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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 ?
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:
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.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?
These are the carbon wheels I was looking at as well. Looking forward to your ride report
Good info. Sounds like carbon wheels is definitely a worthy upgrade.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.
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.Good info. Sounds like carbon wheels is definitely a worthy upgrade.
If I hadn't bought a new DH bike for this spring I'd probably have put the money into carpet fibre rims too.I'm thinking about buying the LB carbon rims and lacing them myself with the DT350 hubs and spokes I already have. Sounds like a fun spring project.