NOBL launches Ethos wheel range with bold claim to the ultimate ride for every discipline
Canadian carbon wheel specialist NOBL has unveiled its new Ethos series, a six-strong line-up developed around one clear idea: building the best possible wheel for each off-road discipline, from featherweight cross-country racing through to gravity and e-MTB use.
Launched on 4 March 2026, the Ethos family marks a major step for NOBL, with every wheelset in the range built around discipline-specific targets for weight, strength and ride feel. Rather than producing a one-size-fits-all carbon wheel and tweaking the details, NOBL says it has started from scratch, combining new rim designs, Berd spokes and a new Ethos Ti70 hub to tailor each build to a particular type of riding.
The headline number is impossible to ignore. At the top of the range sits the Ethos SL180, which tips the scales at just 993g for a 29in wheelset with a 30mm internal width. NOBL is calling it the lightest production XC wheelset in the world at that width, and notably it achieves that figure while still using a full 28 spokes per wheel. The SL180 is aimed squarely at short-track and ultra-light cross-country racing, pairing Ethos SL rims with DT180 hubs and Berd spokes, and it comes in at $2,499 USD / $3,369 CAD.
Just below that is the Ethos SL, another short-track and ultra-light XC option, weighing 1033g and using the same 30mm internal width in a 29in format. This model swaps in the new Ethos Ti70 hubs and is priced at $2,299 USD / $3,069 CAD. Next comes the Ethos XC, aimed at more general cross-country riding, with a weight of 1175g and a reinforced lay-up intended to balance race-day urgency with everyday reliability. That wheelset is priced at $2,199 USD / $2,969 CAD.
For riders who spend more time on rougher terrain, the range then moves into trail, enduro and gravity territory. The Ethos Trail wheelset is pitched as an all-mountain option, weighing 1338g and promising a mix of smooth trail feel and quick power transfer, priced at $2,299 USD / $3,069 CAD. The Ethos Enduro comes in at 1551g, is offered in 29in, 27.5in and mullet configurations, and is designed to deliver a higher level of compliance and strength for harder charging riders, again at $2,299 USD / $3,069 CAD. Then there is the Ethos HD, the heaviest and toughest wheel in the collection at 1971g, built for e-MTB and gravity riding with a 35mm internal width and a price of $1,799 USD / $2,469 CAD.
NOBL founder Trevor frames the project as something more ambitious than a routine product update. In the press material, he describes the Ethos series as the kind of dream project a small brand might struggle to justify on paper, but one pursued anyway in order to create the wheels the company had always wanted to ride. He also says the aim was simple: if a rider asks for the best wheelset NOBL can build, the answer should be Ethos, without caveats or compromise.
A big part of that pitch rests on the new Ethos Ti70 hub, developed in collaboration with Berd and Erase Components. The hub uses a lightweight titanium freehub body and a 70-tooth ratchet, giving 5.14 degrees of engagement, while Berd’s Hook Flange design is intended to make spoke installation secure and straightforward while improving strength at the spoke interface. NOBL says the centrelock hubset weighs 331g, and buyers can choose between 6-bolt or centrelock versions in Boost spacing. The Ti70 is used across the SL, XC, Trail and Enduro wheelsets, while the SL180 uses DT180 hubs in the pursuit of that sub-1000g target, and the HD model uses Erase J-Bend hubs.
Spoke choice is another central part of the Ethos concept. Berd spokes feature across most of the range, with NOBL highlighting not just their low weight but also their vibration-damping characteristics. According to the company, the fibre-based construction helps absorb trail chatter and improve traction, which should appeal to riders looking for more than just a low number on the scales. Berd PolyLight spokesare used on the SL180, SL, XC and Trail wheelsets, while the Enduro model gets the tougher PolyLight X version, which NOBL says is larger in diameter, stiffer and more abrasion resistant. The HD wheelset instead uses Alpina Extralite steel spokes, chosen to better handle aggressive riding and the added torque of e-bikes.
The rims themselves also introduce a set of new design features. NOBL says the Ethos rims use a flared hookless bead profile to spread impact forces more effectively into the sidewalls, alongside tapered bead wall construction to save weight without sacrificing strength where it matters. There is also an integrated flexible material in the rim bead to improve resistance to vertical and off-axis impacts, plus front and rear specific rims for the XC, Trail and Enduro wheelsets in order to fine-tune handling, compliance and durability. The company adds that extensive testing led to a concave sidewall shape intended to optimise torsional flexibility.
For buyers, the practical reassurance is a lifetime rim warranty. NOBL says that if a rider breaks a rim while using it as intended, the company will replace it free of charge, with the customer only paying shipping. The wheelsets are available through authorised NOBL dealers as well as the company’s own websites.
On paper, the Ethos range looks like a serious statement from a brand already well established in premium carbon wheels. The ultra-light SL180 will grab the headlines, but the more interesting story may be the broader ambition behind the line-up: six distinct wheelsets, each tuned to a specific job, with no attempt to blur the categories. If the ride quality matches the claims, NOBL could have a very convincing new flagship range on its hands.
