Middle of the road, All around tubeless rim?

woodybepierced
Edited Date/Time 12/5/2014 8:25pm
27.5"

Looking for middle of the road tubeless rims. I'll do rough terrain when I can find it, but the honest truth is I'll be riding XC in North Texas 90% of the time. I'm look for a burley XC Tubeless rim that I can lace up to my Hadley hubs. What is good these days? Im thinking Carbon is out of my price range.

I could probably search within the Enduro/All-Mountain category, but I thought there might be some outliers I would miss if I didn't ask the forums.
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krisrayner
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krisrayner 11/25/2014 12:27pm
11/25/2014 12:27pm
Check out the offerings from Stans NoTubes. The Arch and Flow rims or wheelsets are solid and on the lighter side.
xyian
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xyian 11/25/2014 12:38pm
11/25/2014 12:38pm
Frequency i25's. Stronger than Stan's offerings and possibly cheaper. Might be a little bit more heavy but I have smashed mine around and barely a scratch. I have dented my Blunt rims much more easily.
woodybepierced 11/25/2014 12:44pm
11/25/2014 12:44pm
xyian wrote:
Frequency i25's. Stronger than Stan's offerings and possibly cheaper. Might be a little bit more heavy but I have smashed mine around and barely a scratch...
Frequency i25's. Stronger than Stan's offerings and possibly cheaper. Might be a little bit more heavy but I have smashed mine around and barely a scratch. I have dented my Blunt rims much more easily.
After chatting here and on PinkBike with a few guys, it seems like WTB or Stans will be my weapon of choice.

@Xylan I agree that they are a tad heavier, but after others input, that little extra width may add a ton of handling due to tire contact and profile.
xyian
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xyian 11/25/2014 1:23pm
11/25/2014 1:23pm
I've ridden both rims and can't say I feel a difference, Woody. It's nice the way the wider rims make the tires feel. Maybe you can find a good deal on the i25. They're lesser known than the Stan's. I stray away from Stan's now due to my destroying one pretty easily.
rooshmoo
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rooshmoo 11/25/2014 1:36pm
11/25/2014 1:36pm
Spank rims are very reasonably priced, tubeless ready and stronger/lighter than anything on the market. If it's mainly XC go for the Oozy 26AL rim or if you want burlier than that the Oozy Trail-295 rim is pretty burly and comes with Spank's Bead Bite Technology which does a great job of making a damn near impenetrable seal. Getting tires off the rim is a pain but at least you won't have to worry about it getting blown off on the trails. And they come in black, blue, red, chrome and emerald green. Checkout some reviews!
Varaxis
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Varaxis 11/25/2014 3:52pm
11/25/2014 3:52pm Edited Date/Time 11/25/2014 3:57pm
I believe Stan's and WTB are old news. They've been recommended through word of mouth for years for little more reason than being recommended by many, when compared to the latest rims. Nice to be the first thing most people think of, when someone asks for a tubeless rim...

Why not save up for carbon? They're pretty affordable now and a huge performance boost over Stan's and WTB. Can probably find a pair of rims for $500 shipped and use an existing set of hubs that you have.



krisrayner
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krisrayner 11/25/2014 4:11pm
11/25/2014 4:11pm
He says that he want a burly XC rim that's reasonable. I think that excludes carbon or the heavy duty AM rims. WTB or Stans would fit that bill nicely. Make sure you don't get older WTB rims. They changed the alloy. I had a set fail on me, all the spoke holes cracking.
woodybepierced 11/25/2014 7:17pm
11/25/2014 7:17pm
Varaxis wrote:
I believe Stan's and WTB are old news. They've been recommended through word of mouth for years for little more reason than being recommended by many...
I believe Stan's and WTB are old news. They've been recommended through word of mouth for years for little more reason than being recommended by many, when compared to the latest rims. Nice to be the first thing most people think of, when someone asks for a tubeless rim...

Why not save up for carbon? They're pretty affordable now and a huge performance boost over Stan's and WTB. Can probably find a pair of rims for $500 shipped and use an existing set of hubs that you have.



