“Boyd Cycling is on a product roll, announcing their third newest model release in 2020. The new ultra-light Trailblazer carbon wheelset was built foremost as a lightweight carbon XC wheelset but is capable of pulling off double duty as a 700c or 650b gravel wheel.” – Boyd Cycling
With a modern internal width of 26mm, this hookless rim – featuring Boyd’s black on black Boyd logos – mates perfectly with fast-rolling cross-country tires ranging from 2.1” to 2.4”. At the center of the wheel are Boyd’s Quest Disc MTB hubs (120 grams front hub; 245 grams rear hub) with their super quick five-degree engagement, tool-free service and, centerlock spline for disc brake rotors.
Pillar Wing 20 J-Bend spokes and alloy nipples are laced double-cross with 24 spoke front and 28 spoke rear. The ultra-light, yet durable, 370-gram rim (370 gram/29er; 340 gram/27.5) measures 26mm internal, featuring a 2.8mm offset rim bed for better tension balance and a more responsive wheel build.
These specs total up to a 1380-gram (1380 gram/29er, 1330 gram/27.5) wheelset that has a modern-day wider rim design and can handle the rigors of cross country mountain bike riding. For more extreme terrain, Boyd’s 30mm Ridgeline Enduro wheels are a perfect pick.
Pulling double duty, the Trailblazer is also suited as an excellent lightweight gravel wheelset. The 26mm internal width mates perfectly to gravel tires ranging from 32mm up to large 50mm tires. The lightweight combined with mountain bike rated strength provides a snappy, responsive ride.
Trailblazer: is it a mountain bike or gravel wheelset?
With wider and similar widths on today’s modern-day cross-country and gravel tires, the Trailblazer rim effectively pulls double duty. The rim is strong enough to be ridden on mountain bike trails, gravel roads, and for cyclocross. Due to the fact, however, that most current mountain bikes and gravel bikes having different dropout width standards, the Trailblazer wheels will be most often used as a mountain bike wheel with Boost spacing and a gravel or cyclocross wheel with standard 100mm front and 142mm rear spacing.
The Quest Standard hubs can easily swap end caps for 100X12mm thru-axle, 100X15mm thru-axle, or 100 x QR for the front, and 12X142mm thru-axle or 135 x QR for the rear. Quest Boost hubs are set to 110X15mm thru-axle for the front and 12X148mm thru-axle for the rear.
The Quest rear hub is available in a Shimano Hyperglide, Sram XDR, or Shimano Microspline freehub body requiring no tools and no re-dishing to swap between the different freehub body standards. The Trailblazer wheel is hand-built in Boyd Cycling’s Greenville, South Carolina facility. All carbon wheels feature a lifetime warranty. Wheels can be ordered online or through Boyd Cycling’s growing dealer network.
