heathen profile

@Andrew Major its been a few years now. What kind of mileage are you getting from the SS ring? Any problems?

So you loved the med and bought a large? Now you sold the large and have a medium? How tall are you?

That seems kind of counter to the current trend of bikes getting more progressive. I just moved from a 2018 Range C7.2 I belive it was 18% progressive. To a 2020 Scout that is 25% progressive. Same rock shox super deluxe. Man what a difference. The bottom out feel was way nicer. I have now switch to a Super Deluxe coil, my first coil bike. The ramp is perfect. I have no idea how people ride Patrols "on coil" with only 11% progression. It would just bottom out like crazy.

Any idea how progressive the rear travel is? Sounds like they may have gone less progressive.

Needs some retro Totem stickers.

I absolutely love this feature. Keep them coming

I love Sram GXP cranks for BB92 carbon frames. But with the Sram switching to DUB GXP is dead. These will be my next cranks. Now to get my Next G4 warrantied for the second time....

I can confirm the Code R develop the same lever flop.

I test fit DHR ll 27.5x2.8 on i40 rims and it did not provide adequate clearance imo. I am running Sun Duroc rims with i36 and Eliminator Black Diamond 2.6. Grip is ok but I am not a fan or how the casing sticks out past the knobs.

Great write up Andrew.

Any thoughts on the 27.5x2.6 High Grip.

I am looking at them for my Chromag Wideangle. I have read that they are a bit wider 69mm at the knobs and 63 at the casing. That really appeals to me as I find the Minion 2.5 a little harsh with the lack of volume.

Posted by: Hepcat

Figures, but Nino and Kate's wheels were special. 30mm internal rims, which are reported to be available to public someplace, and 170tpi race Aspens, which are not available to public.

https://bikerumor.com/2019/05/24/spy-shot-nino-schurter-racing-prototype-maxxis-aspen-race-xc-mountain-bike-tires/

https://bikerumor.com/2021/02/18/syncros-one-piece-carbon-silverton-sl-wheels-go-wide-30mm-internal-for-nino-kate/

Nice find. Nino is always playing around with his set up. He is one of the most tech centered XC racers. Always cool to see.

Posted by: JVP

Posted by: heathen

Btw, why do you like different width rims front and back?

Front I personally like 29-30mm for cornering support at modest (20-24 psi) pressures, for everything from trail to DH. I have a 32mm trail wheelset, and I like the feel of my 29mm "DH" wheelset better, it's just a little more forgiving blasting through chunk. The 32mm rims seem to really kill side knobs, but maybe it's just me.

Even if they're the same width, the rear rim should ideally be beefier than the front to resist denting (or cracking if carbon). Otherwise you're just porting around unnecessary weight on the front.  Unless your name is Thibaut.

Out back a few mm narrower is nice so the tire rounds out more and rolls faster. Plus, narrower = stronger for the same weight. The 25mm DT rims are a nice width for a lighter/faster rolling rig that can still take some flogging.

If I were DT or WAO and were to design a wheelset, it would have a 30mm front and 27mm rear, with the rear having nice thick sidewalls for durability.  NOBL and Crank Brothers are both doing something like this.

Makes sense. My brother's XC bike has the Reynolds wheels and they are 30mm front and 28mm rear.

https://hayesbicycle.com/collections/reynolds/products/limited-edition-blacklabel-309-289r

Posted by: JVP

I’m planning a new build in the same vein. Right now I thinking DT XM471 (25mm) in the back and XM481 (30mm) front. Strong, light, fast rolling, great cornering. 

I have no idea why most of the wheel brands tend to use the same rim front and back, just makes zero sense to me

Btw, why do you like different width rims front and back?

Posted by: Hepcat

Kate Courtney and Nino Schuster popularized wide tires/rims with their winning seasons running them, but bike checks I could find all have them running medium width 26mm rims (Syncros Silverton SL's) and not 30mm as you sometimes read. Maybe they meant 30mm outside diameter?

Nino won World's on those 2.4 Aspen WT tires, but the only wide models I see listed are 120tpi casing.

