Introduction: Road Rim the Top —— Alpha 50 Carbon Fiber Bicycle Rim

Introduction: Road Rim the Top —— Alpha 50 Carbon Fiber Bicycle Rim

Posted by: NEXTIE Post: 10/07/2025 View: 212 Comments: 0

In the relentless pursuit of carbon fiber bicycle rim innovation, NEXTIE continues to break boundaries. Now please allow us to introduce this top-level newly designed road rim —— Alpha 50. 

For top-level road bike rims, it is different from mountain bike rims. Light weight is not the primary goal for road rims. The goals of road rims are to achieve a balance between optimizing the weight of the rim and ensuring a certain rotational inertia, excellent dynamic balance, sufficient stiffness to make the rim achieve a smaller deflection, better wind-breaking performance to increase riding speed, and greater strength. The newly launched Supreme Edition Alpha 50 carbon road bike rim embodies our revolutionary solution, incorporating multiple core technological innovations.

1. Advanced Single-Point Reinforcement at Spoke Holes and Valve Stem Hole, Rims being Lighter and Stronger.

We specially designed the rim shape at the spoke hole position, developed the advanced single-point reinforcement technology specifically for Alpha 50, which results in rims that are lighter and stronger, 335g only. At the same time, this new design gives us more maneuverability, distributing the weight more toward the edge of the rim, thereby increasing the rotational inertia of the rim, which plays an important role for a top-level road bike rim.


2. Material Breakthrough: Toray T1100 + M46J Aerospace Grade Carbon Fiber, Further Improving Performance.

Alpha 50 pioneers the use of Toray T1100 and M46J aerospace-grade carbon fiber as its main structural material, making rim much stronger. This is the first time we apply "M-series" carbon fiber materials to manufacture bicycle rims. As we know, the terms "T-series" and "M-series" refer to classifications of Toray carbon fibers, specifically T-series for tensile strength and M-series for modulus (stiffness). M46J has better stiffness performance than T-series like T800, T1000 or T1100. The addition of M46J materials can effectively improve the rotational deflection and stability of the wheels.


3. Newest Layer-up Structure, Optimizing Wheel Weight Distribution to Improve Wheel Rotation Inertia. 

We reduce the weight of Alpha 50 by the advanced single-point reinforcement design on the spoke hole side and materials improvement. On the rim bed side, we apply the latest layer-up structure to optimize weight distribution, which results in the high improvement of rim's rotational inertia. The specific layer-up structure is not disclosed here for the time being due to technical protection.

4. Highly Strict Technical Test Methods — 110J (UCI test condition).

We applied the UCI test conditions to test Alpha 50 carbon rim. The impact test result was 110J. This is much higher than the UCI's qualified strength standard for road bicycle rims. This strength performance is almost close to ASTM Classification Condition 4. IMPACT TEST VIDEO.


Beyond these core innovations above, Alpha 50 carbon rim incorporates numerous advanced manufacturing techniques including precision carbon fiber cutting, optimized mold materials, refined production processes and wheelset temperature test under 80 ℃ for 4 hours - collectively establishing Alpha 50 carbon rim as the ultimate road bike competition-grade product.

This rim could be used for Road. Triathlon. Cyclocross. Dirt. Gravel and Adventure riding.. The tire size for this model of rim is recommended at 28 ~ 53mm Road / 28 ~ 40mm Cyclocross / 28 ~ 60mm Gravel. The tire pressure is recommended at 30 ~ 90psi Road / 25 ~ 54psi Cyclocross / 27 ~ 79psi Gravel. 


Technical Test Data

Experimental Rim
Alpha 50 · 339g · 24Holes
Date 2025.06.03
Testing Items
Tension / Force
Deformation
Result Description
Positive Stiffness (at valve hole)
48.93 kgf
1.48 mm
PASS
Positive Stiffness (at valve hole 90°)
48.53 kgf
1.44 mm
PASS
Lateral Stiffness (at valve hole)
29.67 kgf
7.98 mm
PASS
Lateral Stiffness (at valve hole 90°)
29.67 kgf
7.89 mm
PASS
Spoke Hole Break Test 1
510.50 kgf
9.74 mm
PASS Spoke hole not cracked, rim sidewall squeezed and broken.
Spoke Hole Break Test 2
451.52 kgf
8.35 mm
PASS Spoke hole not cracked, rim sidewall squeezed and broken.
Spoke Hole Break Test 3
423.34 kgf
10.15 mm
PASS Spoke hole not cracked, rim sidewall squeezed and broken.

Wheelset Assembly

Experimental Rim
Alpha 50 · 339g · 24Holes · Spoke Tension 150kgf
Date 2025.06.03
Drive Side Runout
Non-drive Side Runout
Drive Side Roundness
Non-drive Side Roundness
0.14 mm
0.13 mm
0.15 mm
0.13 mm

Impact Test Data

Experimental Rim
Alpha 50 · 339g · 24Holes · Spoke Tension 150kgf
Date 2025.06.03
Testing Items
Test Conditions (UCI)
Result
Result Description
Impact Test 1
Drop Hammer 24.5Kg · Drop Height 375mm
90 J
PASS
Impact Test 2
Drop Hammer 24.5Kg · Drop Height 416mm
100 J
PASS
Impact Test 3
Drop Hammer 24.5Kg · Drop Height 458mm
110 J
PASS
Impact Test 4
Drop Hammer 24.5Kg · Drop Height 499mm
120 J
FAILED

IMPACT TEST VIDEO


Tags: Alpha 50, Carbon Fiber Road Bike Rim

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