Stans Arch EX rims anyone used them yet

stubs

Fancy a shiny new set of Superstar wheels to replace my battered old Shimano XT and Mavic 719 set. Nothing wrong with the old wheels just fancy something new and shiny with coloured hubs, spokes and nipples, plus QR through axles.

Decided on everything but the rims, they are offering the new Stans ZTR Arch EX rim but know very little about it and not many reviews as its so new. Heard about problems with getting tyres on and off Stans rims without tyre levers, also they have no eyelets which just feels wrong somehow though I dont know whether thats me being old fashioned.

sanchez89

the Crest rims are a bit of a bother sometimes with certain tyres but not all.

i say either dive in head first and get some, they may be fantastic.

or go the safer option and pick up something thats been around for a while.

if your worried about getting tyres on and off go with the flows, they are alot better for tyre compatibility i believe, but they are also abit heavier. or go with the crests, pick a good set of all round tyres, fit them once and forget. tubeless of course.

stubs

Think I might be a bit too hefty for Crests I believe they are a XC rim with a weight limit. Flows might be the one to go for but just fancy something a bit lighter than my current Mavic XM719. Arch EX sounds like a good compromise between light and tough but wanted a users opinion first.

cat_with_no_tail

stubs wrote:

Think I might be a bit too hefty for Crests I believe they are a XC rim with a weight limit. Flows might be the one to go for but just fancy something a bit lighter than my current Mavic XM719. Arch EX sounds like a good compromise between light and tough but wanted a users opinion first.

Now you see, I thought that the Arch EX was LESS tough than the regular Arch because it's thinner walled (even though it's slightly wider). The name indicates a tougher rim, but the design indicates a weaker one.

I know what you mean about being too hefty though. I ordered a set of I9s on regular Arch rims, but I'm now wondering if I should ask them to change my order to flows again and just swallow the ~100g weight increase (50g per wheel) incase my 16st of awesomeness is just too much for a regular arch rim.

I ride mostly natural trails, no massive jumps or drops, but I'll throw myself down the local DH runs when the mood takes me, and will do blacks if and when I travel over to England for some trail center fun.

sanchez89

stubs wrote:

Think I might be a bit too hefty for Crests I believe they are a XC rim with a weight limit. Flows might be the one to go for but just fancy something a bit lighter than my current Mavic XM719. Arch EX sounds like a good compromise between light and tough but wanted a users opinion first.

the crest rims are plenty strong, much stronger than you think. im not exactly a svelte xc racer, and i dont have much in the way of finesse when riding rough sections. the crests are at least up to heavy rough trail usage.

repeated hard downhill use may give them some problems but you would go to flows for that anyway.

stubs

Dont ride DH and the only time I get both wheels off the ground is when I am lying on my back wearing a bike. Mostly ride Pennines, Wales and Lakes where you do need tough rims, quite a few flat out washed out rutted rocky tracks that will eat a light pair of rims for breakfast.

cat_with_no_tail

stubs wrote:

Dont ride DH and the only time I get both wheels off the ground is when I am lying on my back wearing a bike. Mostly ride Pennines, Wales and Lakes where you do need tough rims, quite a few flat out washed out rutted rocky tracks that will eat a light pair of rims for breakfast.

Sounds to me like we're both looking for the exact same thing.

I think you should go for the regular Arch rims, and then let me know how you get on with them

stubs

Cat With No Tail wrote:

stubs wrote:

Dont ride DH and the only time I get both wheels off the ground is when I am lying on my back wearing a bike. Mostly ride Pennines, Wales and Lakes where you do need tough rims, quite a few flat out washed out rutted rocky tracks that will eat a light pair of rims for breakfast.

Sounds to me like we're both looking for the exact same thing.

I think you should go for the regular Arch rims, and then let me know how you get on with them

I will let you sponsor me I could be your crash test dummy

nferrar

The problem with the Crests IMO is they're pretty narrow - great for their intended purpose of XC where you'll probably use 2.1's or thinner but people seem to be buying them as much for AM and the tyre profile's going to be pretty dodgy for a 2.3+ on them.
Good choice in the i9's though Cat - mine have held up well (about a year old now) although I have Flows on them, you need to get the first tension done properly (after a few break-in rides) but I've not touched mine since.

jairaj

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Now you see, I thought that the Arch EX was LESS tough than the regular Arch because it's thinner walled (even though it's slightly wider). The name indicates a tougher rim, but the design indicates a weaker one.

Have a look on the Stans website. The Arch EX is everthing the old Arch is but better, lighter and stronger at the same time. They have tweaked it slightly to make it better just because its lighter doesn't mean its weaker.

cat_with_no_tail

jairaj wrote:

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Now you see, I thought that the Arch EX was LESS tough than the regular Arch because it's thinner walled (even though it's slightly wider). The name indicates a tougher rim, but the design indicates a weaker one.

Have a look on the Stans website. The Arch EX is everthing the old Arch is but better, lighter and stronger at the same time. They have tweaked it slightly to make it better just because its lighter doesn't mean its weaker.

I know that now, see my other thread

lawman

nferrar wrote:

The problem with the Crests IMO is they're pretty narrow - great for their intended purpose of XC where you'll probably use 2.1's or thinner but people seem to be buying them as much for AM and the tyre profile's going to be pretty dodgy for a 2.3+ on them.
Good choice in the i9's though Cat - mine have held up well (about a year old now) although I have Flows on them, you need to get the first tension done properly (after a few break-in rides) but I've not touched mine since.

and in this respect the arch ex is no better as the internal width is exactly the same at 21mm wide, only difference as far as I can tell is the arch ex has abit more metal in it, which should make it stiffer and stronger, but no better suited to wider tyres