Crankbrothers have a slew of new reasonably-priced, gravity-ready Synthesis 2.0 Alloy mountain wheels and aluminum rims. There are enduro wheels, eMTB wheels, and DH wheels, plus separate rims for each.
And get this…
They all come with a lifetime rim warranty that covers any dent big enough to keep them from staying sealed or even crash damage from regular gravity riding, with no racing limitation. That’s pretty wild.
We had to test it out!
Crankbrothers Synthesis 2.0 Alloy lifetime gravity MTB wheels
They already caught my eye with those shiny silver hubs, spokes & rims. And seeing them racing at the Enduro & DH World Cup made me pretty confident that they were likely plenty tough for my own riding. But I was hooked with the promise to replace any rims that I manage to smash.
So, what did we do? We got a set of the new Synthesis Enduro 2.0 Alloy, slapped some new Magic Mary Radials on them and hit the enduro & bikepark trails!
So what’s new?
Discipline-specific Tuned MTB Wheel Systems
The entire new Synthesis 2.0 Alloy mountain bike wheel family all were developed around a concept of tougher alloy rims laced into front- & rear-specific “tuned” wheel builds to balance strength, compliance & durability across the toughest mountain biking disciplines. “Wheel stiffness maximizes power transfer and speed, delivering snap response and better tracking for confident cornering. Compliance enhances control and grip, reducing trail chatter and maintaining ground contact for faster, smoother turns.“
The new aluminum Enduro wheels were “engineered for enduro and aggressive trail riding and racing, combining unparalleled control and durability” to create a “compliant front wheel for enhanced grip and precision through rocks and roots, paired with a stiff rear wheel to withstand impacts and deliver stability during cornering loads“.
The aluminum eMTB wheels do the same to “meet the demands of pedal-assist mountain biking” again delivering “control, durability, and stability” through similar front wheel compliance and rear wheel stiffness.
Then, the “purpose-built for downhill racing and riding” aluminum DH wheels ratchet it up a notch, with a compliant front wheel that “enhances grip and control through rocks, roots, and technical features, while the stiff rear wheel provides the stability and durability needed to handle high-speed impacts and aggressive cornering”.
Modern standards & 6069 alloy rims
All three variants get reinforced discipline-specific 6069 aluminum rim profiles that Crankbrothers say “significantly higher tensile, yield, fatigue, and shear strength offering better resistance to dents, cracks, and deformation for unmatched durability and long-term performance“. Then, they get shot-peened for further surface strengthening and crack resistance. And finally, Crankbrothers matches their toughest-yet with strong spokes and Boost hubs for reliable performance and compatibility with the latest gravity bikes.
Synthesis Lifetime Warranty
And all feature rims backed by a lifetime replacement warranty, so you’ll never have to slow down even if you’re worried that you might case that next jump of miss the clean line through a rock garden.
The new Synthesis Alloy 2.0 Lifetime Warranty covers the original purchaser for both complete wheels & separate rims from 2025 on, even for buyers who get them OEM on a complete bike. The warranty is on the rim only, and doesn’t cover labor to replace a damaged rim. But it specifically covers replacement as a result of crash or regular riding impact damage (plus standard manufacturing defects, of course.) That means if there’s dent or flat spot in the rim that makes it so your tire won’t hold air anymore, or any separation of a seam or spoke hole crack, that arises from the regular riding & racing described (in the quotes) above, Crankbrothers will replace the damaged rim.
It does not cover hubs, spokes, nipples, minor rim damage, or blatant misuse/abuse/neglect. But that’s still pretty broad riding & racing protection since these are all gravity-wheels designed for aggressive riding and racing at pretty much the most extreme limits of mountain biking.
Synthesis System Features
Crankbrothers outlines the following features of the whole Synthesis 2.0 Alloy wheel & rim family:
Tuned Front & Rear System: Optimized alloy wheels – Enduro designed for enduro and aggressive trail riding & racing; DH designed for Downhill racing & riding; eMTB designed for E-MTB riding – with front- and rear-specific tuning to meet the unique performance demands and loads of mountain biking.
