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I have an SB95a.. and really thinking of lightening the bike with some carbon wheels. Curious if anyone has done this and do you notice a significant difference in climbing/handling etc ? Is it a worthwhile upgrade ?
Anyone sporting Carbon wheels on their SB95 ?
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I haven't done wheels yet, but the difference of lighter/faster tires is significant.
I've ridden with two Hans Dampf 2.35's mounted, and two Ikon 2.2's mounted, and the lighter wheels made a notable difference.
I'm looking forward to replacing my Stan's Flow rims next winter, when I can afford to, with some carbon hoops. The question will be which rim ... and do I tend towards a more XC rim or an AM rim?
I've ridden with two Hans Dampf 2.35's mounted, and two Ikon 2.2's mounted, and the lighter wheels made a notable difference.
I'm looking forward to replacing my Stan's Flow rims next winter, when I can afford to, with some carbon hoops. The question will be which rim ... and do I tend towards a more XC rim or an AM rim?
I had a SB 95 a and recently transitioned to the carbon version with carbon wheels. Prior to building my new bike a friend loaned me his Enve AM wheels and I was blown away by their feel, stiffness, dampening- I ordered a pair immediately after the ride. You could check out the Roval, Reynolds and perhaps the light bikes hoops. Good luck with shopping!
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I have a 13 SB95c and the Carbon Enve AM wheels are freaking phenomenal upgrade. I was able to start drifting both front and rear into corners and not have the front flex and thwack from loading and unloading while diving into turns. Now I dive into a turn and can feel when it's drifting and manage it rather then end up off the bike in the woods :thumbsup:
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I've had several friends make the transition to carbon rims for their long-travel 29ers in the last year (One 95a, one Rocky, one Niner RIP9, and I don't remember what else) and the consensus is that going with a wider, all-mountain rim is a better option than an XC rim for the type of riding we get here in NH. They're still plenty light for the XC but also provide for those days when we want to huck it a little.
They're also very happy with the Chinese carbon hoops (hand built by our LBS). One of the riders is a big guy (270) and will not shy away from taking drops on his Rocky.
This will definitely be my next upgrade for my 95. I already have my Hope hubs.
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These are the carbon wheels I was looking at as well. Looking forward to your ride report
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Good info. Sounds like carbon wheels is definitely a worthy upgrade.
I built up a set of the Carver Carbon 29 rims (which are basically the inexpensive carbon rims readily available elsewhere, but with an actual warranty and crash replacement option) to a set of King hubs with Sapim spokes. Total cost was probably $1400. The carver rims are super wide internally, and the larger footprint of the tires makes a tremendous difference.
The bike really came alive with these wheels, and you can feel the benefit of the over-engineered frame--ZERO flex anywhere in the system makes the entire bike much more playful, in addition to cutting some rotating weight. Do it!
Im running a set of Light-Bicycle hookless AMs laced to some DT 350s and couldn't be happier with my decision. I have never ridden carbon rims in any other wheel size but I can say that they make a huge difference on a 29er. I came off a set of Sun Ringle Black Flag wheels.
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Light-Bicycle wheels
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I don't have a scale but I definitely saved some weight over my previous wheels (Flows / White Ind hubs / straight spokes)
On February 7th I ordered a Light-Bicycle wheel set (30mm wide 29" with Hope hubs)
They were delivered on March 29th.
I haven't thrashed them yet, but I'm pleased w/ the build.
~115 Kgf spoke tension and very true.
I went w/ the DT Rev spokes (2.0 - 1.5 - 2.0) Way more flex than I'm accustomed to. I usually use DT Comp spokes or heavier. I'm 210 lbs and ride some chunky trails. hmmm.
If going tubeless, I highly recommend the Bontrager strips.
These tires all fit perfectly and beads popped into place @ 20psi:
- Panaracer Rampage (my rear tire on the SB95a)
- Maxxis Ardent
- maxxis IKON (tight fit w/ the IKON)
I don't have a scale but I definitely saved some weight over my previous wheels (Flows / White Ind hubs / straight spokes)
On February 7th I ordered a Light-Bicycle wheel set (30mm wide 29" with Hope hubs)
They were delivered on March 29th.
I haven't thrashed them yet, but I'm pleased w/ the build.
~115 Kgf spoke tension and very true.
I went w/ the DT Rev spokes (2.0 - 1.5 - 2.0) Way more flex than I'm accustomed to. I usually use DT Comp spokes or heavier. I'm 210 lbs and ride some chunky trails. hmmm.
If going tubeless, I highly recommend the Bontrager strips.
These tires all fit perfectly and beads popped into place @ 20psi:
- Panaracer Rampage (my rear tire on the SB95a)
- Maxxis Ardent
- maxxis IKON (tight fit w/ the IKON)
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If I hadn't bought a new DH bike for this spring I'd probably have put the money into carpet fibre rims too.
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15 Posts
Op-
I got the Specialized Roval Carbon Control for my AL 95 and have been pretty happy with them. I test drove the Enve AM rims last year and I thought the difference was pretty big from my stock XR400's to the carbon, probably goes without saying. It feels like the steering is much more precise now and spin up is slightly quicker.
I ended up with the Rovals when I got a shot at them for 30% off this winter. They are not as heavy duty as the Enve but so far so good. I had them in Moab for two weeks, Porcupine and all the a Amasa Back stuff, and quite a bit of riding in the front range of Colorado and they have held up well. I did get a decent abrasion which goes into the first layer of carbon which I'm going to have looked at but I've done a few rides since and it does not appear to be structural. I'll follow up with how these are doing in a later post after some more use. Price was right and decent warranty was the biggest consideration. Envie wheels were definitely more sturdy feeling but either way a great upgrade to the bike.
I got the Specialized Roval Carbon Control for my AL 95 and have been pretty happy with them. I test drove the Enve AM rims last year and I thought the difference was pretty big from my stock XR400's to the carbon, probably goes without saying. It feels like the steering is much more precise now and spin up is slightly quicker.
I ended up with the Rovals when I got a shot at them for 30% off this winter. They are not as heavy duty as the Enve but so far so good. I had them in Moab for two weeks, Porcupine and all the a Amasa Back stuff, and quite a bit of riding in the front range of Colorado and they have held up well. I did get a decent abrasion which goes into the first layer of carbon which I'm going to have looked at but I've done a few rides since and it does not appear to be structural. I'll follow up with how these are doing in a later post after some more use. Price was right and decent warranty was the biggest consideration. Envie wheels were definitely more sturdy feeling but either way a great upgrade to the bike.
Have the same rovals as above, and they're an awesome upgrade especially for the price (about half as much as enves or roval sl's). They're sub 1600g and they are rigid as hell, they track so much better in corners n over roots etc than alloy wheels, would not go back to alloy after riding carbon.....make the upgrade!
I use mine on my carbon camber xc bike to and theyve had a hard year but not had a singe issue! On a side note i also secretly love how offensivly loud the freewheel click is.
It will be the best most noticable upgrade you can make, its just a question of how deep your pockets are, i cant yet justify double the price to shave another 200g, and after a hard summer on mine they're still strong and true. The new enve m series with the wider rim would be worth a look maybe, but i cant say ive seen or tried a set yet......
I use mine on my carbon camber xc bike to and theyve had a hard year but not had a singe issue! On a side note i also secretly love how offensivly loud the freewheel click is.
It will be the best most noticable upgrade you can make, its just a question of how deep your pockets are, i cant yet justify double the price to shave another 200g, and after a hard summer on mine they're still strong and true. The new enve m series with the wider rim would be worth a look maybe, but i cant say ive seen or tried a set yet......
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