Kinlin Wheels with DT Swiss Hubs

What Kinlin rims and DT Swiss hubs each bring

• KLM41 alloy. Kinlin developed this aluminum alloy with manganese and niobium, and lists the XR-31, TL-23 and TL-29 in it. Kinlin says it offers twice the elongation of conventional alloys, so the metal stretches further before it fails.
• T-10 process. Kinlin cold works each rim once it is round, rolling it twice on a patented machine, and only then heat treats it for 8 hours. It rates that higher in total strength and steadier in durability than the T-6 process it compares against.
• Steps kept in house. Kinlin says it runs the T-10 courses in house, including cold working, heat treatment, surface treating, drilling and finishing, and that T-6 makers outsource most of theirs. One factory stays responsible for the rim from start to finish.
• Star ratchets instead of pawls. Facing toothed rings take the drive, and all their teeth engage at the same moment. DT Swiss says a pawl has only a small contact area, while the whole face of its ratchet engages, and it credits the smaller point loads for these hubs' reliability.
• Ratchet EXP on the 240 and 180. One ratchet is combined with the threaded ring, leaving fewer parts and less weight. The drive-side bearing moves into that ring too, which widens the bearing spacing, and DT Swiss says this adds 15 percent axle stiffness and longer bearing life.
• The original Ratchet System on the 350. Two conical springs keep both ratchets aligned. DT Swiss calls it marginally heavier than Ratchet EXP, and the hub shell and axle on the current 350 have been reworked to cut weight.