Black Inc Forty Five Clincher Disc Wheelset

The Black Inc Forty Five Clincher Disc Wheelset is built around a straightforward premise: a serious road wheel shouldn't make you compromise. At under 1,500 grams for the pair with a 45mm rim depth, it sits in a particularly useful performance window — aero enough to matter on flat and rolling roads, light enough to not punish you on climbs. That's not an easy balance to achieve, and Black Inc achieves it without burying the details in marketing language.

Spend time on the Forty Five and the first thing you notice is how composed it feels. The 45mm section generates real aerodynamic return at race pace without becoming unruly when a crosswind picks up — it's a depth chosen with intention, not just to look fast on paper. The rim geometry is designed around modern tire widths, optimizing airflow when running 25mm to 28mm tires, so the transition from rim to tire isn't fighting the aerodynamics you're paying for. Add CeramicSpeed bearings into the equation and the wheel carries speed with the kind of low-friction efficiency that becomes very apparent on long days — fewer micro-efforts to maintain pace, less fatigue accumulating in your legs.

Black Inc's approach to wheel building is spare and disciplined. No unnecessary hardware, no weight padding, no compromises in material quality. Every component in the Forty Five Clincher Disc is there because it earns its place — from the rim layup to the bearing selection. The disc brake interface integrates cleanly, and drivetrain compatibility covers both Shimano and SRAM 11-speed via the HG11 driver, as well as SRAM's XDR standard for riders running a 12-speed Eagle or Force AXS drivetrain. It's a wheelset that works across a range of builds, which matters if you're running multiple bikes or planning ahead.

Black Inc Forty Five Clincher Specs at a Glance

• Rim Depth: 45mm
• Wheel Type: Clincher, Disc Brake
• System Weight: Under 1,500 grams (pair)
• Tire Compatibility: 25mm to 28mm
• Bearings: CeramicSpeed
• Drivetrain Compatibility: Shimano/SRAM 11-speed (HG11) or SRAM XDR (12-speed)
• Brake Interface: Disc Brake
• Brand: Black Inc

Design Benefits

1. A Depth That Works Across Conditions: The 45mm rim depth is a considered choice — deep enough to provide meaningful aerodynamic advantage at tempo and race pace, shallow enough to remain manageable in variable wind. It's the kind of all-conditions depth that lets you leave this wheelset on your bike through training blocks and target events alike, without second-guessing yourself when the weather changes.
2. CeramicSpeed Bearings for Real-World Efficiency: CeramicSpeed bearings reduce rolling resistance at the hub where friction is a consistent, measurable drain on performance. Over the course of a long ride or a multi-hour race, that reduction accumulates — the wheel requires less effort to keep moving at speed, and the bearings maintain that efficiency across a wide range of temperatures and conditions.
3. Modern Rim Geometry Matched to Current Tire Widths: Designing the rim profile around 25mm to 28mm tires means the aerodynamic shape functions as intended when you mount the tire you're actually going to use. Narrower rims create an aerodynamic mismatch with wider tires — this rim avoids that, allowing the airflow management to work as designed rather than being undermined by outdated geometry.
4. Disc Brake Integration Without Compromise: The Forty Five Clincher Disc is purpose-built for disc brake systems, not a conversion of a rim brake design. That means the structural engineering accounts for the braking forces applied at the hub rather than the rim, and the overall wheel design reflects the demands of modern disc-equipped road bikes from the ground up.
5. Broad Drivetrain Compatibility: Offering both an HG11 driver for Shimano and SRAM 11-speed setups and an XDR driver for SRAM 12-speed drivetrains means the Forty Five slots into a wide range of builds without requiring additional parts or workarounds. Whether you're running a current groupset or planning a future upgrade, the compatibility is already there.

Final Take

The Black Inc Forty Five Clincher Disc is built for the rider who wants one wheelset that performs across training rides, long sportives, and race day — without the weight penalty of a deep aero rim or the aerodynamic drag of a shallow climbing hoop. If you ride disc brake and you want a wheel that doesn't ask you to make trade-offs, this is a strong answer to that question.