We’ve spotted a prototype wheelset from Basque brand Oquo at Paris-Roubaix.
Oquo arrived on the scene in 2023 as an offshoot of Orbea, and, like the bike brand, sponsors the Lotto Cycling Team.
Oquo launched with eight models for road and gravel bikes, and a source at the brand said this new wheelset has been developed with Lotto.
The wheelset has 'RP50LTD' printed on the rim. Oquo's current 'Road Performance' line-up comprises of the RP35LTD, RP45LTD and RP57LTD wheelsets.
As you might expect, the new wheelset features a 50mm-deep rim and "wide internal width", though we don’t have any figures to work with for the latter.
It’s fair to assume, though, that the wider rim width is intended to better support the increasingly wide tyres seen on race bikes. Oquo says the rim itself has also been designed to improve comfort.
That makes the wheelset a good fit for the harsh cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.
We saw the wheelset mounted to a bike on top of a Lotto team car at the start of Paris-Roubaix, but it was also used by members of the team in the race, including Joshua Giddings and Baptiste Veistroffer. (Update: all Lotto riders were on the new wheels).
Sébastien Grignard was Lotto’s best finisher at Paris-Roubaix, crossing the line in 40th, six minutes and 22 seconds behind Mathieu van der Poel.
The trend for wide tyres on road bikes shows little sign of slowing, with 35mm tyres used by some riders at this year’s Paris-Roubaix, and pro riders now demanding clearance for 35-40mm rubber.
19-21mm is considered a typical internal width for conservative road wheels, with 21-23mm now common for designs intended for use with 28-32mm tyres.
Some road wheels take this further: Reserve’s 52|63 aero wheelset features a 25mm internal width at the front and 24mm at the rear, while Zipp’s 353 NSW and 303 Firecrest wheels have a 25mm intrernal width.
Some teams even switched to all-road or gravel wheels for Paris-Roubaix. Tudor riders turned to DT Swiss’ 50mm-deep GRC 1100 gravel wheels, with a 24mm inner width.
Part of the advantage with the DT Swiss gravel wheels is the greater external width, which makes them better optimised for wide tyres from an aero perspective – the standard ARC wheels are 'only' 20mm / 27mm wide, internally and externally
Oquo’s new wheelset is a sign of things to come then, and while there’s no official word on a launch date, we’ll bring you more when we have it.
