Carbon Wheels for 29+ bike - worthwhile upgrade?

[groussere]

So I emailed Peter the other day, and he quoted me $625 for a 50 mm Carbon rim wheelset laced to DT Swiss 350 boost hubs. Of course I'd have to pay shipping and Paypal fees, but that is still a great deal in my opinion.

I have a Trek Stache 9 29+  and I love the bike, just wondering if a carbon wheelset upgrde would be worthwhile. Right now I have the Mulefut rims on there now with 350 hubs, and they're not bad.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Carbon_Dude]

I have the Stache 9.8 with the Bontrager Line+ carbon wheel set, I also have a Stache 9 with the Sun Ringle Mulefut 50SL wheel set.  Carbon wheels would be the most noticeable upgrade for you.  Given the width of the 29+ wheels, I'd say a carbon wheel upgrade is even more beneficial than on a regular 29er.

When I work on either bike, I'm amazed at how light the Bontrager carbon wheels are, and how much heavier the Sun Ringle Mulefut wheels are.  I run the Chupacabra tires on both bikes, it's a great tire to me for it's light weight and durability.

I would highly recommend spending the money for the carbon wheel upgrade.  You can sell your Stache 9 wheels on eBay and easily get back up to 50% of the cost of the carbon wheels.

[groussere]

Thanks CarbonDude. It's nice to get feedback from an actual Stache owner. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the carbon wheels. The 350 hubs are amazing, I can service them easily and they roll smooth.

[Carbon_Dude]

Yep, DT Swiss 350 hubs are really nice and a decent value.  I've had DT Swiss 240 hubs as well, very similar, just slightly lighter.  You can't go wrong though with DT Swiss hubs.  They seem to be very trouble-free.

[Midwest-MTBer]

I'd highly suggest forking over a little extra cash for the 54t star ratchet kit. It's a lot of money, but in my opinion the instantaneous power you get makes it well worth it.

[groussere]

Yes, considering the 54t star ratchet upgrade, but that's something I can do myself fairly easily in the future. Funny, I didn't ask Peter about that but I wonder if he can upgrade it for me.

[Midwest-MTBer]

I'd be curious if Peter would be able to do that at less cost than the $100 kit for us! If so I'd definitely get my next set of wheels pre built with them. Also, peters wheels are awesome. I have a set and they're fantastic. You won't be going wrong down this route.

[groussere]

I contacted Peter and he only can do the 36t upgrade. He quoted me $35 for the upgrade. Anyone think it's worth it? I've never ridden anything else than 18t, or whatever comes stock on the 350 hubs.

[Carbon_Dude]

For $35 I'd do it, it takes your engagement point from every 20 deg to every 10 deg.  You will notice a difference, but, it's really only needed if you are in technical areas like rock gardens where you might need to ratchet your pedal stroke.  Otherwise, it's more of a nice-to-have kinda thing.

[carbonazza]

My last build was with DT240 hubs.
Coming from Hope hubs, that have much more points of contacts, I was initially annoyed by the delay of engagement.

But after a while I don't notice it anymore.
And if I remember well, the upgraded star ratchet are less robust.

[groussere]

Yeah, I think I'm going to try it. For $35, it seems like a no-brainer if he's going to upgrade it for me. I guess if it breaks, I can always get an 18t setup pretty cheap online and put it in myself.

I do some rock gardens and technical climbs once in a while, and it would be nice to have better engagement overall.

[Carbon_Dude]

Maybe the $35 is an upgraded part and Peter will still have the 18T leftover to give to you.

[Midwest-MTBer]

I'd be curious to know if he has the 54T upgrade too.. but for $35 I'd say go for it!

[groussere]

Just an update on my carbon 29+ wheels. I received them today from Peter, and they look awesome! They are amazingly light, and I love the small spoke holes. I can probably use my 1 inch wide Stan's tape to tape them up, the less tape the better.

I'll give a ride update as soon as I get them set up, but I am really impressed with Peter and his products, communication, etc.

[Carbon_Dude]

Very nice.