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Anyone running $178 chinese carbon rims for DH yet? light-bicycle.com

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
It is the same one you have..30ID hookless 650b "DH" version...they are +/- 20grams or so..

And about the tire pressure thing...Now that we have gotten some rain and the dirt has something that resembles traction I've had to go up a few PSI in the front..was getting a bit of squirm..I want to get a good gauge that does presta so I can do some testing...I dont think my 30$ serfas pump is very accurate..
You can keep the pump, but replace pressure gauge. Most pumps have a 1/4" NPT female thread, which is very common. I use a 0-60 Psi gauge with 1 psi increments from McMaster-Carr.
 

ED75

Monkey
Dec 3, 2003
174
2
France
Anyway, what you need is to have a good start point, if it says 20 psi on monday, it'll still say 20psi on friday (if your tire has not flatted i mean :D)
 

ED75

Monkey
Dec 3, 2003
174
2
France
So what you're saying is, for a gauge to work properly, it has to work properly.
Don't think so ? :brows:

Then I think the Schwalbe IS accurate, as it says the exact same thing as a non electronic Michelin and my floor pump ......... or they're all 3 inaccurate in the same way, that's fine with me too !
 

frango

Turbo Monkey
Jun 13, 2007
1,454
5
I am doomed :D
But, I've just realized, that DT EX 471 27,5 are sub 500g, so, at the moment, it does not make much sense for me to change for carbon rims... at least, right away, after I get the bike :)
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,060
What's the current thought on the make and width to go for on a 150mm bike?
 

supercow

Monkey
Feb 18, 2009
969
128
What's the current thought on the make and width to go for on a 150mm bike?
Carbon wheels suck for 150mm bikes. Too stiff and you lose traction. It gets pingy too - overrated imo. Great for fast acceeleration mind.
Not tried on a DH bike personally.
 

squiby

Chimp
Jul 26, 2010
91
13
Carbon wheels suck for 150mm bikes. Too stiff and you lose traction. It gets pingy too - overrated imo. Great for fast acceeleration mind.
Not tried on a DH bike personally.
I have them with I9 hubs and spokes, high tension makes for stiff wheels. Love it! Might get some for DH. I do have a 15mm front axle and Intense frame though, so my flex is already "engineered" in.
 

hardboiled

Chimp
May 15, 2006
23
0
right behind you
What's the current thought on the make and width to go for on a 150mm bike?
I ran 23mm (internal) Light Bicycle crabons on my trail bike, replaced the rear with a 27mm LB -- really liked the 27. I spent a week or so on Ibis 741s (35mm internal) and had mixed feelings, on very fast, open, rocky trails, they were awesome. but on tighter trails with more corners they felt sluggish into and (especially) getting out of corners. I decided to go with a set of 29mm Nox Farlows for my new bike (Ibis HD3) but won't have it for a few weeks.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,861
4,158
Copenhagen, Denmark
What's the current thought on the make and width to go for on a 150mm bike?
That really depends on how you are riding and where you are riding. I think a lot of people are running way more travel and tire/rim combo than they need. I was getting caught up in the whole wide rim talk earlier in the year but riding my bike I realized how it really is more fine tuning of suspension, air pressure and much much more my own ability that need attention then worrying too much about rim width.

I still say a stiff light wheel is the best!
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,060
Currently on Arch EX with older 24pt Hope EVO, so I'm looking for wider and more POE. From an e-riding perspective I'd like something similar to a Flow EX, I like the widths of the Nox Teocalli with 26mm internal, their prices are spendy though. Nothing on LB or Nextie appears quite the same, 24 or 25mm internals and the 25 is only 2.5mm bead walls.
 

hitar_potar

Monkey
Sep 23, 2011
173
6
Ruse, Bulgaria
... but on tighter trails with more corners they felt sluggish into and (especially) getting out of corners...
What exactly did you mean by that? Is this only for a trail bike or would it occur if mounted on a DH bike? Reason for asking is i want the widest LB rim for my DH bike. :) Just was informed by Easton that my Easton Havoc UST 26' rims weight 500g +/-5% each. Seems LB's heaviest is lighter than the original Easton (and a lot wider... ;) ).
Also, anyone running the 38mm wide rim, but with 420-430g weight, on a DH bike (meaning not ordering it extra strong at 490g as LB says)? If yes - opinions? :)
 
