Submitted by
dkelly
a Cross Country Rider
from West Chicago, IL USA
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2011
Strengths: Good ratio of weight:stiffness, easy tubeless set up
Bottom Line:
Light weight rim that for it's weight is very stiff. I've got these mounted to DTSwiss 240's for a real light wheelset. I got the 355's at the advice of Stan's who said they hold up well to low pressure tires and technical xc riding, compared to some of their more race-oriented rims. One of the biggest influences in this purchase is that I love using the Stan's sealant, but hated setting it up each time I switched out a tire. It was an all day affair to get the tire to finally seal. I can honestly say that I got these and set up the same tires (Nevegals) that gave me fits in the past in only an hour. Their bead socket technology works very well. Never had a problem with flex or denting the rims. Would definitely recommend. Stan's service is excellent!
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Chameleon, Reba Team Fork, Magura Louise BAT brakes, Stan's ZTR355 rims, Kenda Small Block and Slant Six,DTSwiss 240 hubs, Noir 3.3 crankset, Crank Bros Candy SL pedals, Sram X-9 triggers, X-9 derailleur, Thomson X4 stem and Elite seat post, Noir Carbon Bars, Fizik Gobi XM saddle
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Submitted by
ChuckC
a Cross Country Rider
from Alpharetta, GA
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2010
Strengths: Low tire pressure, no pinch flats, tire does not slip on the rim pulling out stem, low rim weight
Weaknesses: none noted
Bottom Line:
strong, light rim, that performs as advertised (see product strengths). Using Stan's 355 both front & rear with the front being the new 650B, excellent at rolling over small bumps and roots plus running a couple of PSI lower air pressure than 26" version, no clearance issue w/ Marz. Had the 26" version longer than 1 year with no problems. No real issue w/ steering due to larger wheel size as frame has a slack head angle to start with...makes doing technical downhills that much better. Agree with previous reviewer, do your homework, the 355 is not your rim if you need air time. I weigh 155 lbs w/ Camelbak and don't do a lot of air...takes too long to heal at +55. When mounting tire, pump it up to 40 psi and listen for the pops indicating bead is seated, you'll have to break that seal when dismounting/changing tires as well. When going tubeless, use the soap & water to mount tire for best results!
Bike Setup: Intense 5.5 FRO, 1X9, Marzocchi 55RC, CK rear hub w/ Funn bolts, Stan's 20mm front hub,XT/XTR drive train, Avid BB7, 26" rear whl & 650 front whl, Kenda Nevegals w/ tubes both ends, sub 28 lbs
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Submitted by
dubdryver
a Cross Country Rider
from Miami, FL
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2010
Strengths: Very Light, Durable
Weaknesses: Do you research when choosing a Stan's Rim, they are pretty specific!
Bottom Line:
I dislike seeing negative reviews on products that are not used for it's intended use. People that lace up the rims wrong, run incorrect air pressure (yes these have a max PSI)and then they go and post a garbage review. These are a XC/Light XM rim. They aren't intended as an AM rim, nor are they intended for Heavier riders (over 200lb.) I weigh 180, 186 with camelpak to give perspective. If you are heavier rider or do more AM, get the Arch or Flow, they will better serve you. I debated for a couple months, and evaluating my riding before making the purchase.
These rims are extremely light especially laced with DT Swiss 3x DB spokes and American Classic hubs. You can get this set up straight through Stan's, but with Double Butted spokes. I believe they weighed in right at 1400g w/ skewers!!! Crossmax SLRs don't even touch that! Switching from my Mavic XM819s with Hope Pro2 hubs, Great stout wheel, but when I switched to these, I dropped 1.87LB. off my bike!!! The American Classic hubs spin up faster and smoother..they really feel like a well built wheel.
Currently I am running the yellow rim tape and a Maxxis Cross-Mark non-tubeless 120TPI Exception, tubeless and it works great! Just be mindful of the air pressure, there is a fine edge between too low and burping, and too hard and loss of traction. On the front I was running the same setup but with the Ignitor 120TIP Exception, but burped it more 3 times, and decided to just put the tubeless version back on which has a heavier sidewall. I rail it pretty hard in the corners and break late, so this is overall a better move for me. I could not be more pleased with this wheelset, and am amazed on the difference from my Mavic/Hopes. I don't want to take anything away from those wheels because they are beasts, they just feel like tanks but can take on terrain like a tank as well.
So to sum it up, don't be a nob, do your research to figure out what rim will be the best route to go. When in doubt go heavier and stronger. There is a product category on the notubes.com website that provides a good way to determine what is the right product for you. It is a .pdf catalog and its worth the time to look over if you are wanting to make the investment. Remember, you can skimp slightly on your stem/bars,seatpost,crank,FD...but don't skimp on wheels, they make such a big difference!
