Wide Rim Revolution or Fad?

I was riding with some very agro riders and they're talking about beefy (tube) builds on aluminium rims for the rear wheel and carbon tubeless for the front.

One thing I notice is the ability to run lower pressure without too much squirm - with the right tire that is. A 1.5 ply sidewall at least needed.

One thing I notice is the ability to run lower pressure without too much squirm - with the right tire that is. A 1.5 ply sidewall at least needed.

You're riding those?

I have ridden them. Right now they are on the Nomad that Pete has been riding.

One thing I notice is the ability to run lower pressure without too much squirm - with the right tire that is. A 1.5 ply sidewall at least needed.

I concur. I'm riding the 741s with a Minion DHF and DHRII combo. You can run crazy low pressures without the tire rolling over - the bigger issue is whether you want to run them so low that you smash your expensive carbon rims on rocks (and I paid for mine, so I'm probably more worried about it than Cam and Pete are!).

Cam/Pete, I'll be interested to hear what you guys think given your opportunities to run them on different bikes and back to back with Al rims. Mine feel good but I got them as part of a new bike so is it the wheels or the bike design or the new shock/fork? All I can say is that the package feels good.

Is getting a tire on/off a hassle?

Is getting a tire on/off a hassle?

Hookless rims? Hell yeah. But hookless is the way to go.

I concur. I'm riding the 741s with a Minion DHF and DHRII combo. You can run crazy low pressures without the tire rolling over - the bigger issue is whether you want to run them so low that you smash your expensive carbon rims on rocks (and I paid for mine, so I'm probably more worried about it than Cam and Pete are!).

Cam/Pete, I'll be interested to hear what you guys think given your opportunities to run them on different bikes and back to back with Al rims. Mine feel good but I got them as part of a new bike so is it the wheels or the bike design or the new shock/fork? All I can say is that the package feels good.

I don't run them nearly as low as you can because I don't like feeling the tire squirm so much in corners - nor do I like the feeling of smashing the rim bed against rocks, despite the fact that no, I didn't pay for them. That said, I do feel like I need to experiment a bit more between where I was running other tubeless (Enve usually at or around 28r/26f). I also feel that to do a proper wheel review, particularly with expensive carbon rims, there has to be a lot of miles under them before you declare whether or not they're durable and therefore 'good value' (said without irony, however I know some people will never equate any kind of value with wheels that cost so much).

I haven't done a lot of back to back between the Ibises, Enves, and some aluminum wheels, but that might happen. I will say that the Ibises feel stiffer than the Enves and I prefer the more lively feeling from the latter. However, are they worth twice as much?

If we mesh the comments here and on Facebook (where I linked this thread) we can make some conclusions.

1. Those who don't have wide rims don't think much of wide rims.
2. Those who purchased wide rims think much of wide rims.

If we mesh the comments here and on Facebook (where I linked this thread) we can make some conclusions.

1. Those who don't have wide rims don't think much of wide rims.
2. Those who purchased wide rims think much of wide rims.

And can you also conclude that those who were given wide rims for test purposes are on the fence?

With Ibis spec'ing them on bikes the views of people that didn't really have a choice may shed more light on the debate.

I would say that revolution is likely overstating matters but I can't see much upside to going back to skinny. Wide carbon rims are very strong and very light and I appreciate the ability to run lower pressure without having your tire fold over. Lots of upsides with few or any downsides.

If that puts me on the fence I'm okay there - but honestly I don't think they are a fad.

With Ibis spec'ing them on bikes the views of people that didn't really have a choice may shed more light on the debate.

They are an upgrade from Ibis I believe.

I'm a believer in wide hookless carbon rims.
Lower pressure, no bead damage smashing rocks, no burping.