Compliant tuned front wheel improves handling, grip and cornering control with an inner rim width that supports a wider tire profile, increasing volume and contact patch for improved turning performance.
Stiff tuned rear wheel improves stability and tracking at speed by absorbing peak loads. A narrower inner rim width optimizes rolling resistance and sharpens tire edges for improved grip.
A reinforced rim construction with 6069 aluminum and a shot-peened finish provide superior impact resistance and fatigue strength.
Available equipped with Industry Nine 1/1 or Crankbrothers Ratchet hubs .
Rims covered by lifetime warranty. Ride more, worry less.
Well-Rounded Gravity Riding Review
I’ve been riding a nice shiny silver set of Crankbrothers Synthesis Enduro 2.0 Alloy wheels since the start of April, and I can say they pretty much solidly deliver on every claim outlined above. At a real 2069g for my 29er I9 wheelset that sells for $900€, they are neither especially light nor cheap.
But what they are is a bulletproof wheelset that I can race enduro on. They are still light enough that I can pedal to the top of my most technical trails, or I can shuttle, or take them to our local bikepark for Friday morning laps before heading back to the office. And I never have to worry about damaging them. Worst case, Crankbrothers would give me another rim, and I could lace them back up again.
After a couple of months of riding them hard, the wheels are still unscathed. To be fair, I’m riding them with the excellent latest Schwalbe Magic Mary Radial tires that fold so well over the ground that they deliver more grip at the same (or even higher) pressures than before, so I’m much less likely to smack the rim on rocks & roots than with the previous bias-ply generation. I can even run the lighter Trail casing (instead of Gravity) and not need inserts.
And the new Synthesis Enduro 2.0 Alloy wheels just do their job as told. The front wheel tucks in and holds lines well as I steer through rocks & rough ruts. And the rear just smashes through everything with confidence, without a complaint. The best thing I can say about them is that I forget about them while riding. And then every time, I’m happy to see a shiny silver (not black) wheelset when I hop off the bike!
Tech details
Industry Nine 1/1 4° hub engagement or Crankbrothers ratchet 10° hub engagement
pick from Shimano HG, MicroSpline, or SRAM XD freehub bodies
EN rims: 28-hole, 30mm internal COMPLIANT front & 32-hole 28.5mm internal STIFF rear
EN wheels built with Pillar SR TB 2016 front & SR TB 2018 rear spokes
eMTB rims: 28-hole, 31mm internal COMPLIANT front & 32-hole 29.5mm internal STIFF rear
eMTB wheels built with Pillar SR TB 2018 front & SSB 34 rear spokes
DH rims: 28-hole, 31mm internal COMPLIANT front & 32-hole 29.5mm internal STIFF rear
DH wheels built with Pillar SR TB 2018 front & SSB 34 rear spokes
all available with silver rim, silver hubs, silver spokes & silver nipples… or all black
and pretty much everything is available as 27.5″ or 29″
Crankbrothers Synthesis 2.0 Alloy – Pricing, options & availability
All of the new Crankbrothers Synthesis 2.0 Alloy lifetime gravity family are available separately, so you should be able to easily build up whatever full 27.5, full 29er, or mullet wheelset you desire.
You get to pick wheels with either the standard Crankbrothers hubs for $280 / 280€ for a front wheel and $420 / 420€ for the rear with 36T Ratchet engagement. Or upgrade to Industry Nine 1/1 hubs for $340 / 340€ for the front and $560 / 560€ for the rear with 6-pawl 90 POE engagement.
Plus, you can also just buy any of the rims by themselves to lace up your own custom aluminum wheels with their own lifetime rim protection. Each rim sells for $170 /170€ and comes in silver or black, 27.5″ or 29″, but only with 28-hole drilling for the front and 32-hole drilling for the rear.
Get yours now, and see if you can earn your own rainbow stripes…
Crankbrothers.com
