodate all of the XC/trail axle configurations.
Easton EC90 XC 29er MTB Front Wheel Specifications:
- Wheel Sizes: 29"
- Finish: Black rim / ano red hub
- Type: Clincher / UST
- Wheel Size: 26"
- Rim Material: ARMORED BALLISTIC COMPOSITE
- Internal Rim Width: 19mm
- External Rim Width: 24.6mm
- Spokes: SAPIM 2.0 /1.7/2.0 SANDBLAST GREY
- Front Spoke Pattern: 24-3X
- Nipple Type / Color: EASTON / ANO RED
- Front Hub Type: M1 / 6-Bolt Disc Type Only
- Front Axle Size: 9x100QR, 15x100
- Bearing Type: CARTRIDGE
Easton EC90 XC 29er MTB Front Wheel Technology:
Armored Ballistic Compsite:
Easton’s trade name for a hybridized Carbon/HMPE composite material held together with toughened MRES-B resin and fabricated using CPT to optimize strength and toughness without sacrificing weight savings. The result is the lightest available composite structure suitable for the impacts and stresses of all-mountain riding.
MRES-B:
An MRES-class resin formulation involving rubberizing and other impact-resistant components to enhance the ballistic and blast (impact) performance of the finished composite. By using MRES-B in our prepreg material and combining it with CPT fabrication technology, Easton’s Armored Ballistic Composite (ABC) composite hybrid can achieve optimal wet-out/laminar cohesion with 15-20% less resin (that’s engineer-talk for “same resin strength with less resin and therefore less weight.”)
HMPE (High Modulus Polyethyene):
HMPE is the strongest of the man-made fiber families, and is used by Easton as an alternative to aramid-class (Kevlar and others) fibers in applications where high strength-to-weight needs to be combined with exceptional impact (ballistic) strength. Outside the bike industry, HMPEs have become a material of choice for military applications from assault helicopters to next-generation helmets and lightweight body armor. *Easton’s HMPE’s are developed exclusively by and for Easton engineers and are not available to any other manufacturer for use in sporting goods & related equipment.
100% Handbuilt
We didn’t always make wheels, but once we started, we knew there were a few things that every Easton wheel would have to do: be durable, fill a specific purpose (like work great for the demands of trail riding), meet our stringent testing standards and stay true under conditions that reduce most wheels to something like a puddle.
In order to guarantee durability and incredible trueness, every wheel that you’ll see from Easton is 100% hand built and trued using our proprietary acoustic method. That’s right, our trained builders don’t judge a wheel as straight and round simply by watching it glide through a truing stand. No, they listen to the tone that each spoke makes when plucked. Even tones make for a wheel that’ll stay straight and round much longer than other methods.
Eyelet/ Nipple:
Haven Carbon and Haven Aluminum feature Easton’s patented threaded eyelet and nipple system. This revolutionary system allows the spoke to be attached to the rim without penetrating the tire bed, eliminating the need for a rim strip. The secret is the nipple, with threads on the outside which thread into the eyelet in the rim, and on the inside which thread onto the spoke. The Threads on the outside of the nipple are left hand, and right hand on the inside, this allows the wheel to be trued like a normal wheel, without the need for a custom spoke or spoke wrench.
Endcaps:
Sure the sculptured end caps look good, but their design has more to do with function than fashion. Note how they taper nicely into the main hub body. This isn’t just for styling. The end caps actually form a labyrinth seal that nests into the hub body. This forms a torturous path for grit which further shields the bearings from contaminants.
Bearings:
We use premium grade double sealed cartridge bearings in our hubs. Why? Cartridge bearings are best for a number of good reasons. First, the friction reducing properties of a fine sealed cartridge bearing just can’t be beat, so rolling resistance is reduced to an absolute minimum. Second, cartridge bearings are replaceable—easily and inexpensively. Third, our bearings are double sealed, so contamination is virtually eliminated. Finally, we use proprietary grease formulated specifically for bicycle wheel conditions.
Premium Quality Spokes:
Using only top quality spokes is critical for our high tension wheel builds. We only use premium quality stainless spokes from Sapim™ and DT™. Most wheels use straight-pull spokes, and every wheel gets a specific spoke type depending on intended use: straight gauge, double butted, triple butted and bladed.
The smallest technical detail—like a spoke nipple—can literally make or break a wheel. This is why Easton pays close attention to even the smallest components and design elements of our wheels, even on the entry level models. We design our own hubs, rims and nipples, and use the best components available.
Wheel Testing:
- Multiple QC checks throughout the build process.
- Each wheel is given an ID number that’s coded with build stats.
- Wheel designs are tested for brake track durability, impact, hub/cassette windup, and bump test that equates for 4 million bumps.
Buy Easton EC90 XC 29er MTB Front Wheel from Chain Reaction Cycles, The Worlds Largest Online Bike Retailer.
