[keen]

How much weight loss is noticeable @ the rim? For example if my current alloy 29" rim weighs 500g will a 50g be felt or do I need to drop 100g? Thanks.

 

[trmn8er]

It's really hard to say what each person may notice, but if you will feel a difference in reducing weight, the wheels are the best place on your bike to try to drop weight. I can tell the difference between my 1450 and 1600 gram sets. I know you mention the rim weight specifically, but I find it easier to consider the whole wheel weight. YMMV

 

[phlegm]

Indeed rotational weight is a great spot to work on, but 50g could be hard to notice. Also, if the $$$ to shed that amount is high, it's probably not worth it.

 

[keen]

Indeed rotational weight is a great spot to work on, but 50g could be hard to notice. Also, if the $$$ to shed that amount is high, it's probably not worth it.

The alloy rim I am considering weighs roughly 465g. If I make the jump to carbon they weigh roughly 400g. I am aware carbon will *feel* differently than an alloy rim.

 

[solo-x]

I've recently gone through this song and dance.

Wheel set 1:
Chris King SS Hubs
DT Swiss Comp Spokes and brass nips
Velocity Blunt SS rims

Wheelset weighed 1685g with tape and stems according to my notes.

Wheel set 2:
Chris King SS Hubs
CX Ray spokes, alloy nips
Skyline rims

Wheelset weighs 1540gr IIRC with tape and stems

Wheel set 3:
DT Swiss 240S geared hubs
CX Ray spokes, alloy nips
Lightbikes Carbon Rims

Wheelset weighs 1570gr IIRC with tape and stems

The difference between the 1st and 2nd wheelset was noticeable for me, but that included going from a alloy rim to a carbon rim. Power delivery is better on the carbon rims due to the stiffness as well, and the bike is notably more responsive with the carbon wheelset on it. The difference between the 2nd and 3rd wheelset is a heavier rim offset by a lighter hub, so while the wheelset weights are pretty similar, the distribution of the weight in the wheel is different. That said, the difference between 2 and 3 is much less than the difference between 1 and 2.

TL;DR version
All else being the same, don't buy carbon specifically for the weight. Consider that a bonus. I didn't ride the Blunt SS wheels nearly as hard as the carbon ones simply because they were so fragile. With carbon I got the weight, stiffness and width I wanted without the fragility.

 

[TJay74]

400g is 1lbs of weight. So if you drop 100g then yes you will notice it, bike will be easier to spin up when you are pedaling. Carbon has other benefits other than just being lighter, it is stiffer and has less deflection as well.

 

[MattMay]

Didn't feel the need to start a thread so I'll put it here:

Had my LBS build some 29 wheels and mount tires for me...recently changed tires and noticed they had used Gorilla Tape instead of Stans. On a whim I replaced it w Stans. Weighed the Gorilla tape: 52g. Surprised me! Stans is probably 7-8g per wheel. I know that's an imperceptible difference except on a scale, but this a weight weenie thread so...just a public service announcement for when your bike tips the scale at 18.08 lbs and you really want it to read 18.0

 

[phlegm]

Surprising the LBS would do that. GT was always a bit of a hack, especially for non-tubeless rims. Assuming you had a modern set built for you, there would be no need for this approach. (?)

 

[watts888]

A lot of wheelsets are just tubeless ready because it's a heck of a lot easier to build. They need the tape. Shouldn't have needed that much though.

 

[phlegm]

I'd agree the term "tubeless ready" is liberally used.

Looks like Stan's was enough though, so a shame to see the sledgehammer approach used straightaway.

 

[MattMay]

Yeh, I was surprised. And it was only one layer, 25mm on an i23 rim. Explanation in their words was Stan's tape splits and you can get air leaks. ??? Never had that happen, but whatever. Maybe they thought they were saving themselves future work? Who knows. All good now. 37g saved.