Favorite Trail: Anything with a trailhead and dirt
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$540.00
Purchased At: Internet
Similar Products Used: Mavic XM 819 laced with Hope Pro 2(2008), Mavic Cross-lands(2003)
Bike Setup: Blur Classic, Thompson, XO/X9, Easton CNT, Noir, Raceface,Maxxis, fizik
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Submitted by
smokinjoe
a Cross Country Rider
from mtn home arkansas
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2010
Strengths: light wt. Stiff. UST
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
i laced this hub on a laser lite disc hub with dt swiss revolution spokes. Super light. Its super stiff and feels great. Im a 160lb hard cross country rider/racer. Havn't had a bit of trouble. I have a ARCH on the rear but since ive had no problems with this wheel im going to build a lighter one for the rear. It was a bit more difficult to true but not bad-the 355. Im shooting for a 820gr rear rim for less than 300.00. Compared to the Bontrager CL rims for 900.00 at 814gr. Not too shabby. I run tubes, the gook is just too much of a hassle. Im only giving 3 chillis cause stans customer service isnt very sucks and it's a bit over priced.
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Xcaliber. Laser Lite disc laced on DT DB Revo spokes, wicked lite!
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Submitted by
lukesos
a Cross Country Rider
from Porltand, OR
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2010
Strengths: This is for the 29er version of this rim.
Build it up with Ultegra hubs and DT Revolution spokes for Cyclocross. After some fussing, this setup worked great, running around 30-35 PSI with Michelin Mud 2s. Much more traction than same tires on regular rims, thanks to lower pressure, and no pinch flats. I weigh #155
Weaknesses: Despite high price, the weld was screwed up on both rims I bought. On the inside of the rim, the weld protrudes several millimeters into the bead hook, making the hook ineffective for a small section of the rim. My guess is that this may be why people have problems with these tires blowing off rims. I used a file and a chisel to remove the burr before installing tires. It took about 2 ounces of sealant (make sure to get the gritty stuff in as well) to get a permanant seal.
Bottom Line:
I love the wheels built with these rims. Way better than tubular IMHO. No issues over five rough Cross races. I am sold on tubeless. But I was disappointed with the initial quality of the rim.
Similar Products Used: Stock shimano WH-550s, Mavic 819s
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Solo CXR, mostly stock.
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Submitted by
33MTB
a Cross Country Rider
from East Coast
Date Reviewed: December 11, 2009
Strengths: Lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to run UST (Nevegal 2.1's).
Weaknesses: Tacoed the front rim on a normal downhill section of a local trail.
Bottom Line:
Might be a great rim for true cross country racing. Might be a little too light duty for anyone over 160lbs. I recently switched to the Flow rims, more weight, but seems to be more durable. If you ride anything other than smooth singletrack, do yourself a favor and go for the Flows.
Similar Products Used: shimano,mavic cross max sl,213,313,many others
Bike Setup: laced to hope pro 2
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Submitted by
wannabfast
a Weekend Warrior
from Saratoga, CA
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2008
Strengths: Light, rim width and ability to run tubeless w/out a rimstrip.
Weaknesses: Strength dependant on build.
Bottom Line:
Solid product. A good wheel build is required to achieve its strength potential. I'm 185 lbs and use this rim laced to a 240s disc front hub w/ dt competition spokes. The rim is reasonably sturdy, requiring occasional truing. It worked surprising well racing at Downieville XC. Evolution did a great job.
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston TX
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2008
Strengths: Light
Weaknesses: Build quality
Bottom Line:
29er Rim failed at the weld and the front wheel tacoed. LBS in Austin that rebuilt wheel believes manufacturing defect, and I would tend to agree. The light/cheap/strong equation needs to balance out.
Bike Setup: King ISO disc hubs. Maverick SC32 fork.
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Submitted by
Derek Boyd
a Racer
from Acworth, GA USA
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2007
Strengths: The ZTR 355 Rims have held up well so far as I've ridden them over some fairly abusive terrain. They are stiff, Light weight, and reasonably priced. Of course being laced to King Hubs make them that much nicer!
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
AWSOME Wheels for the price.
These wheels are built for racing and I weigh 155 lbs so I don't know if a heavier rider would get the same performance out of them.
The guys at Richards are great as they had the wheels built to my specs and got them to my door in 10 days. I liked the wheels so much that I bought a 2nd set a few days later.
Bike Setup: 07 Turner Flux, Fox F100X, Sram XO, Hope Mono Mini Disc Brakes, FSA K Force Mega EXO Cranks, FSA Carbon Bars/ seatpost/ stem, King Hubs/ Headset
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Submitted by
Douglas
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2007
Strengths: Light
Weaknesses: Well not hold a tire. Flexy, goes out of true. Poor customer service,dishonest hype.
