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

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
Which exactly LB rim did you break and have reordered in stronger version?
The answer is in the post you quoted but here you go

I broke the 650b 35mm wide in the regular 400g layup

replacing it in the same rim only 450g layup
 

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
I also broke a regular version. smashing rocks at about 10psi due to an active leak that hadn't sealed yet. The initial impact that punctured the tire didn't do anything to the rim.
I have 2 dh versions waiting to be built for my tr500, they weigh 440g each and I'll be running them with pro-core, at least that's the plan.
 

saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,167
73
Israel
the problem in LB carbon rims is in the wall.
450 or even 500g wont do the trick. it will still break on hard impact with rocks.
ENVE are building their rims differently. the walls of the rims are stronger on ENVE rims.
but still. the price...............
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
What they need to do is make the rim the same 35mm outside but increase the thickness of the hookless part so the inside is 27mm

I think i30 is too wide for most tires and adding 1.5mm to each side would definitely help with rock strikes...I highly doubt they have test riders..if they did I'm sure they would settle on something narrower...my 26" 33mm ones worked well with several different front tires....with the 35mm only a 2.4 HR2 seems to work well
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
My point is, the guy says that the carbon rims are a value since you save on wheel builds, but wouldn't you have to replace spokes and nips anyways, just as a result of material fatigue?
They do, but usually not all at the same time so you replace them as they go one by one - unless you build carbon rims with alum nipples. :D I have been on teh Derby rims for 12+ months now and had to replace one or two spokes that broke in the thin middle section. Brass nipples are gonna last forever.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
They do, but usually not all at the same time so you replace them as they go one by one - unless you build carbon rims with alum nipples. :D I have been on teh Derby rims for 12+ months now and had to replace one or two spokes that broke in the thin middle section. Brass nipples are gonna last forever.
straight pull spokes or j-bend?
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
What they need to do is make the rim the same 35mm outside but increase the thickness of the hookless part so the inside is 27mm

I think i30 is too wide for most tires and adding 1.5mm to each side would definitely help with rock strikes...I highly doubt they have test riders..if they did I'm sure they would settle on something narrower...my 26" 33mm ones worked well with several different front tires....with the 35mm only a 2.4 HR2 seems to work well
LB is an OEM manufacturer. the companies (such as specialized, with the fattie sl rim) design and test their stuff.

anyhow, have ridden 2.3 minion, 2.4 ardent, 2.25 ardent, 2.3 butcher and 2.3 slaughter tires all with great success on LB i30 rims. that is in utah dry hardpack though, may be different elsewhere.

also not broken the DH 460g version, but ride with reasonable (30 front, 35 rear) tire pressures.
 

sbabuser

Turbo Monkey
Dec 22, 2004
1,114
55
Golden, CO
I've beat on my LB 26" 33mm rims for a season now. I did a 32h build with brass nips, hookless bead and even the extra coat of shiny just to give me the toughest build I could. Around June, I slammed into a square edged rock/ water bar, which snakebit the tires ft / rr (2 holes per tire), and I'm sure that would've done some significant damage to a set of aluminum rims. It knicked the rear rim, that's it, and no issues with that either rim since.
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
LB is an OEM manufacturer. the companies (such as specialized, with the fattie sl rim) design and test their stuff.

anyhow, have ridden 2.3 minion, 2.4 ardent, 2.25 ardent, 2.3 butcher and 2.3 slaughter tires all with great success on LB i30 rims. that is in utah dry hardpack though, may be different elsewhere.

also not broken the DH 460g version, but ride with reasonable (30 front, 35 rear) tire pressures.
Ive heard LB makes specialized's but I'm not convinced..

You could drop about 6lbs in the front and enjoy much better grip and not have to worry about destroying your rim
 

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
Ive heard LB makes specialized's but I'm not convinced..

You could drop about 6lbs in the front and enjoy much better grip and not have to worry about destroying your rim
how? fuck man anything under 30psi (in dh casings mind you) i roll the shit out of side wallsunder 32 in the rear i do the same thing. Scary
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
how? fuck man anything under 30psi (in dh casings mind you) i roll the shit out of side wallsunder 32 in the rear i do the same thing. Scary
You must have some grippy dirt..

Read Graves's race reports where he lists his setups..26psi front 28rear on exo casing and his rims are 5mm narrower than yours..there's no point in running an i30 rim if you are going to run the same pressure you would on an i23 rim
 
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wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
What's it gonna TAKE man!?? What do I gotta DO!!??
Scope the pics of their sweat shop oops I mean workshop on their site..guys kneeling on the floor sanding rims..

