Anti-kickback hubs, front and rear specific rims, and a wheelset at every tier.
A wheel is a hub and a rim doing different jobs. We build both, so we built them to work together.
Every wheel here runs a Sidekick 2.0 hub, which does three things at once that hubs normally trade against each other: it runs almost silent, it takes pedal kickback out of the bike, and it has close to zero drag while you coast.
Flux rims are the other half. A low-profile, concave shape that flexes on purpose. Put them in the same wheel and the bike gets quieter, calmer, and harder to knock off line.
The Sidekick hub, paired with the front and rear specific Flux rims, is a game changer for riding rough trails. It's given me so much more comfort and traction on the bike.
Jack Moir
A concave rim
Traditional rims are convex, bulging outward. Flux rims go the other way: a concave, inward, low-profile section. That shape lets the rim act as a last stage of suspension, flexing to absorb the high-frequency chatter your fork and shock are too slow to catch.
Against a traditional convex profile, our testing puts the Flux shape up to 33% higher in angular deflection and 19% higher in vertical deflection.
The aim with the carbon rims was to get the compliance of an alloy rim while being lighter and stronger than one. That is the whole argument for the shape.
Front and rear rims are different, because the wheels are not doing the same job.
A front wheel does not take the same abuse as a rear, so it can be built lighter and more nimble, which is what buys traction and bump absorption.
A rear wheel needs a stiffer, more robust profile to survive big impacts and put power down when you ask for it.
So we build different rims for different tasks. Same 30mm inner width across every model from trail to downhill; different carbon layups and wall thicknesses to hit a different stiffness target at each end of the bike.
From the Sidekick Flux launch shoot: the two technologies inside the wheel, then the wheels at work across five disciplines.
Three disciplines
Optimus, trail. Our lightest wheelset, for short-travel bikes. Flux 33 rim up front, Flux 43 in the rear. Pro Carbon is 1595g a set in 29".
Sylvan, all-mountain. The all-rounder, for mid-travel bikes and E-MTBs. Flux 43 front, Flux 54 rear. Pro Carbon 1685g, Pro Aluminum 1910g, Aluminum 2035g.
Grappler, enduro and downhill. The most impact-resistant, for long-travel bikes and gravity. A mix of Flux 54, 55, and 66 rims by discipline and by end of the bike. Pro Carbon 1990g, Pro Aluminum 2145g, Aluminum 2250g.
Three tiers
Every discipline comes in the same three levels. The profiles and the front and rear tuning are the same at every tier.
Flux Pro Carbon, with discipline-specific layups, from $1,649.90 a set. Rims from $459.95.
Flux Pro Aluminum, welded AL 6069, from $799.90 a set. Rims from $99.95.
Flux Aluminum, the same AL 6069 with a sleeved joint, from $599.90 a set. Rims from $69.95.
All Sidekick Flux wheels are rated for Class 1 E-MTB.
What happens if you break one
Lifetime warranty on all carbon and Pro level aluminum rims. Ten years on all Sidekick hubs. A lifetime guarantee on hub bearings. Crash replacement on non-Pro aluminum rims.
We went well past the usual machine testing, then gave wheels to professional guides working some of the most rugged trails in the world, in Italy, Canada, the Alps, and Nepal. They put more hours on a wheel in a season than a rig runs in a year.
Sidekick Flux wheels are simple to service at home, fully rebuildable, and most maintenance needs no tools.
The full range, with every size and tier, is on the Sidekick Flux wheels page.
