The CRC 1100 Spline T and CRC 1400 Spline are the latest wheels from DT Swiss. They’re aimed at the cyclocross market, as well as those who want to ride mixed terrain including roads and off-road segments.
The “T” in the name of the CRC 1100 Spline T indicates that it’s a tubular rim for the cyclocross racer. It uses a new version of DT Swiss’s classic 240 hub design, complete with ceramic bearings and the super-reliable ratchet system freehub mechanism.
The 240s hub is designed to improve stiffness to weight by increasing the distance between the flanges and the freewheel side spoke angle in the rear wheel. As expected, you get support for different thru-axle standards as well as quick releases and there are Shimano/SRAM, Campagnolo and XD freehub options.
DT Swiss says that its new wheelsets are designed for the rigours of cyclocross racing
Both wheelsets have full-carbon rims, for the CRC 1100 Spline T with a shallow profile 26mm wide tyre contact surface to provide plenty of support for 33mm wide cyclocross tubs. DT Swiss says that this width is ideal to provide stability and a broad contact area with the ground, without limiting the tyre’s ability to deflect over obstacles.
The rim is 38mm deep, which DT Swiss says ensures good handling in sand and deep mud. The CRC 1100 Spline T wheelset weighs a quoted 1322g and is priced at £2070, €2408 or $3103.
Tubeless ready clincher option
Meanwhile the CRC 1400 Spline is more of an all-rounder, which DT Swiss says is good for gravel adventures as well as racing cyclocross. It’s designed to support tubeless tyres of 32mm or more in width.
The rim is a hookless bead design with 22mm internal /28mm external width. The rim depth is 24mm, with a rim weight of 390g. Claimed wheelset weight is 1389g. The CRC 1400 Spline is priced at £1675, €1978, $2549.
The hub isn’t quite as fancy as in the CRC 1100 Spline T, coming with stainless bearings and a slightly heavier freehub body.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NGnKMvZ5Ig
Both wheelsets are laced with 24 straight pull spokes front and rear, with external nipples with DT Swiss’s locking compound and torx heads for easier retruing. They also come with thru-axles with removable levers, which use a 6mm allen key interface to the axle itself.
DT Swiss says that both its new wheelsets have already been race proved, with Under 23 cyclocross world champion Eli Iserbyt and Belgian pro Laurens Sweek, amongst others, using the CRC 1100 Spline T wheels over the last season.
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Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
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