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Why is the 721 still the strongest/lightest DH/FR rim in the market?

ohio

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
24
SF, CA
This rim is a decade old or more, and is designed for rim brakes. There is no good reason that no one else is making a rim that is 21mm wide internally, 550gms, and strong as ****. Materials have gotten better. Manufacturing has gotten better. And we DON'T USE RIM BRAKES ANYMORE.

WTF?
 
DirtBag

DirtBag

Monkey
Feb 1, 2006
648
0
FOXROX said:
or he can laugh cause syncros sucks ?
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Now that is something to laugh at.

Agreed on the 721. Got them on my DJ/Park bike and I love them. I am actually going to go with a new wheelset for the Bottlerocket and I am contemplating 721 or 729..
 
dh gangster

dh gangster

Monkey
Jul 31, 2006
366
0
P en Doubleyou
Dude I'm just glad they haven't discontinued them yet!
I have a set laced to hopes on my DH bike and a set on my DS/4X bike as well and couldn't be happier.

Like General Lee said, great engineering doesn't get phased out, it just gets reused in differen't applications that make it more user specific. (Ex. Suspension designs) They just haven't found anything to make better on it!

But they do come in black now with tight looking graffiti decals :cupidarrow:


manwithgun said:
But eleven would be one louder...
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By the way, thats the only good line in Spinal Tap, the rest of the movie blows.
 
dh gangster

dh gangster

Monkey
Jul 31, 2006
366
0
P en Doubleyou
DirtyMike said:
You like your wheels heavy???
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Well maybe he just wants a no-fuss (IMO) pretty much undentable wheelset that most likely wont flat. Weight penalty accepted.
To each his own.

I for one run DH tubes on my 721's, I'll take the weight penalty for the flat resistance. Especially when you travel all across the country for one race run that if your tires go flat you wasted about 3 grand of your money on. :plthumbsdown:

but hey, thats part of racing right?
 
S

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
721s aren't all that strong... I've managed to crack them in a single day. Yes, I am a hack, but these rims ARE hyped up beyond what they really are.
 
H

Hougham

Monkey
Mar 28, 2007
375
3
Dont know why the 721’s are still one of the very best, But I have started getting full wheels sets to see if there is anything better out there. On the road bike side of things matched full wheels sets have superseded any standard rim build set for years so guess the same may start to be true for MTB? I am giving a set of Easton Havoc a go at the moment and am happy so far. Though long term who knows.
 
S

SPDR

Monkey
Apr 21, 2006
180
0
Engerland
Socket said:
721s aren't all that strong... I've managed to crack them in a single day. Yes, I am a hack, but these rims ARE hyped up beyond what they really are.
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Where's the hype? All I ever see is satisfied users balanced opinions of a great all round rim.

No-one EVER claims they are the strongest
No-one EVER claims they are the lightest
No-one EVER claims they are the cheapest

What they do say and this is the distilled experience of many users over many years, is that they're the best combination of all the above.

Anyone can "crack them in a single day" but you can't say is how any other rim would have held up to the same abuse.

By all means try other lighter/more expensive/stronger/more fashionable/just plain newer rims but don't beleive you are going to beat the price/weight/strength combination, at least not untill the next big thing anyway. :twitch:

G
 
Z

zspecial

Chimp
Jul 2, 2004
34
0
SPDR said:
Where's the hype? All I ever see is satisfied users balanced opinions of a great all round rim.

No-one EVER claims they are the strongest
No-one EVER claims they are the lightest
No-one EVER claims they are the cheapest

What they do say and this is the distilled experience of many users over many years, is that they're the best combination of all the above.

Anyone can "crack them in a single day" but you can't say is how any other rim would have held up to the same abuse.

By all means try other lighter/more expensive/stronger/more fashionable/just plain newer rims but don't beleive you are going to beat the price/weight/strength combination, at least not untill the next big thing anyway. :twitch:

G
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Who pissed in your Weeties today?
 
toodles

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,538
4,813
Australia
I'm running Mavic 721s on both my bikes front and rear. I'm just bummed that they stopped making the CD (hard-ano) version. Sounds stupid but I swear they were stronger.

Oh and Alex Supra Ds are absolutely worth checking out - at 620g they're heavier than the 721s but not by a whole lot and they don't flat spot as easily.

Only weakness with the 721s is the braking edge which seems prone to folding.
 
S

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
SPDR said:
Where's the hype? All I ever see is satisfied users balanced opinions of a great all round rim.

No-one EVER claims they are the strongest
No-one EVER claims they are the lightest
No-one EVER claims they are the cheapest

What they do say and this is the distilled experience of many users over many years, is that they're the best combination of all the above.

Anyone can "crack them in a single day" but you can't say is how any other rim would have held up to the same abuse.

By all means try other lighter/more expensive/stronger/more fashionable/just plain newer rims but don't beleive you are going to beat the price/weight/strength combination, at least not untill the next big thing anyway. :twitch:

G
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Um, where's the hype? Not like it's right in the title of the thread here, which I will quote for posterity and the benefit of the blind:

Why is the 721 still the strongest/lightest DH/FR rim in the market?

Plenty of people would agree, however I CAN say how numerous other rims would hold up to the same abuse because, surprise surprise, I've killed enough rims of various descriptions to actually have some first hand experience with it. I have never ever gone through rims as quickly as I did 721s (and not just one of them either, there were 3 or 4).

