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Want to build some new wheels, looking for rim suggestions.

EVIL JN

Monkey
Jul 24, 2009
491
24
I'm not sure if they are the ones my friends tried. If yes they are crap and you are very lucky.
I have been rocking their wider 26 rim on my am bike for a good few months now and they have been as solid as anything else i have tried. First time today on a dh bike and they didnt blow up either so i cant really fault them any way yet. They also do beefier production versions and they seem to be able to do custom layups if asked.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
822
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
I have been rocking their wider 26 rim on my am bike for a good few months now and they have been as solid as anything else i have tried. First time today on a dh bike and they didnt blow up either so i cant really fault them any way yet. They also do beefier production versions and they seem to be able to do custom layups if asked.
But can they do wider? You seem more keyed into the cheap carbon rims than most so talk them into doing a 26mm internal, 500g rim. That should leave enough material for thick sidewalls that don't cut tires & tubes.


Hey Banzai, I said besides the 729. I think they also have a 27mm budget rim that's at least as heavy as the 729. These are both a decade old with no updates. In the last 10 years all Mavic's attention has been on narrow, heavy, UST rims. Seems the majority of the market is asking for wide, light, tubeless-with-tape rims. Remeber when they owned the whole high end market? They've "managed" that brand right into the ground, in both road and mountain.
 
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Huck Banzai

Turbo Monkey
May 8, 2005
2,523
23
Transitory
But can they do wider? You seem more keyed into the cheap carbon rims than most so talk them into doing a 26mm internal, 500g rim. That should leave enough material for thick sidewalls that don't cut tires & tubes.


Hey Banzai, I said besides the 729. I think they also have a 27mm budget rim that's at least as heavy as the 729. These are both a decade old with no updates. In the last 10 years all Mavic's attention has been on narrow, heavy, UST rims. Seems the majority of the market is asking for wide, light, tubeless-with-tape rims. Remeber when they owned the whole high end market? They've "managed" that brand right into the ground, in both road and mountain.
Waddaya mean not updating the EX729? It used to be the D321! an added letter, a changed letter, and 2 out of three numbers different!

Some people are never satisfied!

:p
 
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jnooth

Monkey
Sep 19, 2008
384
1
Vermont Country
I have been rocking their wider 26 rim on my am bike for a good few months now and they have been as solid as anything else i have tried. First time today on a dh bike and they didnt blow up either so i cant really fault them any way yet. They also do beefier production versions and they seem to be able to do custom layups if asked.
I saw that they had an option for a heavier layup. That would be a good option if they could add say 100 g to the rim to beef it up a little for DH application. please keep us posted in this thread about your experience with them on your DH bike. I have been seriously thinking about taking a gamble with them next season. I had bad luck this season with rims and am looking for another option. I am thinking that I will risk the extra $200 bucks to give them a shot.

** just read on the comments on their web site that someone asked if they could make an extra strong rim for DH racing and she said that the could make one at 450g that should have no problem holding up to DH racing. This sounds tempting
 
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mattmatt86

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2005
5,347
10
Bleedmore, Murderland
I have like 15 of those in my rear rim. Still round. Still true. And exactly what I'm talking about. That's what those rims do when you knock the shlt out of them. They don't crack across the profile or around the nipples. You didn't need to replace anything. Build them with good straight guage spokes, keep them tight, and you'll never get a flat spot. That's all they'll ever do.
Don't get me wrong, I'll ride a rim for a long time with plenty of dings and dents. But those two pictures I posted are moar than dings, they're cracks. I don't think I would have been comfortable continuing to ride those rims.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
Not all of them are equal but some of them are way more equal than others. :D

And I'll keep riding this until I can't keep it round and tensioned. Friggin love these things. That's three seasons deep and not a single flat.
I am not so sure if I still believe your tire reviews. What do you do to keep the beads on the rim? Superglue? :rofl:
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
I am not so sure if I still believe your tire reviews. What do you do to keep the beads on the rim? Superglue? :rofl:
You honestly think I'd still be riding it if it really were an issue?

I've got another wheel built up ready to go. I just don't need it yet. That's what I'm telling you people.


Plus to be honest.......it's kind of a source of pride at this point. I want like 10 more dings in there. I'm still trying to figure out what's so magic about the stem hole zone. That's like 90% of them.
 
