29er Rim Question

[Gabby]

I'm looking at getting some rims for XC racing. I would like them to work with tubes or tubeless. Can anyone recommend either of these? If yes which one?

IP-M23C carbon fiber http://www.xmiplay.com/ProductDetails1605

IP-HR927C 27mm width hookless carbon http://www.xmiplay.com/ProductDetails1686

Thanks

Gabby

[Carbon_Dude]

Of those two, my preference would be the 27mm hookless.  Hookless is the newest type and is stronger than designs with a bead hook profile.  Either rim will be fine with or without a tube.

For the trails I ride and my weight, I tend to go a bit wider at 30mm.  A bit stronger but a little bit heavier.

[carbonfan]

most all riders  will like to choose carbon rims hookless.

[Sitar_Ned]

Hey carbonfan,

I removed your three links to your website. We welcome your input as a vendor and any insight you can provide into these products and the import carbon industry in general, but in the future, we ask that you don't post with the sole intention of posting links to your site. That's spam. Instead, you could have posted some information about the three different types of rims that you linked to.

Bottom line.. We don't mind you representing your business but when making posts:

1.) Don't post more links to your site; It's already in your profile footer.
2.) Only post comments that are genuinely contributing to the conversation or question being asked.

Thanks, and welcome to Chinertown.

[Carbon_Dude]

I've added www.carbonbicycle.cc to the vendor list thread.

[SportingGoods]

I'd like to ask a question related to this (old) post.

What is the real benefit of those Chinese Carbon rims? When I built my MTB I looked at the offering and couldn't find any major reason to go for it. I use Stan's aluminum rims, they are cheap, light and strong.
I'd appreciate if someone could explain me what I am missing here.

Thanks!

[7]

I just went with Stan's Crest. Just delivered last night in fact. I went with Stan's due to cost and weight. I just could not afford the carbon. I would guess the carbon would be stiffer though.

[Vipassana]

I'd like to ask a question related to this (old) post.

What is the real benefit of those Chinese Carbon rims? When I built my MTB I looked at the offering and couldn't find any major reason to go for it. I use Stan's aluminum rims, they are cheap, light and strong.
I'd appreciate if someone could explain me what I am missing here.

Thanks!

If cost is the issue, go aluminum.  If not, go carbon.

From my experience, I find the carbon rims to be FAR stiffer and more robust than any comparable aluminum rim.  The light aluminum rims I've had were prone to coming out of true all the time, especially in rocky terrain.  The lighter the rim, the worse they seem to be.  With my carbon set (30mm OD, 25.5mm ID Hookless), they are still very true after 10-11 months of riding and a lot of miles and abuse.  I've had some hair-raising rock strikes and a crash or two without issue.  I can't say that about my aluminum rims in the past.

Gram for gram, carbon rims are much stronger, especially when you start looking at those ultralight aluminum choices for XC racing.

Aluminum can serve you well, but they won't be as robust.  Carbon fiber, if designed and made properly has basically an infinite fatigue life; aluminum, not so much.  Wheels are all about fatigue.

Here is a mildly interesting video.  I don't think people realize just how strong carbon is.

https://vimeo.com/80046117

[Carbon_Dude]

I agree with everything Vipassan posted, dollar-for-dollar as set of Chinese carbon wheels are a much better investment than AL wheels at this time. 

I have one set of 30mm 29er Carbon wheels from Peter, and a high end set of DT Swiss XR1450 wheels.  I can honestly tell you that the carbon wheels are much more robust and do not come out of true.  Compare that to my DT Swiss rear wheel that I have already replaced once, and the new rear rim went slightly out of true a few months later.  The DT Swiss 240 hubs on my AL wheels are awesome in my opinion, but the rim itself is too weak for my weight (200 lbs) and type of trail riding I do (rooty and a bit rocky).  My DT Swiss wheels are 200g lighter than my carbon wheels but if they are not strong then it really doesn't matter.

Ideally, my dream set of wheels are 30mm hookless carbon rims with DT Swiss 240 hubs.

[byrt]

Thanks! Interesting
im trying to choose the brand mavic rims or just go for the no name carbon wheels uuhmmm?

[cmh]

What is the real benefit of those Chinese Carbon rims? When I built my MTB I looked at the offering and couldn't find any major reason to go for it. I use Stan's aluminum rims, they are cheap, light and strong.
I'd appreciate if someone could explain me what I am missing here.

Let me be the slightly dissenting voice here - Stan's rims seem to be in a class of their own. Don't have experience with carbon rims (yet) but _tons_ of experience with Stan's rims from the ZTR Race Gold all the way to the Flow. I've owned most Stan's rims except the Hugo and a couple of the newer ones. They're freaking special. I'm constantly amazed how well made those rims are, and how strong their wheels are.

Nothing against carbon rims at all, don't misinterpret what I'm saying here. I'm just saying that my opinion of Stan's aluminum rims is quite a bit different from general aluminum rims. You don't wanna hear my Mavic rant.

Plus, basically any decent tubeless compatible rim has directly copied the Stan's rim profile, because it works so well.

I'll get carbon rims at some point, and no doubt like them very much. I'm just not in much of a rush because Stan's stuff is so damn good. Would love to get my hands on a set of Valors.

[Vipassana]

That's good to hear.  My experience with Stan's products is limited to their tubeless setups and not their rims.  I've only had aluminum rims from other companies like Mavic, Alex, etc.  And these were less than stellar.  There must be truth in what you're saying because at the races and events I've been to, if it's not carbon, it's Stan's on every bike.  Maybe with the occasional Crank Bros (which look so damn sweet, but are surprisingly heavy).

[JohnnyNT]

It's no surprise, Stans Crest had almost no competition when it comes to weight and stiffness last few years. Only recently good competitors appeared like Ryde Trace XC and DT Swiss XR331

[cmh]

That's good to hear.  My experience with Stan's products is limited to their tubeless setups and not their rims.  I've only had aluminum rims from other companies like Mavic, Alex, etc.  And these were less than stellar.  There must be truth in what you're saying because at the races and events I've been to, if it's not carbon, it's Stan's on every bike.  Maybe with the occasional Crank Bros (which look so damn sweet, but are surprisingly heavy).

Yeah - I have a photo I got of Julien Absalon at Wyndham last year, and you can _clearly_ see the profile and red valve stems of the Stan's ZTR Race Gold 29er wheelset. He's not sponsored, though, so they're plain and have no decals. This isn't unique to him, either, until recently, many racers were using debadged Stan's rims/wheels.