Carbon Rims

Not sure on the aluminium rim creating more of a footprint due to flex idea. I can't see it being by a noticeable margin. You would gain more using a wider Carbon rim and matching in the tyre width to put down more footprint that way which you couldn't achieve with aluminium without a big weight penalty.

Clearly has his ENVE PR head on talking Chinese rims and they have had their issues with failures.

All very interesting though and I like what he says overall.

I noticed the harsher ride when I first put them on my Remedy but then I also paired up with a narrower section tyre to get more footprint on the wider rim which would have contributed a little. They also showed up the short comings of my Fox 34s so I doubt anyone running newer Fox forks would enjoy them!

To be honest going back onto my aluminium wheels didn't really show up much in the way of comfort, just more flex, less direct, a little less zip when accelerating. I think the harshness would be far more noticeable on a hardtail which I have found on the Bird but again you soon forget about it through the ride.

Perhaps an experiment of Carbon front and aluminium rear for hardtails is in order. Lose acceleration, gain comfort, keep directness of the front.

POAH wrote:

other than enve being really expensive, what makes them the "best". as far as I can see they still get trashed

I guess you pay for the name, warranty and higher fabrication costs of being made in the US.

njee20 wrote:

That article is so full of **** though:

Acceleration is one thing that is evident on carbon wheels, the lack of flex translates into a fast pick up of speed

Without a doubt my Kona is more accelerative with the Superstar carbons I put on it. So much so that on first pedalling the bike across my drive I involuntarily said "WOW!" out loud. It wasn't a subtle improvement. I still notice it every time I set off. No doubt some of that is due to the new hubs/tyres/better spokes etc. but I'd guess some of it must be down to the carbon rims.

Its a trade off on weight though - I like carbon because I can get a 30mm inner width to give a nice tyre shape, while weighing less than most alu rims. And in terms of strength the carbon 35mm option will in my experience outlive 400-ish g alu rims easily.

I don't much buy into the stiffness/feel thing though - tyres make a way bigger difference than rims. If there is a difference its hard to spot, other than g for g stiffness of carbon is higher, but then you'd just be running a bigger stiffer, heavier alu rim anyway, so that is negated.

Angus Young wrote:

njee20 wrote:

In that context though, how is rim flex making any difference? As you accelerate you twist the hub forward, and it takes a minute amount of time for the rims to 'catch up'. So building with really fat gauge spokes and using proper lacing pattern, and even hubs with a better bracing angle may well help here. Rim stiffness won't.

Not sure I'd go so far as to categorically state that "Rim stiffness won't." But yes, as I say, many other factors will be coming into play.

Likewise, the bike is definitely more accurate and confident at the front. Again, the wheels were fitted at the same time as a Pike, carbon bars and a High Roller II (tubeless) up front (Ardent Race at the back) so it's very hard to tell how much of the improvement is down to the wheels.

Well yes, a carbon rim is far stiffer, but that's about lateral loads and handling, not acceleration over an identical aluminium rim. Much of it is how it feels anyway, more than an actual empirical difference.

Ben - wholly agree (and that's why I went carbon, rather than a lighter Stan's Race Gold or similar), was just observing that it's a common misconception that carbon rims are inherently lighter. They're not - most carbon XC rims are on par with a Crest, and heavier than the aforementioned Race Gold. That they're wider/stiffer/stronger for that comparable weight is the advantage.