superstar am carbon wheelset.

The Northern Monkey

Arch EX are xc>am

SS carbon am are am>dh (as are the flow).

njee20

By whose definition? Coz you say so?

The Northern Monkey

Nope, manufacturer websites.

poah

doesn't actually say DH on the SS pages for the AM rims

The Northern Monkey

You can't ride "alpine uplift" in the UK...

Festerfeet

SS and LB are offering different products and very different advantages.
It sounds like SS have done their research, identified potential issues within quality control and picked a manufacturer that can deliver on the stringent requirements they have put in place. This means that they are prepared to back the product with their good name and reputation.
They are selling a product and service that can give UK customers peace of mind and that will be attractive to some purchasers but will obviously come at a cost.
LB have a different set of advantages, there is one party revived from the sales chain so a potential saving, they are selling a huge number of rims both direct and to OEMs so can probably absorb the cost of a new mold more easily. This may give them an advantage in developing new products, different wheel size, different width and depth.
The service from LB seems to be good and they have certainly made changes to both their manufacturing process and offerings over the last 12 months. The warranty is not as attractive either in it's scope or when factoring in potential shipping costs should anything go wrong after the initial period.
When dealing with LB, you are dealing with a company that is based and operating in a different country and subject to a different legal system so should anything go wrong it may be more complicated and give less peace of mind.

Personally I think both companies are offering an attractive product and associated service and most people will make a judgement on the relative merits of the package accordingly.
The choice for me is likely to be different as my needs and circumstances are different. I am talking to LB about getting a set of rims but then I live in China so shipping costs are much lower and no import charges. I want to have a try with the wider 35mm 650b rims that they offer and which are not currently available from SS.

I think it is great that there is competition in the 'value' end of this market. It is also great to see other companies bringing out offerings this year.

I can't justify to myself (or my wife) the cost of ENVE wheels but am glad that I can at least there are a number of lower cost alternatives.
If I was in the UK I would definitely be considering SS as they have obviously been careful to move into this market with their eyes wide open and are prepared to back their product and service both financially and with their reputation.

poah

The Northern Monkey wrote:

You can't ride "alpine uplift" in the UK...

all alpine means is length - there are some pretty hard hitting DH tracks in the UK

poah

another wheelset you might consider is the E13 TRS+ it in your price bracket

mike hunts alpine

Going with with ss especially after the good review they just got in the mag.

The secret rider

Anybody buy these then ? Was just about to order my hope pro 2 on arch ex and see this thread

Looked at the ss website they do two version one aimed at am and DH one at xc am

Any feedback from anyone who's got them or opinions on these vs hope

Chunkers1980

Hope is not their direct comparison.

The secret rider

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Hope is not their direct comparison.

I never said it was I was saying which would people surges spending money on for trail centre riding 88/90kg rider

BloggingFit

Ordered from Light Bicycle with no issue. Very pleasant to deal with but bare in mind they shut down over Chinese New Year for a week. I have no issue with quality as these are from the same factory as a main stream manufacturer in the industry so I felt the risk was worth taking. Also a lot of positive things said.

Weight wise I can see the claimed 1400g reasonable. I did a conservative build to see how the rims get on with Hope 2 and DT Comp Spokes which came in at 1622g for 650b set. My planned next build, should they stand up ok, would be with DT 240 Hubs and Rev Spokes which will come in close to the 1400g mark.

Hopefully will have them on for next weekend so will see how things go.