Plenty of people hold them up as the be-all end-all of DH rims. Sure, they're not bad for what they are, but calling them "strongest" is a stretch. The sidewalls are very easy to dent for starters and they crack quite easily. There are plenty of WORSE rims out there no doubt, but I haven't bought 721s for quite a while because I got sick of killing them so quickly. They are light, yes, and that's good, but I currently have an Alex Supra BH on the rear of my bike which is holding up well for now, and cost me barely more than half of what a 721 does. It's also reasonably lightweight, like 620g (btw 721s are more like 590g than 550g if I recall correctly), and the Supra D (welded join, unavailable from the local distro when I bought my BH) is about 600g, so very much comparable to a 721.

Plenty of other rims I'd also like to check out when I get the opportunity, 823s seem to have a good reputation for being fairly tough, at least from what I've seen and asked about, though they really are expensive.

What's my point? I think there are both stronger and cheaper options than the 721. Maybe you consider it a good compromise, hell I'd happily run one on the front of my bike, but there is a reason I'm not buying them anymore - they cost a lot and they die quickly under me.


Edit: I sound like I'm just bashing on the rims here, so I'll clarify - I don't think they're BAD rims by any stretch. I just think that their reputation as the lightest/strongest rim is a bit nostalgic. They're a decent rim but I feel that there are better alternatives in terms of price:strength:weight compromises out there, for me at least.
 
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S

SPDR

Monkey
Apr 21, 2006
180
0
Engerland
Sorry Socket - I guess I just read your post wrong and probably had a different idea of what the thread was implying; we all read these things how we want to.

I've mangled 721s before too but I don't think I'll use anything else until I finally sucumb to tubeless - then it'll be 823s (or maybe the Stans rim which gets pretty good reviews)
 
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davet

Monkey
Jun 24, 2004
551
3
buckoW said:
They didn't last well or didn't work with tubeless?
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Both

They failed with Stans tubeless. Unexplained flats and tires blowing off the rim.

They dent with every rock hit. The rear needs to be trued/retensioned after every weekend and it's full of dents, wobbles and flat spots.

A smooth rider may get away using them (Syncros DS-28) but they sure didn't hold up very well for me.
 
CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,882
4,232
Copenhagen, Denmark
I have found the Quad QWR-2.7 to be a really good alternative to the 721. It look identical to the Syncros and I run it with tube in the rear (Maxxis Minion DHR 2.5 3C) and tubeless front (Maxxis Minion DHR 2.7 ST):

http://www.quadbrakes.com/am_pro/rims.html

The 721 is nice but expensive compare to the Quad rim and there is no performance improvement for me.
 
zahgurim

zahgurim

Underwater monkey
Mar 9, 2005
1,100
12
lolAsia
521s are ok, but I don't like the tall sidewall: they fold over on rocks pretty easily...

Am currently rockin a few sets of Syncros DS28/Halo Freedom, and couldn't be happier. So far, anyway... I had them on a trailbike for over a year, and just laced up a new set for my DH.
A bit lighter, but I like their rim profile a lot better: hasn't folded yet, and I'm not the smoothest. I just wish they were double eyeleted instead of being single eyeleted.
Will see how they last taking a bit more abuse...
 
R

rowlands

Monkey
Nov 26, 2006
159
0
davet said:
Both

They failed with Stans tubeless. Unexplained flats and tires blowing off the rim.

They dent with every rock hit. The rear needs to be trued/retensioned after every weekend and it's full of dents, wobbles and flat spots.

A smooth rider may get away using them (Syncros DS-28) but they sure didn't hold up very well for me.
Click to expand...

I had the same experience with a set of 721's but it was in one race weekend :twitch:
 
D

davet

Monkey
Jun 24, 2004
551
3
rowlands said:
I had the same experience with a set of 721's but it was in one race weekend :twitch:
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and that's why I'm waitng for my 823's to arrive.

Light wheelsets don't seem to work for a fat hack like myself.

Surprisingly, the weight penalty is will almost be negligible by going to UST Minions and not having to use rimstrips.
 
R

rowlands

Monkey
Nov 26, 2006
159
0
davep said:
You have to put air in you tires once you get them mounted..it will help prevent those problems.
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maybe my set were just faulty because i built up another set and they lasted the rest of the season, but i put 9 dents in the rim with 40 psi on intense tires in 2 days and a flat spot and the front folded over in a corner... first time i have ever had any troubles with a rim
 
S.K.C.

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
I have an 08' 721 on the rear wheel of my race set, and I actually folded over the rim lip a bit from 2 days of riding at Diablo.

I'm not the smoothest rider in the world AND was running probably about 25 - 28 psi, so at speed over sharp rocks, things are going to go wrong at some point.

721's historically don't seem to bead-up well tubeless with Maxxis tires. Standard, non tubeless Maxxis tires can't quite grip the inner lip of the rim, but as for Maxxis UST tires - I have no info on their "seating" ability with a 721. Michi DH 24's and DH 16's seem to fair better, and if you are using Maxxis TS Rim Strips, this is also helpful.

Riffle was running a 721 rear wheel tubeless with a Maxxis strip and a Michi DH 24 last year at the US Open and didn't seem to have any issues... although when I spoke with him about his setup he did say that he puts on a fresh set of tires after every race...
 
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