I have had quite a few guys recommend some of the Chinese knockoff Carbon rims/wheelsets. I trust their opinions, but I really want to put money into a fork upgrade in the future, so blowing 500+ on carbon rims would kill any chance of other significant upgrades.

Through all of this though, I have learned that using gorilla tape, with tubeless presta stems, is a viable option to turn many non-tubeless rims 'tubeless'.
woodybepierced 11/25/2014 7:18pm
11/25/2014 7:18pm
krisrayner wrote:
He says that he want a burly XC rim that's reasonable. I think that excludes carbon or the heavy duty AM rims. WTB or Stans would...
He says that he want a burly XC rim that's reasonable. I think that excludes carbon or the heavy duty AM rims. WTB or Stans would fit that bill nicely. Make sure you don't get older WTB rims. They changed the alloy. I had a set fail on me, all the spoke holes cracking.
@Krisrayner, Good advice on not getting older WTB, thanx. If that's what I get, I'll probably order the i25's right off the WTB site. Fingers crossed thats the updated allow, right!
Ploutre
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Ploutre 11/26/2014 2:09am
11/26/2014 2:09am
These are not strictly Tubeless rims, rather tubeless ready rims.

Nowadays, most (if not all) rims are tubeless ready providing you put some proper sealing tape. A tubeless rim doesn't need the tape. Few brands have real tubeless rims (Mavic for example), but to be honest I'd just stick with tubeless ready rims with tape Smile


If you're looking at the ZTR, have a look at the Ryde Trace rims. Around the same weight as the ZTR equivalent, but with offset drilling on the rim. It allows for better spoke tension on the freewheel side (or front disc side) as a regularly drilled rim. Price is around the same aswell, and also tubeless ready.

Oh and if your wheelbuilder tells you that you have to check back in in 50km or so for tensions and trueness, run away. If he does his job properly, a wheel doesn't need any trueing or check on tensions unless you really hammered it and damaged it, or keep landing sideways Smile
slyfink
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slyfink 11/26/2014 6:12am
11/26/2014 6:12am
Honestly, have a look at Spank rims. I've had both Stans (arch and Flow EX) and WTB (i23) and both are great. I have a Spank (Trail 295) on now, but only for two rides, though on very rocky terrain. They're lighter, have the bead bite, and the alloy is supposedly stronger (though my guess is that it's marginal), and stiff. That oobaah profile adds stiffness that can be felt.

My main gripe with Spank is that they clear coat over their decals so they can't be removed. I find the name stupid, and the branding garish. But I'll take function over form any day.
esstinkay
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esstinkay 11/26/2014 11:39am
11/26/2014 11:39am
the WTB i25 rims came stock on my son's Kona Process 153 (with tubes) and he trashed the rear wheel with wobbles and flat spots. Granted we ride in rocky conditions in SW Wa (primarily Cold Creek and Thrillium trails) and he is an aggressive rider. He replaced that rim with a Spank Spike race28. I've been riding Spank Subrosa tubeless on a Diamondback Mason 29er on the same trails this past season with no incident. They instill confidence, rail and take the hits with no more than a dull percussive acknowledgement. My 275lbs friend rides especially hard on Stans Flow Ex rims and he's notorious for breaking bike parts. He just crash replaced a broken Transition Covert frame, but the wheels are straight as an arrow still and he rarely has to add air pressure.

Spank nicely displays 'by discipline' http://spank-ind.com/products so you can determine which application fits. I feel they make some quality indestructible wheels at a great value. But, you simply can not go wrong with the Stans wheels and they are priced comparably. Both brands use standard spokes and spacing so can be built up with non-proprietary hubs.
Headshot
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Headshot 11/27/2014 10:20am
11/27/2014 10:20am
Id go with the Stans. They are probably the easiest rims to inflate any tyre on that I have ever used - bar actual UST rims. For Texas, the Arch's will be just fine...
covert29
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covert29 11/27/2014 11:45pm
11/27/2014 11:45pm
WTB rims are fantastic. Not only are they strong but the bead seats when you run them tubeless. You can hear the pop as they set up and I have yet to have a tire roll off. I've been running the KOM's this year on my SS inflated at 20 psi and with 0 problems. I'm running the I25 on my Covert and they are rock solid. WTB makes great components. Love the seats

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