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iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
You honestly think I'd still be riding it if it really were an issue?
I am just saying that the results you get might vary from the average user who doesn't use a rim as heavily 'customized' as yours. :D
 

daisycutter

Turbo Monkey
Apr 8, 2006
1,651
124
New York City
And I'll keep riding this until I can't keep it round and tensioned. Friggin love these things. That's three seasons deep and not a single flat.[/QUOTE]

I love Mavis 729 rims as well, based on those dents you are not running enough air pressure. I huck a bit, ride Platty all the time and don't dent my 729s like that.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
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EVIL JN

Monkey
Jul 24, 2009
491
24
But can they do wider? You seem more keyed into the cheap carbon rims than most so talk them into doing a 26mm internal, 500g rim. That should leave enough material for thick sidewalls that don't cut tires & tubes.
Dont think they will do wider. From my very limited knowledge of cf manufacturing the overall surface area of a cf product is determined by the mold and that mold is expensive to make. So adding material seems easy enough but i think it is a no go on wider (for now atleast). If a lot of people want them they may start producing a dh version soon.

Just a sidenote, i havent flatted once on my single ply tires while running fairly low pressures while weighing 90kg and riding more on the hack side than smooth.
 

nmn25

Monkey
Jun 12, 2006
314
1
portland or co springs
I just built up a set of these, and asked about a dh set. here is what nancy said

"Hello Noah,

Thanks for your mail. Wish you will like our rims.
One of our customer is going to design the much wider rim, it will be 35mm wide, and 27mm for the inner width. But it will take quite a long time to test.
You can order from him when the rim is ready to sell. We will manufacture the rims for him.

Thanks,
Nancy"

So it seems like they will be avail, albeit through a third party vendor. Maybe we could get a ridemonkey group buy......
 

Verskis

Monkey
May 14, 2010
458
8
Tampere, Finland
I don't mind minor dents in my rims, but the biggest bead-revealing dent in kidwoo's rim is pushing it. Quite amazing if it haven't given any problems.
 

nmn25

Monkey
Jun 12, 2006
314
1
portland or co springs
F*ck yeah! That's what I've been waiting for. The dimensions sound perfect. I'm in for 4.
yeah, Id def be in for at least 2, I bet we could easily put a 30 piece order together. Maybe the mystery third party is on here (altho I doubt it as we haven't been given the official 2 weeks yet...)
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
I don't mind minor dents in my rims, but the biggest bead-revealing dent in kidwoo's rim is pushing it. Quite amazing if it haven't given any problems.
It impresses the ladies.

But honestly........what problems would it cause? Both sides of the kink are now like a super lip and the section of bead showing is like a quarter of an inch. It's like magnetraction on a snowboard. That one was on there for most of the year......between three different tires. Blame the entrance to the whistler dh trail. That rock slab always has some surprises.

Obviously I took a close up of that one for a reason. I promise it wasn't to advertise a ticking time bomb I'm riding. I've been riding those rims for 9 years between the 321s and 729s. I've broken 2.......and one was on a horribly neglected de-tensioned wheel. The other one sprained an ankle when it happened. Those rims are the shlt. And every time I've tried another rim brand I'm building a wheel the same season to replace it due to a flat spot or a crack across the cross section. Given I haven't ridden everything out there but at this point it would take something special to get me to care.

I just posted that to show that when you get one of those, your wheel is not done. But hey keep buying new rims, maybe the price will come down for me. :D
 
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Verskis

Monkey
May 14, 2010
458
8
Tampere, Finland
Well, even if the bead will not pop off the rim, the tube could bubble out between the rim and the tire or a sharp stick or stone could get jammed there and puncture the tube.

But I'm all for running the equipment till it dies, go ahead and have many more pleasant years with the rim!

I got a similar size dent (bent outwards, not inwards like they usually do) during a race run, and the tire stayed on the rim during the run, but before the next race I replaced the rim because I was scared it would pop off someday. Maybe I was just too conservative :D

Actually, now I recall it, I tried to bend the dent back, but the sidewall cracked, that was the reason to replace the rim.
 
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kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Well, even if the bead will not pop off the rim, the tube could bubble out between the rim and the tire or a sharp stick or stone could get jammed there and puncture the tube.
Oh I see now.

You're worried about like.......


magic

Yeah not much you can do about that.