Bottom Line:
This is my second set of Stans wheels built by them. My 1st were the Olympics that blew off Conti's that they sell ruining the rims and throwing me off. I paid for their repair, no warranty as there manager swore up and down they never heard of such a thing. Second rim I ruin by total failure (blow the tire completely off), Stan himself admits they had one blow off in the shop, but no warranty still. He stated I should get the 355's due to the rocky trails around Denver and I just blew of a Swalbe 2.4 @ 30lb's air (another recommended tire) descending a singletract on this set. So, no more..Tubes go in, 40 lbs go in and Stan's word goes out. I want to keep my bones intact. If Stan states these were racing rims for the 150lb growd I get it, but he states good for all mountain which is just dangerous. These rims are over-rated and are like Russian roulate if tubeless.
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, az
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2007
Strengths: Holds air well. Super light.
Weaknesses: way too flexy . Wheels do not stay true
Bottom Line:
I have been riding two sets of these wheels on two different bikes. I will start with the positives: These rims are light, and hold air well. Now the negatives: I tacoed the front wheel on a flat corner in some loose sand(granted I was going too fast and crashed). Although the rim bent I will say it lost no air pressure. My other set are on a hardtail Singlespeed. after 2 rides both wheels have come out of tension when built to the stans specs on spoke tension. I have since retensioned them to a higher than reccomended tension, and they seem to be fine. Hopefully the higher tension wont cause the nipples to split the rim. I think these rims are good if you are a light rider that does not mind a flexy wheelset. I would not rcomend them on a bike intended for trail riding. I will be the first in line to try the mavic rims when they are available next year. I will give 3 value chilis( you get what you pay for. A light rim). 3 chilis overall ( they are good but not great or outstanding)
Similar Products Used: no other tubeless 29er rims but have used Salsa Delgados
Bike Setup: Turner Sultan as one should build a Turner
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Submitted by
Peter Muench
a Racer
from Rochester, NY USA
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2006
Strengths: Strength, stability of tire
Weaknesses: every rim is different, one rim built up very true, other rim was a little out of true (horizontal & vertical, the yellow spoke tape is a little tricky to install.
Bottom Line:
I selected this rim over the Olympic model due to the additional width, helping with the strength of the wheel. What I did not realize was the additional stability that this rim provided during hard cornering. The tire seems to be vectored to the ground. I use the 2.0 Kenda Karma DTC tire exclusively with this rim and have yet to have any inflation problems or burping.
The rims are laced to a set of King ISO disc hubs using a Super Comp spoke by DT Swiss. All of this is good, but the overall wheel is in the hands of the builder, I chose the Mendon Cyclesmith, Craig is one of the best wheel builders out there, and true’s them (if needed) for free the life of the wheel.
As far as strength, they are on par with X-max wheel, but with a livelier feel. Now X-max due feel stiffer on climbs due to the aluminum spokes, but that is all they have over these wheels. I have competed in 3 races so far this season, all with there share of stutter bumps, rock gardens and steep technical climbs, the wheels eat this terrain alive. Going into the corners I am much more confidant, the pro riders are on to something….
I would recommend these wheels for the weekend warrior to the most demanding racer, they will not disappoint you, if you are more free-ride orientated get the free ride version.
The bad side? Installing the yellow tape is tricky. No were in the instructions does it mention to start taping away from the valve hole, if you double the tape over the valve hole, the core seems to have trouble sealing. The valve cores could use a little better rubber seal. Once installed you should have no problems. Another problem is BOTH rims have a small chunk of aluminum floating in the rim cavity, not a big deal if I didn’t have to remove the tape to fix this, so I will live with the rattle until the season is over. Once you get going the chunks a stuck to the rim, but the slower speeds your hear it.
Bottom line, get these rims and build them to your favorite hubs and save the $300 from the cross max for buying light weight tires. Some mentioned above that the sidewalls will leak on some tires, this is very true. The next morning your tires will be flat, pump them up and go for a ride, this usually revives them and they stay inflated.
Bike Setup: S-Works Epic, FSA K-Force bar, stem & crank, Chris King hubs w/ ZTR rims, etc....
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Submitted by
Daniel
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2006
Strengths: Light, Strong
Weaknesses: Doesn't work well as a tubeless tire
Bottom Line:
I bought a second set of these rims for my motolite and found them to be very difficult to use as a tubeless tire. These rims will not fit many UST tires and they can't be used with the new Bontrager Jones ACX Tubless Ready tires. I also bought some Kenda Nevagals from Notubes.com only to find out they leak air from the sidewalls and don't work well even after pooring a substantual amount of Stan's solution into them. Overall, this is a very poor set of rims if you are going to use them as a tubeless rim. I wathced the Stan's videos and did the whole thing right and these rims didn't work. A very poor product if you intend on going tubeless. The only way to go is Mavic Crossmax products in my opion having used both Mavic and Stan's products. This product is unsatisfactory for the purpose it was intended to be used for.
