When we built our first aluminium prototype E-Road bike and started putting lots of kilometers on it, we noticed higher wear and noise in the drivetrain. The slightly 'wider than normal' width of Fazua engine's bottom bracket forced our chainline out on this prototype and make it less than ideal. This is where the idea for Road Boost was born - to improve drivetrain performance on E-Road bikes by creating an optimal chainline.
The Fazua platform is the motor and battery unit, that we have come to love and appreciate for its performance and light weight. To house all its technology inside, the crank spindle is three millimeters wider on both sides than a regular road crank. This pushes the crankset out to the right by three millimeters.
Together with DT Swiss we realised the need for a new hub measurement for the rear hub to match this 'outwardly placed' chainline. It moves the cassette out by three millimeters to line up the cassette perfectly with the chainrings again. optimal shifting, with minimal wear and noise. PARALANE² is the only E-Road bike to have this optimized chainline.
Since we rethought the rear hub for E-Road applications, we took our line of thinking to the front hub as well. Due to the additional power from the engine, the leading wheel on the PARALANE² could benefit from additional stiffness and strength too. The added 10 millimeters of width in the front hub create a stiffer front wheel resulting in better bike performance while climbing, especially in a standing cadence.
Wider flanges = stronger wheels
The Road Boost hub measurement increases the distance between the hub flanges. These have moved out, because they have more available space on the hub, allowing a lower spoke brace angle than on a regular hub. It's like a pyramid with a wider base, stronger and more stable. This allows our wheelbuilders to create stiffer wheels using the same spoke tension, improving cornering characteristics under load and a better durability.
Road Boost
FRONT HUB: 12/110 mm
REAR HUB: 12/148 mm
Straight from the experts at DT SWISS
"DT Swiss favors the Road Boost standard for use on E-Road bikes. It can make wheels up to 10% stiffer through the wider hub flanges and lower spoke brace angles to deal with the higher power input from rider and motor. Especially in the mountains, when riders stand up to climb and the motor support kicks in, wheels are being loaded with additional forces from the side. Additionally, the chainline is improved and less wear and friction losses are experienced at the cassette."
Stefan Riehle, Manager Product Management, DT Swiss