I got a similar size dent (bent outwards, not inwards like they usually do) during a race run, and the tire stayed on the rim during the run, but before the next race I replaced the rim because I was scared it would pop off someday. Maybe I was just too conservative :D
I've never seen it happen with these guys but yeah, bent OUT is a whole different story. I don't think I'd run that either for any amount of time.
 
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Raingauge

Monkey
Apr 3, 2008
692
0
Canadia
yeah, Id def be in for at least 2, I bet we could easily put a 30 piece order together. Maybe the mystery third party is on here (altho I doubt it as we haven't been given the official 2 weeks yet...)
I'd be in for 4 as well. I was thinking about trying their standard rim but if they're coming out with wider I'll wait.
 

nybike1971

Chimp
Nov 16, 2006
67
0
Niskayuna, NY
My experience with the Light Bicycle carbon rims has been very disappointing. I built a set of their UST compatible 26in wide rims in August 2012 and the rear rim cracked while I was preriding the Moab Enduro race course down Porcupine Rim at the end of September. I had a Conti Mountain King II 2.4 tire tubeless at 28psi mounted on the rim when it cracked and I weigh 165lbs. For reference, I had ACL reconstruction surgery in May so am not taking any chances this year and riding very conservatively.

I had to scramble and buy a rear wheel so I could ride in the race and finish my Moab trip.





They replaced the rim under warranty and they send me what they called a reinforced rim (around 400g). I rebuilt the wheel (CK hub and DT Comp spokes at 110kgf driveside tension) with the new rim and after only 4-5 rides it cracked again. This time I was running a Conti Mountain King 2.4 tire (850g) with a much beefier sidewall than the first generation MK tire, also tubeless at 28psi. I cracked the rim rolling down Bailey's at Blue Mountain (Peekskill, NY) - definitely just an XC trail with some rocks.







They replaced this rim under warranty again and sent a new reinforced rim. They still charge $40 for shipping for the replacement rims, so not free, and I need to rebuild the wheel, again. Definitely not worth the uncertainty and the hassle for me. I am going back to the Stan's Flow that I had on those hubs for 4 seasons.
 
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Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
822
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
The rear rim cracked while I was pre-riding the Moab Enduro race course down Porcupine Rim. I had a Conti Mountain King II 2.4 tire tubeless at 28psi mounted on the rim when it cracked and I weigh 165lbs.
I weight the same as you and have the same tires, but I only mount them for mellow trails and run that pressure in front but 33 in back. Any less and I'd expect to dent my NoTubes Flows. For Moab Enduro I'd expect to cut that tire or dent a rim so I ran 2.4" Minion DHF Exos at 29/34 psi. I raced on a Scott Genius LT.

So I don't think those carbon rims are any weaker than Flows. If I rode Porcupine with 2.4 MKIIs at 28psi I'd probably dent my Flows beyond the ability to hold air or be repaired. That damage looks like it would hoto ld air and be rideable so I'd say they look handle impacts better than Flows. That fat lip looks like it's less likely to cut the sidewall too.
 
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saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,167
73
Israel
nybike1971


I use 40 PSI in the rear
30 psi in the front.
this way the rims have less chance to dent on rocks....
actually I've used this presure for years. not related to the carbon rims that I use only for a few months now.

usually people use low presure to have more traction, I dont think its really improve traction, and it feels terrible when you turn with the bike.

you would probably dent or break any rim with this low pressure you use.
 

big cal

Monkey
Nov 18, 2001
177
0
Melbourne, Australia
nybike1971


I use 40 PSI in the rear
30 psi in the front.
this way the rims have less chance to dent on rocks....
actually I've used this presure for years. not related to the carbon rims that I use only for a few months now.

usually people use low presure to have more traction, I dont think its really improve traction, and it feels terrible when you turn with the bike.

you would probably dent or break any rim with this low pressure you use.

I don't think 28psi on a 2.4" tire is too low, not for that kind of damage to be acceptable in the short-term...

