Help Iplay Design Carbon Fat Bike Rims...

[Sitar_Ned]

So, last night Peter from Iplay emailed me basically to try to get an insight into what I thought would be the most in demand features and designs for his new line of fat bike rims that are in the works..

First of all, while I absolutely do appreciate that he reached out to me like that, and think it's very smart of him to try to get that kind of insight.. He has grossly over estimated my technical mtb wheel building knowledge 

I honestly have no clue how to answer Peter's questions but would love to help him get these answers, while simultaneously giving riders exactly what it is that they want.. So with his permission, of course, I thought i'd see if anyone of you guys (I know there's not many of you yet) either had some wheel building knowledge, or knew someone that did.. specifically related to fat bike rims.

Here.. I'll just let you hear it in Peter's words. Would probably be the best way, but keep in mind.. English is his second language but his questions are very clear..




Hi Rob,

How are you?

And could you let me know more details of fat bike rims that you think is idealest? I mean OD, ID and ERD. And what about the distance between drilling holes ?

I plan to make new models for 80mm width and 100mm width, these two kinds of rims can be clincher and tubeless compatible. You know, our previous 80mm rims are for clincher only, not compatible for tubeless.

And Which design will be the most idealest ?

Or do you have any design and could you send me? Maybe I can make the rim mould same as your design

And we will have carbon fat bike frames available soon

Best Regards,
Peter




Okay.. That's it.  Anyone?

[Carbon_Dude]

I received the same email, not knowing if he couldn't just do a search, and me not knowing much about FatBike wheels, I did a quick search and sent him back some info.  To my surprise, there are already several carbon fat bike wheels on the market.

Below is my reply.

https://www.hedcycling.com/bigdeal/
https://www.hedcycling.com/pdf/HedFatRimInstructions.pdf
http://www.lamerecycles.com/#!fatbike/c1ff7

This website has some specs:
http://sarmabikes.com/products/carbon-rim-fatbikes
ERD: 534 mm
ERTRO: 559 mm
Recommended tire pressure: 10-15 PSI
Max rider weight limit: 110 kg
Max Spoke Tension: 100 kgf
Recommended valve’s length: 35 mm
Recommended width of tubeless tape 50-65 mm
Recommended spokes nipples: 12 mm

http://www.borealisbikes.com/parts/carbondale-rims/
http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/02/25/exclusive-kuroshiro-reinvents-the-tubeless-wheel-with-their-incredible-enso685-carbon-fat-bike-rim/
http://fat-bike.com/2014/02/sarma-introduces-first-100mm-carbon-rims-the-naran-100/

Also, I would suggest ordering a set of wheels you like from one of these places to get more specs.
Regards,

[Sitar_Ned]

I suppose he's trying to figure out which the most popular would be. I think the problem would be that fat bikes are so new.. there's less people to get feedback from. Like you, I was surprised that these wheels were already so widely available.. so maybe there's more info to be had than I assumed.

[Sitar_Ned]

The one from the bike rumor article looks like a winner:



Hey CD... this speaks to what I was saying in the fat bike thread about how I think having high end components, especially wheels, is what it's all about with fat bikes.

From the article:

 "the Salsa Mukluk shown above lost about 7 pounds when the Rolling Darryl wheelset and 45NRTH tubed tires were swapped out for the ensō685."

7 pounds off your wheels! That's got to be a night and day difference and I bet they get even lighter.

[Carbon_Dude]

Fat Bikes are definitely a lot about having a cool looking ride that turns heads.

[Sitar_Ned]

Really? You've ridden one and I haven't and I trust your opinion but it just really seems like those huge ass tires would have significant effects on the ride of the bike. Seems if they could get them light enough then ultimate awesomeness would be achieved. So, I'll definitely reconsider getting one until I've at least ridden one, and a really nice one.

I was thinking that I'd ultimately allow myself a stable of three chiners.. The 057 is one, the 036 will be on most likely... and that carbon fat bike pic I posted was making me consider a fatty. Getting 27.5 just seems a little redundant but maybe you can talk me out of that opinion as i saw that you left some positive comments in the 27.5 thread about the wheel size def being better than 26.

[Rigid_Bloke]

I'm interested in these rims for sure. Will most likely be building a full carbon fat bike soon, and I've ridden one and really liked it, but to each his own.

[Carbon_Dude]

I rode a Origin8 Fat Bike a few months back at the Southeast Bike Expo, it was a totally different experience.  I didn't think I would like it but like anything bike related, once you try it, you want more.  The tires are so huge that it reminded me of riding one of those old fat tire mini bikes:



The tires had about 9psi of air in them and if you leaned left or right, the bike would turn in that direction.  According to the Origin8 website, the bikes weight is 42lbs, but it didn't feel quite that heavy.  Carbon rims may knock off a few pounds but that would still be a heavy bike.  The tires alone must weigh 3-4 lbs each!

Here is a link:  http://www.origin8.bike/product-description/?prod_model_uid=7933  Although the bike I rode had a traditional rear derailleur, not the Nuvinci internal gear hub.

[Izzy]

Wish I had more knowledge to provide some input here.. but all I know is I want some bad ass, light weight carbon fat bike rims on the cheap. lol.

[PeterQ]

Here is our FR80C fat bike rim geometry, what do you think?

[Carbon_Dude]

I like the 80mm width, I think over 80mm would be too wide.

[Sitar_Ned]

I like the 80mm width, I think over 80mm would be too wide.

Agreed. From the research I've been doing 80mm seems to be the optimal width, at this point.

I assume those are tubeless ready?

[PeterQ]

Here it is 100mm fat bike rim FR100C geometry, see attachment

[Carbon_Dude]

Hmmm, 100mm wide ( or 4 inches) seems very wide.  Since I have ridden only one fat bike I really can't say if I would want 80mm or 100mm wide rims.  Either way, I'm not really interested in building a fat bike right now.

Good luck with your sales Peter!  Also, congratulations on your marriage!

[Izzy]

Hey Peter.. I'm definitely interested in one of the two rims you have posted.

Leaning towards the 80mm at this point. Been doing some research recently and it seems that might be the sweet spot. I'm definitely open to the 100mm width though, just didn't figure you guys would have them available so soon.

Do you happen to have weights for each size? And are they available now or soon?

Thanks for keeping us updated!