Only reservation I'd have personally about your setup is the 120tpi tires. I've had no luck holding higher thread count tires together. I'm 190 and have gone through a fair number of rear rims so your mileage may vary, but at 29psi I've ripped and pinched 120tpi side walls badly enough to have to bin the tires after the first day out.

Rekon 2.4 with 60tpi casing is worlds more durable...

Also, rim have to be aluminum? Could drop half pound rotational weight and up reliability with carbon...but budget is going to jump ridiculously.

Something like a Nobl TR32 27mm 360g.

...with Rekon WT EXO front and rear.

BC bike race bike checks might be popping up shortly, be interesting to see what Kabush and co. are running.

I have seen a few are following after them. Lots of higher volume miro knob XC tires this year. Carbon 30mm XC are probably a great weight savings. I sadly don't have the budget for such nice things.

I have the all new 2022 Element  C30 due in January. It comes with Rekon 2.4wt MaxxTerra EXO front and back, but I find the Rekon a little underwhelming as a front tire. So I already bought a DHF 2.5wt MaxxTerra EXO for the front.

The Roval wheels like like good bang for buck. DT swiss star ratchet. 

https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/roval-traverse-29-6b-xd-wheelset/p/205476?color=330019-205476&searchText=30121-8600

Posted by: Kenny

What's you're target total wheel set weight? 

The DT Swiss XM1501 wheelset (the 30mm set uses XM481 rims) comes in at 1760g. That seems about the limit for a 30mm wide aluminum 29er wheelset that does not have some funky kevlar spokes or other exotic wierdness I personally wouldn't want to deal with on a multi-day trip.  

The are expensive in North America but can be had for around $1200 via some of the european sites. 

At  around1850g options widen significantly. 

I built a set of wheels on XM481's with fairly light bontrager hubs I had lying around and Competition Race spokes and squorx aluminum nipples and they were more like 1850g. DT work some magic to get those wheels so light.  

The rear hub dies about 10 rides in so then I cross-shopped a lot of 30mm aluminum 29er wheels as I couldn't face building another set. My goal wasn't absolute lightest weight and I was pissed about the hub failure so I went with Race Face Turbine R at around 1850g. I mainly bought them for the hubs, I really like the vault design. My idea is if I kill the rear rim I'll buy the equivalent carbon rim and appropriate spokes from RF and swap it out. About a season in and so far so good though.

I have run many XM481 rims and loved them. The front wheel on my Scout is a XM481 and the rear is an EX511. The XM481 is a burly rim but the weight is also good. I was hoping to find a rim like it but a but lighter/weaker. The 29er XM481 is 525g. I could build it up 28h and it would come in around 1850g. 

It looks like the XM1501 has been replaced by the XM1700 as the 1500 series are carbon now.

Posted by: JVP

I’m planning a new build in the same vein. Right now I thinking DT XM471 (25mm) in the back and XM481 (30mm) front. Strong, light, fast rolling, great cornering. 

I have no idea why most of the wheel brands tend to use the same rim front and back, just makes zero sense to me.

What tires do you plan to run?

Posted by: shoreboy

Stan's Flow or Arch? Flows might be a bit heavier than your target, but the Arch's are pretty close and at 28.0mm.

Arch are one I am looking at, weight is not bad. They look solid.

Also shocked none of my friends have caught the 29er part... LoL

Posted by: Bushpilot

Yeah 30mm probably the ticket then. Recon is a surprisingly fun tire and those smallish side knobs punch above their weight. Another fun combo is DHR2 2.4 front with either a 2.4 Recon or 2.4 Dissector rear. Fun fast and still pretty good braking. Anyway, I’ll stop derailing the thread now!

Its been a good conversation. 

It's crazy how much change has come in the bike industry in the last few years. We ran sub 20mm rims with 2.1 tires forever. Then we started to get bigger tires. Then the minute tubless caught on we realized we could run way lower pressures. But the lower pressures started to make our 2.3 tires on sub 20mm rims roll on the rim. So we went to 25mm rims with 2.3 tires. Then we realized 2.5ish tires got better grip and cushion. But they rolled a bit or were too round on 25mm rims.  So now we run 2.5ish tires on 30mm rims. Wait till 2025. Everyone will be on 2.8 with 35mm rims. LoL