40psi on a 2.4" tire on the rear is just a waste of volume!
 

big cal

Monkey
Nov 18, 2001
177
0
Melbourne, Australia
Not all of them are equal but some of them are way more equal than others. :D

http://www.kidwoo.com/729/left.JPG

http://www.kidwoo.com/729/right.JPG


http://www.kidwoo.com/729/bead.JPG


And I'll keep riding this until I can't keep it round and tensioned. Friggin love these things. That's three seasons deep and not a single flat.
I completely agree with this kind of usage for a DH bike rear wheel, i've had wheels that looked like that, ( 321's/WTB laser disc? very similar) admittedly when i had a major ding like the one above i started losing the bead, so i got out the adjustable wrench and straightened it, they just do not give up on the important thing a wheel needs to do...staying straight!
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
822
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
I don't think 28psi on a 2.4" tire is too low, not for that kind of damage to be acceptable in the short-term...

40psi on a 2.4" tire on the rear is just a waste of volume!
If you're familiar with the sidewall of that tire and the abuse a bike takes racing on Porcupine rim it's a safe bet that a somewhat fast 165lb rider will get rim dents and/or flats running 28psi in the front or back. I'm currently running that tire at 24/28psi on the nearly rock-free trails around Lahaina but as stated I had to run a burlier tire at higher pressure to survive the Porcupine race. It's all about being able to judge how hard a trail is on your tires and picking the right tire and pressure to maximize grip while nearly eliminating the chance of damage. There was a lot of damage during that race.
 

big cal

Monkey
Nov 18, 2001
177
0
Melbourne, Australia
If you're familiar with the sidewall of that tire and the abuse a bike takes racing on Porcupine rim it's a safe bet that a somewhat fast 165lb rider will get rim dents and/or flats running 28psi in the front or back. I'm currently running that tire at 24/28psi on the nearly rock-free trails around Lahaina but as stated I had to run a burlier tire at higher pressure to survive the Porcupine race. It's all about being able to judge how hard a trail is on your tires and picking the right tire and pressure to maximize grip while nearly eliminating the chance of damage. There was a lot of damage during that race.
Fair enough, if you are racing hard into square edged rocks, you need to the help you can get...
 

descente

Monkey
Jul 30, 2010
430
0
Sandy Eggo
i ran a 729 for years, it didn't have as much character as kidwoo's but it did outlast the frame it came on.
i've got 721's on my trail bike right now, and they are stiff and bomber as all hell (36 spoke to boot). but they are really good at slicing through the tread (literally, cut through knobs) of tubeless AM tires.
both have massively different lip profiles, the 721s look like a butter knife and the 729s look like a ball peen hammer, nice and round.

i've got dt fr600s on my dh bike right now and they have a nice profile but don't hold a true nearly as well as the 729s did. dent resistance seems to be about the same, maybe a little softer. i'm going to replace them soon, and i should really use 729s and not be a little bitch about them being heavier.
 

nybike1971

Chimp
Nov 16, 2006
67
0
Niskayuna, NY
If you're familiar with the sidewall of that tire and the abuse a bike takes racing on Porcupine rim it's a safe bet that a somewhat fast 165lb rider will get rim dents and/or flats running 28psi in the front or back. I'm currently running that tire at 24/28psi on the nearly rock-free trails around Lahaina but as stated I had to run a burlier tire at higher pressure to survive the Porcupine race. It's all about being able to judge how hard a trail is on your tires and picking the right tire and pressure to maximize grip while nearly eliminating the chance of damage. There was a lot of damage during that race.
I gave them the benefit of the doubt after the first cracked rim on Porcupine Rim exactly for the reason you state. Even though it is a high volume tire, the MK II has very thin sidewalls and it was probably a poor choice even for preriding the course. The funny thing is that the rim cracked on a low speed section on UPS when I manualed off some rock, not on the jackhammer on Porcupine Rim.

The second rim cracked on a mellow trail upstate New York riding a 850g tire (MK 2.4 first generation) at 28psi. Two people on this ride were riding singlespeed 29ers (one was full rigid). The section of trail were the rim cracked is between 0:26 and 0:31 in this video I shot a few years ago:

https://vimeo.com/2389095

To me this kind of performance is unacceptable and I am done with these rims. I am tired of rebuilding wheels once a month. I have ridden this particular trail many times over the years with Flow rims and 750-900g rear tires and never dented or flat spotted the rims.

If other people have better luck with them, that's great. I have sent all these images to light-bicycles and hopefully they can make use of them to improve their product and provide greater strength and reliability for future customers.
 
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gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
I run plenty of air pressure. With all my bltching and moaning about thin rims and tire squish, I'm not turning around and putting 20psi in the thing. That's hundreds and hundreds of miles, about 8 states and 5 bike parks you're looking at.

