[mhickey79]

I'm building myself a lightweight XC wheelset for the upcoming season.
Was planning on using the WTB Laserdisc Lite hubs, when I saw on their website a 385g XC rim, the Laser TCS. Very tempting at that weight.
I've had great wheelbuilds using Mavic and DT Swiss. The only WTB rims I've laced were an older pair of their Speeddiscs, which I thought were terrible. I had a really hard time getting even spoke tension, especially around the seam, while building with Mavic or DT was a breeze.
So before I get too excited about a sub-400g rim; has anyone laced one of these up and can speak to their quality?
Thanks!

 

[slyfink]

bump....

 

[b-kul]

the wtb team raced d ville and enduro events around europe on the tcs xc rim. speaks more to their strength than how well they will build up though.

 

[4slomo]

I just built up a wheelset using the WTB TCS XC rims for a customer, he should be riding them next weekend. The rims felt like they built up quite stiff, and I was pleased with them once I got them dialed in. I like that they are eyeletted, and can handle higher spoke tensions than the Stans ZTR 355 and Arch rims. At 385g, the TCS XC is between the 355 and Arch rims in weight.

 

[slyfink]

how about overall reliability, strength, resilience of WTB's rims in general? I know no one who's ridden them, and even the shops around here don't know much. I'm really liking the sound of the improved bead hook on them over Stan's offerings, and the width of the Trail version, but I know nothing about their rims in general....

 

[spsoon]

LaserDisc rims are a very common OEM component. I haven't heard of any issues.

 

[b-kul]

dual duty as well. some of the toughest rims ever.

 

[butasan]

I've raced Freeride version of TCS rim a month ago. It's a tubeless ready rim so I expected it would be welded, but it's actually pinned so I don't know how this rim can be converted to tubeless just by using stan's rim tape. The catalog says that the weight is 540g, but the actual weight is 580g.

As for quality, I must say it looks very cheap especially after removing the decals.

 

[4slomo]

I've had a change of mind regarding sleeved/pinned rims such as the WTB Laser TCS system for some time now.

So far, rim tape has done a great job of sealing spoke holes on all my wheel builds, so it should also do a good job sealing the seam as necessary.

Similarly, tire beads usually do a great job of sealing against the rim.

The only question is do tire beads seal the rim bead seat acceptably? I think we're still at the point where we have to conform the rim bead seat to the tire bead by adding or removing tape layers, as necessary, and/or painting the tire bead with latex as MF does, the point being we have to adapt as necessary to get a good seal between the tire bead and the rim bead seat and then we will have successful tubeless tire performance.

 

[boomn]

I've had a change of mind regarding sleeved/pinned rims such as the WTB Laser TCS system for some time now.

So far, rim tape has done a great job of sealing spoke holes on all my wheel builds, so it should also do a good job sealing the seam as necessary.

Similarly, tire beads usually do a great job of sealing against the rim.

The only question is do tire beads seal the rim bead seat acceptably? I think we're still at the point where we have to conform the rim bead seat to the tire bead by adding or removing tape layers, as necessary, and/or painting the tire bead with latex as MF does, the point being we have to adapt as necessary to get a good seal between the tire bead and the rim bead seat and then we will have successful tubeless tire performance.

WTB's TCS tires are designed with a bead that matches the UST standard, so I would assume their matching TCS rims feature an appropriate bead area even though I can't find confirmation of exactly what their "TCS profile" is. With those UST type designs involved you shouldn't need all those other tricks to get a reliable seal.

FWIW Most companies "tubeless ready" tires are similarly constructed with a UST spec bead and a tubed-type casing

 

[mtnbiker72]

It's a tubeless ready rim so I expected it would be welded, but it's actually pinned so I don't know how this rim can be converted to tubeless just by using stan's rim tape.

Pinned and Sleeved rims are also bonded at the seam, so they are still air tight.

 

[Cary]

WTB's TCS tires are designed with a bead that matches the UST standard, so I would assume their matching TCS rims feature an appropriate bead area even though I can't find confirmation of exactly what their "TCS profile" is. With those UST type designs involved you shouldn't need all those other tricks to get a reliable seal.

FWIW Most companies "tubeless ready" tires are similarly constructed with a UST spec bead and a tubed-type casing

This was covered in another threat, but the TCS rims comply with the ETRTO tubeless standard, of which UST is Mavic's trade name. Since they comply, they have the proper rim shelf for UST,and tubeless ready tires. To use them tubeless you use the WTB tcs rim tape (looks a lot like the Stan's yellow tape) and a removable valve stem.

If you go here: http://wtb.com/tech-catalog-archive and download the 2011 catalog, there is some info, including at page 84.

 

[boomn]

This was covered in another threat, but the TCS rims comply with the ETRTO tubeless standard, of which UST is Mavic's trade name. Since they comply, they have the proper rim shelf for UST,and tubeless ready tires. To use them tubeless you use the WTB tcs rim tape (looks a lot like the Stan's yellow tape) and a removable valve stem.

If you go here: http://wtb.com/tech-catalog-archive and download the 2011 catalog, there is some info, including at page 84.

Thanks, that the kind of confirmation I was hoping for. Nothing against Stan's system, but if I'm getting tubeless rims I want a proper UST bead setup. I can foresee my wheels being relaced to the 29er TCS rim in the next few months:thumbsup:

 

[bdundee]

I just bought a set of the WTB Stryker xc tcs wheels. Raced them yesterday for the first time and came into a corner pretty hot and the front one folded. I am about 185 with gear, going to call WTB tomorrow and see what they say. Had no more then 25 off road miles on them.

 

[Cary]

I just bought a set of the WTB Stryker xc tcs wheels. Raced them yesterday for the first time and came into a corner pretty hot and the front one folded. I am about 185 with gear, going to call WTB tomorrow and see what they say. Had no more then 25 off road miles on them.

Clearly a design feature designed to keep you from riding too fast. : Hopefully you didn't get hurt, but am curious to see what caused it. I wonder if the wheel wasn't properly tensioned.

 

[bdundee]

Clearly a design feature designed to keep you from riding too fast. : Hopefully you didn't get hurt, but am curious to see what caused it. I wonder if the wheel wasn't properly tensioned.

We will see what WTB has to say. The tension seemed great maybe I am a little heavy for them. It will be interesting to see what their customer service is like and if they do replace it will I keep them. They are a very cool wheelset.

 

[one4teen]

This thread, The new deal, has been using them. I just took my set (mikesee's deal) for a run Saturday and enjoyed them. He'd know better the build aspects.

 

[icon149]

I got my wheels from Steve (SRLPE) and in the first two rides this past weekend they performed very well, i'm 175, ride an old school steel hard tail and tend to ride over the trail more than on the trail. The wheels are snappy and felt stiff, a lot more confidence inspiring than any of the older wheels sets i've been on. (stock bonty race modified disks from 02). I've hit some pretty big (for XC) jumps and they performed perfectly. No chainstay rub or flexing like my other wheels would do when i'd hit a big drop.

So far i'm very pleased with the wheel build and can't wait to get out there and ride some more. Thanks Steve for building me a great set of hoops.

I just built up a wheelset using the WTB TCS XC rims for a customer, he should be riding them next weekend. The rims felt like they built up quite stiff, and I was pleased with them once I got them dialed in. I like that they are eyeletted, and can handle higher spoke tensions than the Stans ZTR 355 and Arch rims. At 385g, the TCS XC is between the 355 and Arch rims in weight.