Speedline Killer Buzz Product Spotlight
Earlier this year, Speedline Components unveiled their lineup of Killer Buzz Racing hubs. Excuse the pun, but these hubs have caught some buzz within the industry. Speedline had more on the agenda then as they also released a line of complete wheelsets and a redesigned alloy rim known as the AR6.
Today, we’ll spotlight the Speedline Killer Buzz Complete wheelsets giving you an inside look at the latest products. The SX factory team members have been on these hubs for a few months, with a few more now running the complete wheelset. Needless to say, the Killer Buzz hubs are battle-tested by some of the fastest already!
Read more to find out what has our riders so stoked on the Killer Buzz!
Hubset Overview
Let’s start with the star of the show, the hubs!
Each hubset/wheelset has a 20mm front hub and a 10mm rear hub. So if pairing the Killer Buzz to another Supercross frame, they’ll need a set of 15mm - 10mm axle adaptors. You can learn more about our adaptors here.
The rear hub is also available in a disc configuration featuring holes to mount the rotor onto the hub.
Specific weights listed below
- 20mm Front Hub: 150 grams
- V-brake Rear Hub: 400 grams
As for the hub’s exterior, there isn’t anything too extraordinary to talk about. The hubs are sleek and feature a singular Speedline logo. The Killer Buzz is only offered in anodized black at the time of writing this. But rumors are swirling that a polished colorway could be coming in the future.
With looks and weight out of the way, we can talk about what’s most important, which comes from within the hubs! (The rear hub specifically)
Hubset Internals
The Killer buzz hub features a worm drive system providing solid driver engagement with minimal drag. This drive system features 72 points of engagement.
72 may sound low to those more familiar with ratchet and pawl numbers that typically feature 204 engagement points. However, with the worm drive system, engagement is calculated a little differently.
Let me explain
There are 360 degrees within a circle. With 72 engagement points, the worm drive engages every 5 degrees within the circle. In translation, the space between each ‘click’ is 5 degrees.
Just to say “5 degrees” one more time, you’ll be able to adjust the crank height in 5-degree increments when doing gates, sprints, etc. From personal experience, this is more than enough engagement to get your pedals right where you need them.
In addition,
The Worm drive differs from traditional Pawl & Ratchet systems because of its sheer number of hub engagers. With Pawl & Ratchet hubs, there are 3, 4, or even 6 pawls engaging the hub at once. Because of this lower number, the ratchet ring needs more ‘click’ points to produce better engagement. This causes more drag within the hub during coasting.
*Ratchet & Pawl Diagram*
However, the Killer Buzz uses all 72 of its little ‘stingers’ at once, providing you with the necessary engagement and increased torque transfer because the load is dispersed across more points. Finally, the Killer Buzz does all of this without increasing drag leading to a fast-rolling hub that gets on the power when you need it most!
*Cut away image of speedline Killer Buzz Hub*
AR6 Alloy Rims
The purchase of a complete wheelset features a front and rear version of the AR6 Alloy rims. This specific rim package is lightweight and capable of handling typical race track abuse.
Speedline removed the brake track from the front rim to keep weight to an absolute minimum. This design choice not only gives the rim a sleeker look but also cuts down on rotational weight up front.
At the back, we have the rear-specific AR6 rim, which features a CNC’d brake track producing the most effective braking surface possible. The tiny grooves engraved into the brake track assist the Brake pads in displacing water, dirt, or grime, leading to more responsive braking and increased stopping power. We don’t grab brakes often in BMX, but when you need them, YOU NEED THEM!
You can replace the rear AR6 with another AR6 front rim for those looking to run disc brakes. This saves even more weight and gives you that sleek wheel profile at the front and back!
The AR6 line of alloy rims is also available for individual purchase in a collection of colors. However, the complete wheelset only comes in black at the time of writing this article. You can get a better look at the AR6 rims here
Double-Butted Spokes?
Every complete Killer Buzz wheelset comes stock with double-butted spokes. This is arguably the coolest feature within the package. Double-butted spokes are typically considered a premium option only seen within custom wheel builds. Most complete wheels on the market feature straight gauge steel spokes, which are cheaper to produce and weigh more compared to double-butted.
For those unfamiliar with Double-butted spokes
Each spoke features a taper where the spoke is its thickest at the ends and thinner towards the middle. By shaving the excess material at the middle, each spoke weighs marginally less while retaining rigidity at each end. It’s a relatively small weight saving on an individual scale, but when it’s spanned across 72 spokes, it significantly reduces overall wheel weight.
It’s awesome to see the Killer Buzz coming stock with double-butted, as it’s an example of the detail-oriented design process that Speedline went through. Straight out of the box, the Killer Buzz is ready to compete with the best in terms of weight!
Pricing
Of course, we can’t go without talking about pricing. But you’ll be shocked to hear that the Killer Buzz is one of the most affordable packages on the market!
Refer to the list below for specific pricing
- Killer Buzz Hubset: $499.95
- Killer Buzz Wheelset: $549.95
- AR6 Alloy Rim: $49.95
The Wrap-Up
The Speedline Killer Buzz wheelset is one of the best values on the market. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a wheelset delivering this much performance at such a low cost. Because of this, these hubs are aimed at the value-conscious rider concerned with affordable performance.
In most cases, $500 wouldn’t cover the purchase of a hubset at this level. Whereas $549.99 will get you a complete Speedline wheelset. The wheelsets come pre-built and trued, meaning straight out of the box, these wheels are ready to go.
Also, the hubset and wheelset feature the necessary hardware for riding, including a thru-axle, lockring, and 16T cog. These items typically aren’t included with competing hubsets. Here, the Killer Buzz increases its value even more by saving you the added expense.
Dollar for dollar, the Speedline Killer buzz is hard to beat. You get everything you’ll need at a fraction of the cost. And never once do you feel like you’ve bought a cheaper wheelset—there arent any compromises to save cost with the Killer Buzz. Typically, when purchasing cheaper components, you can feel or notice where corners were cut to save cost. However, the Killer Buzz lack this feeling as the smooth-rolling experience paired with the solid driver engagement will lead most to believe that this is an ultra-premium set. Not to mention, the buzz is pretty killer too!
You can purchase a set of the speedline killer buzz today from our website right here, or at your favorite Supercross dealer.