Is Australia the new Italy? With an eye for beautiful design, a knack for materials innovation and access to cutting edge, in-house manufacturing, brands such as Bastion, Prova, Baum - and now Partington Wheels - are setting a new standard for performance bikes and components that few can rival
When we opened our doors over 15 years ago, we were one of the few places in the world to offer Lightweight bike wheels. At the time, these German-made wheels were the best on the market—the kind of upgrade that you didn’t have to decipher. You put them on and felt the difference, period. Since that time, we’ve continued our search for equally disruptive products that make a transformative difference to your ride.
The Word on the Road
We first heard about Partington Wheels from one of our clients. At that time, the company had only built around ten complete wheelsets. Everything looked the part and held a lot of promise, but there was no information out there, no website and certainly no wheels to try. Still, we were intrigued. So we set up a call with Partington’s creator and founder, Jon Partington. Sixty seconds into the call, we wanted a pair! A globe trotting British mechanical engineer now based in Australia, Jon is a pleasure to talk to and clearly one very talented guy. But as lovely as he was, his know-how, advanced carbon fibre experience and vision were what turned our heads. He absolutely felt he was building the best bike wheels in the world, right there in Waurn Ponds, Australia.
First Ride Impressions
Three or four month’s back, a test pair of Partingtons turned up at our door. Out of the box, their flawless finish, bewitching hubs and featherlight weight immediately impressed everyone who twirled them in their hands. After prepping them for riding, we began rotating the Partingtons between four strong and experienced riders, all with years of wheel experience between them. To a person, our test team felt that the Partington R-Series wheels were the most significant upgrade that they’d felt in a long time - if ever. Even a quick spin on the Partingtons revealed the incredible stiffness of these take-no-prisoner road wheels. If you want instant acceleration, you got it. Ridiculous speed? It’s there for the taking. And where’s the weight? Just try to find it. Get out of the saddle, and these things glide out of the corners, even on steep ascents. Point the Partingtons downhill, and that incredible stiffness is more evident than ever, helping us to hold a line with sublime, confidence-inspiring accuracy. In other words, they ripped. We loved them so much that we inked a deal to bring Partington Wheels to the US as their exclusive retail partner in the Americas shortly after.
Ordering the R-Series
So how do you get a pair? Our first batch has already sold out, but we have another shipment coming in early August, with monthly deliveries for the rest of the year. To secure a pair, place a pre-order over on the R-Series product page or call us at the shop to find out more.
