Strengths: They can take a beating. Simple tubeless set-up w/ standard tires. No burbs, despite riding aggressively through some rocky chunder. Nice and wide.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
I have a set of 650b Flows on my Blur LT. They are my trail/AM wheel set. Have been bullet-proof thus far, including a trip to a bike park.
These are great rims.
They have been used for jumping, dropping (over 3-4 feet)
Rocky, rooty blah, blah blah.
No problems.
They are still in great shape. No dents, no hops or flat spots.
I weigh about 195 ready to ride.
I run them tubeless with yellow tape and stans sealant without issues.
Tires I use are "Freeride" tires (SX casing or EXO)
not paper thin xc junk that is most likeley causing other people problems.
I also run more than 20psi normally. Although I have run as low as 15psi without issue. No rock gardens at that pressure though..That would be stupid....
Bottom line is, they are great rims, you just need know what you are doing..
Run good tires, run proper pressures for the conditions and if you jump and plan to "whip it". Do it right and land it straight and you should have no problems.
They can be abused if you are smart about it.
Bike Setup: 2010 SXT,Coil front and rear, XO shifters,Derailleur,Cassette.Elixir Brakes.
SLX cranks, Thomson post, Bel Air saddle.
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Submitted by
FK
a Cross Country Rider
from Stateline, NV
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2011
Strengths: Light , nice and wide they make your skinny tires FAT.
Weaknesses: Weak, Over priced
Bottom Line:
I Like these rims lateral stiffness, they hold a line in the corners and rough sections. How do know its the rim and not the fork, ect? I swapped from salsa semi rims to these using the same spokes and hubs. Big difference.
Only problem is these supposed "free ride" rims cant hold up to small drops (3-4 ft). In only a few months of riding I flat spotted and cracked THE FRONT RIM! Although in the rims defense, they never pinched flatted or lost any air at all! So if you like your "free ridin" with both tires on the ground these rims are great.
I would say these are excellent if you want to plump up your tires and gain some precision in steering. These rims are PERFECT for full rigid bikes. If you want something burley, keep looking.
Similar Products Used: American Classics, all kinds of Bontrager, Salsa stuff, Roval
Bike Setup: Titus racer X 29, full XT
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Submitted by
SimpleJon
a Cross Country Rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2011
Strengths: Very light, great value
Weaknesses: some flex on ascent, initial no tube set up with 2.25 Racing Ralphs problematic
Bottom Line:
These are a great light weight XC rim, (price was for a wheelset built on hope pro II hubs with CX ray spokes) I have compared them with mates carbon wheels and they are a similar weight. I have noticed a small amount of flex on ascent when compared to the crest but they are significantly lighter.
Used for DH they would collapse pretty quickly but they are not designed for that. I can't believe Stans are marketing them as AM or DH as others have indicated.
The only issue I had was getting the the tubeless set up with 2.25 Racing Ralphs correct, the first time a tire blew off the rim at 43psi on the way home from the builder. (Scared the living daylights out of the taxi driver). Second time it happened I was pumping them up from 34 to 40psi for the 3Km road section home from the local mtb park - always keep a tube handy. Third time lucky and I can run them at 45psi no problem touch wood
Bike Setup: 2010 Specialized Epic, XTR / XT Drive train, Magura Marta Magnesium SL
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Submitted by
dthomp325
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2011
Strengths: Lightweight
Weaknesses: Durability
Bottom Line:
I weigh 155 lbs without gear. I'm an aggressive XC rider and I ride 3 times a week. I like technical, gnarly, rocky trails. Stan's website claims these are 'heavy-duty' wheels, even going so far as saying they can be used for DH, so I figured I could replace my Mavic Crosslines and save some weight.
Wrong... I shouldn't have been dumb enough to think that I could get XC weight and heavy-duty durability in the same wheelset. These are made out of very thin aluminum that bends at the very thought of a rock, and they are nowhere near as durable as my Mavic Crosslines. I've had them for around 3 months, and I've had to use a crescent wrench to unbend the sidewall 5 times already. For comparison, I don't think I ever had a bent sidewall on the Crosslines, even after riding them for 2 years, with the same tires and pressures. I doubt they will last more than a season of hard use.
I don't necessarily think that these are bad rims, just that they are being mis-marketed by Stan's. The BST system works, and the wheel build quality was excellent, but they are lightweight XC rims for XC riders who run wider tires, they are NOT 'heavy-duty' or 'DH' rims. Note to Stan's: if you ever decide to make an actual 'heavy-duty' rim I might consider buying it.
Similar Products Used: Mavic Crosslines, custom wheels
Bike Setup: 2011 Giant Reign
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Submitted by
jkovaly
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2010
Strengths: Solid rim, doesn't bend, dent or flex. Wider than other rims provides better traction for tires, no pinch flats.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
These rims are amazing! Very stiff, no flex at all. I have ridden them hard over very rocky terrain for the last 6mos and they have held true. I used to get pinch flats with previous rims, i am running these with Mutanoraptor 2.4 tires at 25lbs w/tubes and have yet to get a pinch flat - maybe due to their low profile? Anyway, these 28mm wide rims work extremely well with wider tires, has really helped stablize my cornering. Well worth the $$
Submitted by
wannabfast
a Weekend Warrior
from Saratoga, CA, US
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2010
Strengths: Fantastic combo of width, strength, stiffness and light weight
Weaknesses: a bit expensive.
Bottom Line:
Highly recommended for all mountain style riding. Works well with a variety of wide tires (2.35-2.5) and non-ust tires work great with rim strips. I'm about 190 ready to ride and these wheels are true & round still after lots of hard rides at Demo Forest.
Submitted by
slyfink
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa, NCC-istan, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2009
Strengths: Strength, weight, ability to build with spokes and hub you want.
Weaknesses: to be honest, I can't say right now. even after 2 years. I wouldn't complain about the weight, they are lighter than the competition in this same class. I've always found the graphics to be butt ugly, but whatever, they're usually covered in mud.
Bottom Line:
Awesome. I'm surprised these have lasted this long. I ride 2-3 times a week in rocky muddy rooty East Coast conditions. I'm relatively heavy at 210lbs w/o gear, and I used to go through a rear rim a year on average. These are light and strong, have held up to two seasons of riding and the yellow tape seals well and holds air perfectly (virtually no air loss with proper UST tires).
I give these a high value rating because they cost about the same as the competition but last longer, and a high overall rating because they perform excellent. It's hard to go wrong with these puppies.
Similar Products Used: Mavic 819, Rhyno-Lites, Sun Singletracks (came stock on 05 Enduro)
Bike Setup: 05 Enduro. DHX Air 5.0; TALAS 36. Hone cranks, rear hub and rear derailleur. Stock Spec front 20mm hub. Tubeless with the yellow tape (Schwalbe UST Albert in front and High Roller LUST in the rear)
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Submitted by
Iwan
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2008
Strengths: Light for what it is and can do
Stiff
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
I am a big fan of Stan's rims. I have used ZTR Olympics on my Racer-X and Moto Lite and they survived beyond what they were supposed to. Same with the Flow rims.
