What began as a curious engineer’s infatuation with improving the established bicycle wheel continues to grow with our 2011 wheel line. Rolf Dietrich created the revolutionary paired spoke technology that changed the way people think about bicycle wheels. That spirit of curiosity and ingenuity continues at Rolf Prima today.
While some things change, what matters most stays the same. Rolf Prima still hand-builds all wheels in Eugene, Oregon with a team that lives cycling. Whether it’s triathlon, road racing, commuting or touring, we at Rolf Prima are all about wheels.
We’ve had multiple IronMan victories, race wins and countless podium finishes and as we design, test and assemble each wheel, we know that the wheel we are working on might be ridden by a pro at Kona, in the Classics in Europe or by one of us on a rainy winter commute. That frames all decisions. If we wouldn’t ride it why would we expect anyone else to? We have always and will continue to put function above form and testing above marketing.
WITH ALL THE CHOICES TODAY - WHY CHOOSE ROLF PRIMA?
It may seem odd to think of Rolf Prima as having a traditionalist side, but we do. We believe in technology over marketing and build quality over production levels. It is more than paired spokes and our other technologies. It is our attention to every aspect of the process. From the hand building to answering the phone to treating every customer as our only customer - that's the Rolf Prima difference.
BETTER PERFORMANCE
Rolf Prima wheels deliver the highest level of performance without compromise. Even our 16-spoke count wheels have as many pulling spokes as a traditional 32-spoke wheel. Despite using fewer spokes, our design technology allows us to build wheels with higher spoke tensions for better stiffness, stability and excellent ride quality.
BETTER BUILT
Most bicycle wheels sold today are built by machines. For run-of-the-mill wheels this can work, but to build a truly light wheel with uniform tensions, you just can’t match the skill of human hands. Every Rolf Prima wheel is carefully hand-built using a painstaking build process that enables our wheels to run true longer - without the need for constant attention or a "break-in period."
BETTER TECHNOLOGY
Paired spokes are just the beginning. We have developed and have patents for other technologies that, while harder to see, are every bit as revolutionary as paired spokes. We know that they work and other companies do too because some license them from us.
