Things got going in 1995 for Extralite Racing Products. Proudly made in Italy with the renown and revered tradition of Italian bicycles components in their DNA. Extralite designs and makes numerous components but today we'll look at their special hubs. Any weight weenie worth his salt will have lusted after a pair of Extralite Cyber hubs. They seem to float above your digital scale and if you are thinking about shaving some weight then these are top contenders for an ultralite set of wheels. Pair these up with some Ax-Lightness carbon rims and things are getting crazy light. Maybe too light for certain riders, but for those with intentions of record breaking rides, a combo like this is up for consideration.
A pair of the Cyber hubs weigh an almost unbelievable 182 grams in a J bend configuration! Yes, you read that correctly! The front hub weighs 48 grams and the rear is 134 grams. Are these for your daily training wheels? Hell no! These are for "race day only" and are never going to grace your gravel grinder or your cyclocross bike!
48 grams. The Cyber front hub from Extralite.
134 grams! The Cyber rear hub with standard J bend lacing options and Enduro bearings coming stock. It just doesn't get much lighter than this!
If you are running a disc brake set up there's no need to worry. Extralite offers the Cyber hub set with disc options. Here's a photo of their Cyber SPD-2 hub.
The Extralite Cyber SPD-2 hub. The non disc side is for a radial only spoking pattern.
Extralite has a wide selection of various MTB and road hubs with straight pull spokes. I would suggest that you visit their website if straight pull is a must for you. They have a few MTB hubs with the traditional J bend spoke option that are worthy of your consideration. They also have Lefty front hubs.
Extralite's HyperLefty 2 with straight pull on the disc side and radial straight pull only on the other side.
Extralite makes a very light quick release that is worthy of their ultralight Cyber hubs. Their Alien 4 is made from aerospace grade titanium and can withstand 1300 Kgf of force. The bushings are bronze and are self lubricating. The CNC machined alloy levers have a large cut out window. At 39 grams per set I couldn't imagine how they could make them any lighter!
Extralite's Alien 4 QR's. A feather weight set of titanium QR skewers that tip the scales at a mere 39 grams.
Cognoscenti Cycles would love to accept your challenge to build up the lightest wheels you have ever ridden. Give us a ring....