Just for some context, that's the same rim I had on here.

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/f19/reality-based-dw-link-turner-thread-actual-riding-content-235661/


How's your rim from 2010 looking? ;)
What kind of tire pressure are you running on rocky stuff? Are you just using a normal tube and Dh tires? Or extra liners/dh tubes?
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
822
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
NYbike1971, thanks for the feedback. I was wanting to believe these are better at handling rim impacts than Flows but maybe not. I've been holding off on carbon rims and appreciate the testing and results posted by riders like you. Also, good on you for traveling all the way to Moab for the race. Hopefully it will become recognized as a premier Enduro.
 

saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,167
73
Israel
big cal
I dont know how your trails are,
but where I ride there are lot of square edge rocks and big jumps to pointy rocks slopes... so I prefer using more PSI in my tires than getting my carbon rims brocken.
actually, I feel better on 40 PSI than with 30 PSI in the rear tire.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
822
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
I've come to the conclusion that if I have to go over 34psi I need to step up to a bigger tire/burlier casing to maintain traction and rim protection. Minion 2.7" DH casing feels indestructable at 34psi. That's what I run in the rear on DH tracks that force you to hit a big sharp rock at speed. For Porcupine a 2.5" Minion Exo at 34psi seemed to be enough in the rear to not worry about flats. At that pressure you're giving up some traction and any higher pressure is giving up too much grip and control. Above 35psi the tire gets bouncy and doesn't conform or stay on the ground. If you're riding an AM bike and need 40psi to prevent rim damage try a Minion DHF 2.5" DH casing (double ply).
 

saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,167
73
Israel
for AM riding on my 5" bike, I use 2.35 maxxis highrollers 40 psi back, 30 psi front
for DH riding on my 8" DHR I use 2.5 maxxis 35 psi in the rear and ONZA 2.4 27 psi in the front.
I dont feel I have less grip than with less PSI. if you feel you skid in corners.... maybe its time to lern how to seat right...
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
What kind of tire pressure are you running on rocky stuff? Are you just using a normal tube and Dh tires? Or extra liners/dh tubes?
I haven't ridden my dh bike in about two months. I need to think about this.
Pretty high at mammoth, bootleg and/or dry at whistler......lower in a pissing rain seattle bellingham ride. Usually in the mid-low 30s in the rear, sometimes as much as 40, and right about 30 in the front for a sticky tire.....sometimes around 28 for slower trails. I usually adjust by feel. I don't have a really accurate pressure gauge so I'll just keep adjusting at a new spot until my tires feel supportive in corners without bouncing.

You know the straight away right after the table thing at the beginning of lower velocity (pretty much the fastest section of trail at mammoth)? If I don't spot some of the little shark fins in there I'll get a rim ping or two.

I use those 2.4/3.0 specialized tubes with a little squirt of stans in them. They're not dh thickness but also don't stretch much so they seem to take pinches pretty well. Talc dusted maxxis tires usually.



To some of the responses not related to this one. I know tires and rims are one of the objective things that can be discussed on the internet with people you've never ridden with but don't ever, ever discount one of the most important things out there that will determine how your tires hold up: how you normally pick your lines.
 
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kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
i ran a 729 for years, it didn't have as much character as kidwoo's but it did outlast the frame it came on.
i've got 721's on my trail bike right now, and they are stiff and bomber as all hell (36 spoke to boot). but they are really good at slicing through the tread (literally, cut through knobs) of tubeless AM tires.
both have massively different lip profiles, the 721s look like a butter knife and the 729s look like a ball peen hammer, nice and round.

i've got dt fr600s on my dh bike right now and they have a nice profile but don't hold a true nearly as well as the 729s did. dent resistance seems to be about the same, maybe a little softer. i'm going to replace them soon, and i should really use 729s and not be a little bitch about them being heavier.
With regards to the 721s hat's exactly the same problem with 823s. They both have a braking wall for rim brakes and hence a tall, narrow really well sported knife that goes right into your sidewall when you hit something. The sidewall is way more cushioned by that round wall on a 729.

I can't remember ever really flat spotting a 729 but I have done it on a set of deemaxes.....twice. No rim dings but a big annoying unfixable flat spot that necessitated a new wheel. I'll take the dings.