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hardboiled

Chimp
May 15, 2006
23
0
right behind you
What exactly did you mean by that? Is this only for a trail bike or would it occur if mounted on a DH bike? Reason for asking is i want the widest LB rim for my DH bike. :) Just was informed by Easton that my Easton Havoc UST 26' rims weight 500g +/-5% each. Seems LB's heaviest is lighter than the original Easton (and a lot wider... ;) ).
Also, anyone running the 38mm wide rim, but with 420-430g weight, on a DH bike (meaning not ordering it extra strong at 490g as LB says)? If yes - opinions? :)
to answer your second question first, I would definitely get a DH/reinforced rim for the rear at least, even for a trail bike. I haven't run them on a DH bike, but I did break one of the older 23mm (internal)/400g rims on my trail bike.

regarding cornering on the wide rims, they just didn't feel quick going edge-to-edge, they wanted to go in a straight line once up to speed so I felt like I had to brake harder going into corners and exited corners with less speed. I'm sure with more time I would adjust, as I was also changing wheel diameter from 26 to 27.5. in the end between the compromise in cornering and reading comments about 2.3-2.4 tires that I prefer not having an ideal profile on super wide rims, I decided to go with something less extreme.
 

hitar_potar

Monkey
Sep 23, 2011
173
6
Ruse, Bulgaria
to answer your second question first, I would definitely get a DH/reinforced rim for the rear at least, even for a trail bike. I haven't run them on a DH bike, but I did break one of the older 23mm (internal)/400g rims on my trail bike.
My thoughts exactly - reinforced rim for the rear and a lighter one for the front. However, you say you've cracked one of the older rims, for which there were issues. Now, as far as i know, LB manufacture the rims by a new and improved technology so that the rims are problem-free, that's why i was wondering if a lighter rim would be enough for me. I'm not light, geared-up am 90-92kgs, but am not an agresive rider. :)
 

aenema

almost 100% positive
Sep 5, 2008
305
111
For those running carbon rims, or even specifically these Lightbike carbon rims, what spokes did you end up going with for the build? I am looking at Sapim and have heard mixed reviews about the Lasers being too elastic for some. I am 190lbs and ride a 160mm bike aggressively. I want to keep the wheelset as light as reasonable to handle my all mountain shenanigans and occasional races as well as some lift and shuttle served from time to time.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
I built these Nexties yesterday. Competition black spokes, and I happened to have a box of alloy nipples that I hadn't used from another project, so I figured "what the hell". Hope Evo rear and Shimano M758 15mm front.

I think the wheelsize and spoke count dictate what kind of spokes to use. With my LB fat rims that are 90mm wide, the spoke holes are around 1.5" wide, between the L and R ones. I think this adds a significant amount of lateral support and allows me to run a much lighter spoke, so I ran revolution 2.0/1.5/2.0s on that build, plus, it's a 26" wheel, so less distance for the spokes to flex over.

On my stock 29er wheels, I was getting significant wheel flex and sometimes rub during hard cornering on the enduro. I went and tightened the hell out of all the spokes and that seemed to fix the issue, but the starting spoke tension wasn't loose or lower than normal, so I'm hesitant to build up 29er wheels with super thin spokes. I want the wheels to be stiff for cornering. I built up the Nexties with DT competition butted spokes. I like the smooth taper on the DT spokes, I've never found a reason to sue anything different. If you are going with 26 or maybe 27.5, supercomps are probably fine. You do notice the difference between the spokes when you are starting to tension them. You don't reach as "hard" a "stop" with the aggressively butted spokes as you are tightening and they will flex a little more, proper tension is always important, but the revolutions at proper tension sure don't feel like straight spokes.

One thing I love about building up carbon is so easy to build it true. Aluminum rims are like noodles in comparison, a little adjustment in one place throws something else off and sometimes despite you're best efforts, a little bit of hop or something else remains. The carbon rim is rigid and it's very difficult for that rigid structure to "flex" out of it's "true" state, which is great for the final process during the build. The other thing about the alloy nipples is that something that would throw an aluminum rim out of true will either not affect the carbon one, or the carbon rim will simply break, because it's not flexible like aluminum, so you aren't going to have the rim go a little out of true and then have to go back and tighten a few nipples down past what they are supposed to be at to fix the issue, which is when you usually start getting breakages spokes and nipples (although corrosion is a concern for alloy).

