[Bicyclist]

After reading too much NSMB for the past couple years I decided to order a Geometron G1 to complement my Santa Cruz Chameleon hardtail. First full-suspension since owning a Blur 4X and Morewood Izimu DH bike over 10 years ago, why not go all-in on weird new school geo that I couldn't test ride first??

Anyways, I have a couple of questions on parts spec stuff so figured I would ask the good people still on here...Pinkbike reviews and MTBR seem to be just about as unhelpful as ever.

I see rims have gotten wide but a bunch of WC DH racers are still on EX471s...any reason I shouldn't just lace up a set of EX471s to run with my 2.4/2.5" Maxxis WT tires? Or would I be much better served by EX511s? I have no interest in running inserts since I'll run DD or DH casings. I am in dry/dusty/steep/rocky New Mexico so in some ways I suspect flattening out the tire with a wide rim might actually be worse since it'll mean less sidewall height, but 5mm is splitting hairs anyways I guess.

Speaking of casings, seems like DD might be the way to go for me if I want to keep this thing under 40 lbs for the pedal up. How do people around here like DD for an "enduro" bike? I can't believe how many big bikes I see around here with EXO tires, I can't even run them on my 120mm fork travel hardtail since they lack support and I kill sidewalls so easily.

Thanks for any input!

 

[dump]

Congrats. You and I are thinking along the same line, but I went a slightly more trail oriented direction.

EX471s should work nicely – they appear quite strong. A lot of folks have gone w/ wide rims. I have zero time on wide rims, but my 25mm internal rims and 2.5" tires have performed admirably over the last decade.

I think folks running lighter tires are running them with inserts for support.

Will leave it to the crowd who have direct experience to chime in though.

 

[Bicyclist]

Congrats. You and I are thinking along the same line, but I went a slightly more trail oriented direction.

EX471s should work nicely – they appear quite strong. A lot of folks have gone w/ wide rims. I have zero time on wide rims, but my 25mm internal rims and 2.5" tires have performed admirably over the last decade.

I think folks running lighter tires are running them with inserts for support.

Will leave it to the crowd who have direct experience to chime in though.

Cheers, thanks for the input. Good to know I'm not crazy for thinking of running 25mm rims - seems like an area where the fast guys know something that others are potentially missing as far as tire profile/support. Think I'll go for the EX471 option since they are in stock locally, and a little cheaper/lighter than the EX511 as well. If I kill them or want to experiment down the road with 30mm I can always have them re-laced without too much trouble.

Out of curiosity what bike route did you go for a trail-oriented option?

 

[dump]

Cheers, thanks for the input. Good to know I'm not crazy for thinking of running 25mm rims - seems like an area where the fast guys know something that others are potentially missing as far as tire profile/support. Think I'll go for the EX471 option since they are in stock locally, and a little cheaper/lighter than the EX511 as well. If I kill them or want to experiment down the road with 30mm I can always have them re-laced without too much trouble.

Out of curiosity what bike route did you go for a trail-oriented option?

Yeah, that makes sense to me. What was in stock was an interesting wrinkle in trying to put together a build in 2022. Haven’t really experienced that to date.

I went Saturn 14.

 

[englertracing]

Vastly prefer 511s

And may even reccomend an xm521 up front

Or an hx581 if your a rock crusher.

Xm521 up front on the front of a friend's tyranny patrol.

I like the combo of 35mm front 30 rear with dh case

And 35/35 with double downs.

 

[englertracing]

Also
I'm pretty sure almost all dh pros run a cush core wether they admit it or not
Maybe they might foregoe them once in a while on pedal tracks but I imagine they are default.

With a wide ass cush core jammed in the rim shoving out the sidewall like crazy it doesn't matter much wether the bead is anchored to a 25 or 30mm or 35mm wide rim. And the bead is more protected being Inboard. So to offset the weight they run the 471.

You also see some dh racers on ex511....

I think you'll find most other brands dh offerings like sc reserve dh wheels are 31mm.
And dt swiss fr560 is 30mm.

And that many in ews are running 30+mm

 

[jonKranked]

Also
I'm pretty sure almost all dh pros run a cush core wether they admit it or not
Maybe they might foregoe them once in a while on pedal tracks but I imagine they are default.

With a wide ass cush core jammed in the rim shoving out the sidewall like crazy it doesn't matter much wether the bead is anchored to a 25 or 30mm or 35mm wide rim. And the bead is more protected being Inboard. So to offset the weight they run the 471.

You also see some dh racers on ex511....

I think you'll find most other brands dh offerings like sc reserve dh wheels are 31mm.
And dt swiss fr560 is 30mm.

And that many in ews are running 30+mm

They all run CC or some variant from another company.

Some pro Dh racers do run 471/511 rims, but they also don't expect them to last the entire season.


Edit: I opted for the fr560s for my dh wheels.

 

[jstuhlman]

i've run 471s and DD casing for my all around bike for years. no complaints. if you don't mind a bit more weight, the 511s will give your tires, which will likely by WTs, because those are mostly what's out there in preferred widths, a bit squarer profile and a bit better sideknob engagement, from what i've heard. i'm a hack so i don't really notice. been halpy with assegai up front and dhr or dhf in back.

 

[Gary]

I'd be far more concerned with going from super short small wheeled bikes to a humongous 29er than what width rims it has.
Anything with 25mm -30mm internal width will suit you fine. So No. I see no reason not to build up the 471s you have. I've built a fair few of those over the past year for local endurbros and not one has returned yet in need of a rim replacement.

 

[englertracing]

Re sidewall height..
No loss here, the sidewall very tall
35mm rim up front with the HX581 e bike rim.