DESCRIPTION

Toughness is found within, especially in the sport of cycling. In bike racing, the biggest, brawniest or most intimidating rider isn't necessarily the toughest on the tarmac; rather, it's the rider that can lay it all out on the line, redefining the reality of what the human body can do under pressure. This is why we find ourselves drawn to miraculous feats like Pantani's 1998 rain-soaked TDF Stage 15 atop the Alps, or Tyler Hamilton's epic attack with a broken clavicle to win stage 16 in the 2003 TDF. In cycling, it's the small men with incredible toughness that sometimes surprise us the most. Like these icons of our sport, the HED Stinger 5 FR Carbon Tubular Wheelset isn't the biggest, deepest or brawniest wheelset available, but, like Pantani and Hamilton, it just might be the toughest. Built with an extra layer of carbon fiber, the 50mm-deep Stinger 5 wheelset is built to motor over the roughest surfaces and handle the worst tarmac. In addition, HED engineers gave the Stinger 5s a raised rim bed to better accommodate 25mm or wider tires, making them not just great road wheels, but also stout enough to excel in the dirty world of cyclocross. As in the rest of the Stinger line, HED engineers incorporated their C2 technology into the Stinger 5 wheelset. C2 stands for the two C's that the rim is designed to minimize: Cda, or aerodynamic resistance, and Crr, or rolling resistance. The width is designed to maximize the efficiency of air passing over the tire and rim by smoothing out the airflow. It also maximizes the efficiency of tires by providing better support and a better contact patch for the tire. Because of the width, you'll minimize rolling resistance and maximize aerodynamics by using 22-23mm wide tires. They'll also seat better and ride better over rough road surfaces.The Stinger 5s come standard with HED's Carbon FR Sonic hubs. The hubs have a carbon fiber center section and use a minimalist shape in order to maximize aerodynamic characteristics. Both the front and rear hubs run ABEC5 bearings on oversize aluminum axles: 12mm in front, 15mm in rear. The oversized axles are stiff, and with less deflection the bearings run smoother and with less drag. The front hub has aluminum end caps with a carbon-fiber center, and the rear hub is all aluminum with a grease port covered by a carbon-fiber cap. The pawl mechanism for the cassette body ratchets on a titanium ratchet ring. At the rear, you'll notice something else new: two-cross lacing pattern on both sides. HED made this change for a simple reason. With ever-stiffer frames, the force of stomping on the pedals was going to unexpected places. The forces have increased on the wheels and this has reduced mechanical efficiency. To counter these forces, HED stiffened up the rear wheel so that no power would be lost to wheel flexing, thus putting more power into driving the bike forward.The rear wheel is available to fit Campagnolo or Shimano/SRAM cassettes and the freehub bodies are easy to sw