Partington R-Series MKII R39/44 Wheelset

The Partington R-Series MKII R39/44 Wheelset comes out of a small factory in Waurn Ponds on the outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, where Partington designs, develops, and manufactures every component in-house — with one exception. The CeramicSpeed bearings are the only part that doesn't originate in the building. The rims, the hub shells, and the spokes are all Partington's own work, built using proprietary carbon construction and manufacturing processes developed over two years of focused engineering.

The result is one of the lightest disc brake wheelsets at this rim depth: 530g front, 630g rear, 1,160g for the pair, with a lateral stiffness rating of approximately 55 N/mm. Partington's position is that no other clincher wheelset achieves both numbers simultaneously at this weight — and the spoke design is central to why.

In-Tension Spoke Technology

Rather than conventional spokes that terminate at a hub flange, Partington's spokes travel from one side of the rim, wrap continuously around the hub, and terminate back at the same rim — a U-shaped, rim-to-rim path that eliminates the spoke-to-hub junction entirely. 108,000 continuous carbon filaments carry the tension of each spoke across this arc, maintaining load throughout rather than concentrating stress at a single mechanical interface. The result is a system that is structurally more efficient, and one that removes a common point of fatigue failure in traditional carbon spoke wheels.

The spokes themselves are asymmetrically bladed full carbon — 20 per wheel, in what Partington designates a "20-hole rim" based on the rim termination points. The bladed profile reduces aerodynamic drag, while the rim-to-rim filament path preserves fiber continuity and load direction. The hub shell is a hybrid composite structure housing CeramicSpeed bearings in a newly developed bearing architecture — a component that Cadel Evans, the 2011 Tour de France winner, described simply as "art."

39/44 Asymmetric Depth Configuration

The mismatched rim depths are deliberate. The 39mm front wheel is sized for crosswind stability — where the front wheel's position amplifies any lateral aerodynamic force and where handling sensitivity is highest. The 44mm rear sits in a more aerodynamically protected position behind the rider and frame, where greater depth returns more aerodynamic benefit without affecting handling. Together, the pair delivers more aero efficiency than a matched 39/39 setup without the handling compromise of a matched 44/44.

Both rims share a 21mm internal width and 26.5mm external width, optimized for tires in the 25–32mm range. The rim bed is tubeless-ready and factory-sealed — no tubeless tape required. Traditional clincher setups run equally cleanly. Both wheels use 12mm through-axles, and the freehub is swappable across Campagnolo, Shimano HG11, and SRAM XDR standards. Disc brake only.

Design Benefits

1. In-Tension Spoke Technology: 108,000-filament rim-to-rim carbon spokes eliminate spoke-to-hub junctions and concentrate load along a continuous fiber path
2. Asymmetric bladed full carbon spokes: 20 per wheel; bladed profile reduces drag while preserving filament continuity and load direction
3. 39mm front / 44mm rear rim depth: Front optimized for crosswind handling; rear depth maximizes aerodynamic return in the protected trailing position
4. 1,160g combined weight: 530g front, 630g rear — among the lightest disc brake wheelsets at this depth
5. ~55 N/mm lateral stiffness: High stiffness-to-weight ratio alongside exceptional radial compliance for longer-ride comfort
6. Hybrid composite hub shell / CeramicSpeed bearings: Low rolling resistance and long service life; newly developed bearing architecture
7. 21mm internal width, tubeless ready: Factory-sealed rim bed requires no tubeless tape; compatible with 25–32mm tires
8. Swappable freehub bodies: Campagnolo, Shimano HG11, and SRAM XDR driver configurations available
9. Designed and manufactured in Geelong, Australia: Entirely in-house production (except CeramicSpeed bearings); 2-year crash replacement policy

The Partington R-Series MKII R39/44 is built for riders who want the absolute ceiling of performance wheel engineering without chasing a legacy brand name. At $7,500, the case for that price is the in-house Australian manufacture, the proprietary In-Tension spoke construction, and a weight-stiffness combination the disc clincher category hasn't produced before.