During his university years, Steve Hed spent his summer holidays in a job shaping water skis out of carbon fiber. He took that knowledge to building wheels, creating one of the first carbon discs for bicycles in the mid-1980s.
Steve and his wife have been very open about how their business really too off. “It’s Lance riding our equipment. It’s helped us,” she has said. “Besides the exposure, your product really does become better when it’s being ridden by the pros.”
HED Cycling had a long serving relationship with Bontrager Wheel Systems and Trek to supply rims for their retail and pro sponsored bikes.
Lance Armstrong was sponsored by HED for his entire career (even if the product was rebadged as Bontrager in the Discovery/Astana days). That close relationship, in and out of the wind tunnel, has resulted in significant wheel developments.Steve Hed was the first to identify the aero benefits of matching tyre width to rim width. A discovery that has lead to the new wide format road rims that (when coupled with an appropriate tyre) are more aero, more comfortable, and corner more confidently.
The HED Belgium C2 rim is a beautifully finished 23mm wide tubeless ready rim, that builds an incredibly stiff wheel, in 24, 28 and 32h drillings. Perfect for all round road riding on good or better road surfaces.
The new HED Belgium+ rim shares the same shot peened black finish as the C2, but is a fat 25mm wide. It’s available in 28 and 32h drillings in the same finish, and is suitable for those riders who are heavier or ride awful road surfaces.