Hulk Bike experience - 29" 33mm Asymmetric Wheelset

[nicktapias]

 I took a leap of faith and ordered these for my 2015 Jet 9 Carbon. The set cost me ~$400 shipped with Powerway M32 hubs. The wheels shipped quickly (next day) and arrived super fast (within 8 days of order). They setup tubeless in less than 30 minutes with Stan's rim tape and sealant, Maxxis Ardent 2.25 in the rear, High Roller II 2.3 in the front. Now to my riding impressions.

These wheels are SUPER stiff, super light and very durable. I've thrown them onto the truing stand every two weeks for the past 2 months and no issues with spoke elongation or nipple settling. I crushed all my times up and down just about everywhere I ride, but I had to reduce my fork and shock pressure because the stiffness made the ride so harsh. I also tried reducing the tire pressure and this worked.. to a point.. which is my next point.

The rim bead cracked mid-ride when I hit a sharp rock in the middle of the trail, which means I was probably running them too low. I had never bottomed out at any pressure with these before, and the rock garden I was traversing I had been through many times, so I guess I was just unlucky this time. I immediately emailed customer support and sent them pictures of the impact, and they shipped me a brand new rim the next day! Their only advice: "This wheel is super light XC wheels, so please do not use them on poor road conditions. thanks for your support."

I bought these for mountain biking, and the mountains around here are a little bit rocky.. did I miss something when I bought these? I don't think so, because they have been bombproof until I was an idiot and ran them too low. I would rate these an A+ for the price and customer service and recommend them to anybody looking for a great set of wheels at a great price.

The only caveat, as with any carbon rim, don't run <20psi. Also make sure you don't over-torque the cassette into place if you run an XD driver, the endcaps protrude a lot and the freewheel tool does not make adequate overlap with the splines enough and you will strip them out, thus requiring a new cassette.

[carbonazza]

Thank you for the information. This seller is very good.

Many sellers would have probably told you it is your fault and leave it.
Here they tell it to you, but send a new rim... Nice! 

[alexdi]

Good on them, good to hear. How do you like the hubs?

[bxcc]

Reviving an old thread.

After having my Elite Wheels order get lost in shipping, I decided to order these rims from Hulk bike.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/29er-33mm-wide-carbon-mtb-bicycle-rim-mtb-offset-carbon-rim-hookless-asymmetric/123895065953?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225073%26meid%3D02e7536e98314030a0212a3fe57c91ca%26pid%3D100227%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D14%26sd%3D361100492861%26itm%3D123895065953%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2053904&_trksid=p2053904.c100227.m3827

Hulk Bike, Elite wheels, and a few others carry this same rim so I had some options. I had already purchased the hubs and spokes so changing to a different rim profile wasn't an option. These will be going on my Waltly Ti single speed and the inner width and weight are right where I want to be. They won't see any big drops or jumps (think SS XC hardtail) but will see their fair share of northeast rocks and roots.

I ordered them on October 17th and they arrived on November 17th. There as a delay of a few days due to me wanting a 28 hole rim in the 12k twill weave pattern. The 12k twill weave was an $18 up charge per rim so the total was $370 shipped to my door. That's a bit more money than the Elite order but the Hulk order actually showed up.

They will be built as follows:
Hulk Bike 29", 33mm asymmetrical rims, 27mm inner width, 29mm height, 373g and 375g
DT 350 classic hubs, 28 hole, boost spacing, centerlock rotor
DT Aerolite spokes, 288mm, 3 cross
Sapim double square nipples, some blue, some black
1422 grams according to the DT Swiss spoke calculator.

As for the purchase, everything went really smooth. The communication with Hulk bikes has been great and they respond in a timely fashion. The rims appear to be as advertised and were packed well enough. The advertised weight was 360g +/- 15 grams. They came in at 373 and 375 which is within the range.

The rims are currently being built at my LBS and I'll update once I get my hands on them.

[bxcc]

Update on the wheels:

Everything built up as expected with no issues at all. The ERD was advertised at 580 without the nipple head, I used 583 to account for the head and the spoke length was spot on. They came in a bit heavier than I hoped for at 1481 grams with tape and stems. The shop had the stems and tape installed before I picked them up so I wasn't able to weight them without. I'd guess the weight to be right around 1450g. Here's some rotor weights for anyone interested.

[carbonazza]

12k looks cool 

[bxcc]

A week or so ago I tore through the sidewall of the Maxxis Aspen tire on the SS. I took the wheel to my work today to clean it up before mounting the new tire. Here's a couple more pictures of the 12k twill weave. I've had a couple good rocky rides on the wheels so far with zero issues. Well, other than the tear in the sidewall that I could fit my thumb through.