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hitar_potar

Monkey
Sep 23, 2011
173
6
Ruse, Bulgaria
Hmmm, Nextie is selling at LB's prices... interesting. What's the word on quality compared to LB? LB does answer to requests and enquiries on their website though - i don't see that on Nextie's site. :)
 

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
What exactly did you mean by that? Is this only for a trail bike or would it occur if mounted on a DH bike? Reason for asking is i want the widest LB rim for my DH bike. :) Just was informed by Easton that my Easton Havoc UST 26' rims weight 500g +/-5% each. Seems LB's heaviest is lighter than the original Easton (and a lot wider... ;) ).
Also, anyone running the 38mm wide rim, but with 420-430g weight, on a DH bike (meaning not ordering it extra strong at 490g as LB says)? If yes - opinions? :)
I have 2 bike parks days so far on a set of 38s. So far I'm digging it. The bike is so much more responsive with the lighter setup and they are very stiff. I made sure to bury them into some rocks hard enough that I thought I might flat, no flats no damage so far. I have a normal layup one in the fridge and a dh version in the back.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
Hmmm, Nextie is selling at LB's prices... interesting. What's the word on quality compared to LB? LB does answer to requests and enquiries on their website though - i don't see that on Nextie's site. :)
They are exactly the same and respond about exactly the same. Email them from their site. I got the Nexties to see if there was any difference between them and the LB. In fact, I'd say the LB are a little better, I asked for UD weave and got it on the LBs. On the Nexties for some reason inside the double-wall it's like a 3k layup or something. UD is supposed to be stronger. Then again, nextie paints for free and it's a $60 surcharge with LB. Not a big deal or difference though. Ultimately, they have the same business model, support, and guys with questionably-western names for customer service, but no real complaints. Both times build and shipping was pretty much right on track with their estimates/timeline.
 
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Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
Biggest diff I feel on these new wheels is the stiffness in cornering. It's improved at least one "level" compared to my previous experience. It seemed when pushed hard, the old wheels would flex, I'd sometimes even get chainstay rub, but at the extreme I couldn't hold a berm-line as well and had to let it go high/slow down. These hold the line much better, night and day. Dropped around a pound of rotating mass, but honestly, I don't really notice this as much. Maybe I have to ride with some other people to notice it more (sometimes turning the 29er wheels you "feel" slow, but are really moving pretty fast). The fat-wheels on the other hand, massive difference in acceleration.
 

hitar_potar

Monkey
Sep 23, 2011
173
6
Ruse, Bulgaria
Which wheelset improves stifness in your case? You mean the Nexties are stiffer and better than the LBs? Or you mean the other way around? Cause in your first post you say LBs are a little better.
As far as painting them, doesn't ring a bell for me - my bike's all blacked-out (almost) so i'd keep them black. Only question mark for me are those silly models: 3k, UD, etc. Can't understand them very well, can't figure it out how does every finish look like.... :(
 

squiby

Chimp
Jul 26, 2010
91
13
I'm thinking of lacing the LB rims to my Easton Havoc hubs. Spoke count on the hubs is 24/f and 28/r. I'm a little concerned about the rim wheel strength with the low spoke count. What do you guys think? Light strong wheel set, or will I be on my way to winning a Darwin Award from the inevitable catastrophic failure?
 
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hitar_potar

Monkey
Sep 23, 2011
173
6
Ruse, Bulgaria
I'm thinking of lacing the LB rims to my Easton Havoc hubs. Spoke count on the hubs is 24/f and 28/r. I'm a little concerned about the rim wheel strength with the low spoke count. What do you guys think? Light strong wheel set, or will I be on my way to winning a Darwin Award from the inevitable catastrophic failure?
Hah, exactly the reason why i am levitating in this thread. :) Mine is the 2012 Havoc UST wheelset. My guess is there would be no problem with the low spoke count (24 front/28 rear) - the spokes are straight (more tension possible) and the LB rims are carbon (allow even more tension). My guess is the wheels would be super strong! :)