The Halo Vortex is an aluminium, tubeless and asymmetric wheel with a 33mm internal width (38mm outer, 20.75 depth) aimed at Wide Trail tyres.

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Halo Vortex need to know

• 33mm internal width alloy rim
• Designed for 2.35-2.5in tyres
• 27.5 and 29in versions
• Shimano or SRAM XD freehub versions
• Claimed weights: 2,140g (27.5in) and 2,270g (29in)
• SRP £410

The new Halo Vorex rims are designed as a heavier duty version of the existing Vapour 35 wheels. The Vapours are designed for XC and light trail use. These new Vortex are designed as “enduro capable” and Halo have the real-world testing to prove it; “We have tested these wheels rigorously on the EWS under James Shirley, who used the same set all season.”

The 33mm internal width is designed for Wide Trail-style tyres around the 2.35 to 2.5in mark, although 2.6in tyres will be fine we reckon.

The heat-treated alloy rims are asymmetrical ie. the spoke nipples are off-centre. This is designed to even up the tension in the spokes. The weights for the rims alone: 565g (27.5in) and 6090g (29in).

Speaking of spokes, they’re just normal J-bend spokes. No straight pull spokes or bespoke designs here. Just good old tried and true J-benders.

The spokes and the rims are attached to Halo’s MT and MT Supadrive hubs. The front hub can be QR, QR15mm bolt-thru or 20mm bolt-thru and will come in either Boost or non-Boost. The rear hub can be QR or 12mm bolt-thru and will come in either Boost or non-Boost (the latter can be adapted to fit in Boost frames if needed in the future). The rear hub has a 3-pawl engagements offering a “buzzy” 120 points of engagement.

The Vortex will be supplied in stealthy double dipped anodised over laser etchings colourway. If you want a splash of colour then six aftermarket sticker kits (£19.99) will be available.

Stock should be arriving at your your friendly neighbourhood Halo dealer sometime in March/April.