Seems like there would be better options for oem's...if so thats a nice markup they have
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
You must have some grippy dirt..

Read Graves's race reports where he lists his setups..26psi front 28rear on exo casing and his rims are 5mm narrower than yours..there's no point in running an i30 rim if you are going to run the same pressure you would on an i23 rim
Or run suspension differently, or ride differently.

Aside from the fact that JG is one of the smoothest riders in the history of ever, I weigh 20% more the him (His published is 175, I am 210 and built like free safety), and run a correspondingly 15% higher pressure.

But if we are going to quote random semi-meaningless tires pressures, Curtis Keene claims to runs 30/33 on i30 rims.

I run wide-ish rims is to square tires to make their side edges bite quicker and more aggressively. Any lower psi, and I consistantly bottom the rim, roll the bead, feel squirm, and cut tires.

Having preferred the tire profile of 729s with 2.5 DHF's (58mm width), and gotten used to it, I like the same pressures and profiles on my trail bike.
 
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marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
Seems like there would be better options for oem's...if so thats a nice markup they have
Fattie sl wheelset: $1500
Dealer wholesale with 40% margin: $900

Estimated landed cost on wheel parts:
Dt Hubs: $150
Dt aerolite Spokes/nips: $40
Lb Rims: $300
Total cost: ~$500

45% margin is barely acceptable for a brand with very high marketing costs. I am sure they look at those wheels as a loss leader due to higher customer expectations and higher return/warranty rate. As the sales manager of a brand in a similar field and market real estate, I would assume they look for a 60%+ margin on most products they offer. Softgood world is 70-75% margins for brands this size.
 
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wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
Fattie sl wheelset: $1500
Dealer wholesale with 40% margin: $900

Estimated landed cost on wheel parts:
Dt Hubs: $150
Dt aerolite Spokes/nips: $40
Lb Rims: $300
Total cost: ~$500

45% margin is barely acceptable for a brand with very high marketing costs. I am sure they look at those wheels as a loss leader due to higher customer expectations and higher return/warranty rate. As the sales manager of a brand in a similar field and market real estate, I would assume they look for a 60%+ margin on most products they offer. Softgood world is 70-75% margins for brands this size.
I would imagine LB gives them a better discount than 25$ a rim...

Also it must be such a headache...they must have to do so many warranties....if that's the case than why does everyone talk shit and say the LBs are knockoffs...
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
I would imagine LB gives them a better discount than 25$ a rim...
that was the quoted (landed, with air freight) cost on 500pcs. lets say specialized pays crazy cheap based on volume and boat ship @ $100 each. that is still a 55% margin, which is for sure not killing it, but probably break even -- and certianly not a crazy awesome markup.
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
that was the quoted (landed, with air freight) cost on 500pcs. lets say specialized pays crazy cheap based on volume and boat ship @ $100 each. that is still a 55% margin, which is for sure not killing it, but probably break even -- and certianly not a crazy awesome markup.
Yea, surprised it is worth the hassle/putting your name on something that obviously can break fairly easily especially with improper use..
 

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
You must have some grippy dirt..

Read Graves's race reports where he lists his setups..26psi front 28rear on exo casing and his rims are 5mm narrower than yours..there's no point in running an i30 rim if you are going to run the same pressure you would on an i23 rim
i ride in the pnwet. I ride like a gorilla with a stiff suspension. 185lbs. i corner hard and use the shit out of my side knobs. This is the reason i cannot ride schwalbe tires, that fucking knob in the channel between the centers and sides ( why why why do companys put that there).

I chose the rim because of the thicker sidewalls with no hookbead beacuse of the way i ride. The lower pressures were not even in the scope of my wants.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
822
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
ok, fair enough.

What is minimum pressure to avoid risk of denting? What version are you running? 350gram?
Safe pressure will be the same as a similar width alloy rim. What dents alloy might crack carbon. I have the 420g 26" 26mm internal DH rims on my V10, the 400g 27" 30mm internal rims on my Nomad, the 340/360g 23mm internal 26"/27" rims on my Mojo, and used to have the 400g 23mm internal 26" on my Genius LT.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,852
9,557
AK
First of all everyone knows that when you switch to 29er you can drop about 10psi.

When you go tubeless, you can drop about 7psi.

When you switch to 30mm wide 29er rims you can drop another 5psi.

And of course, when you switch to carbon 30mm rims you can drop another 3psi.
 

aenema

almost 100% positive
Sep 5, 2008
305
111
First of all everyone knows that when you switch to 29er you can drop about 10psi.

When you go tubeless, you can drop about 7psi.

When you switch to 30mm wide 29er rims you can drop another 5psi.

And of course, when you switch to carbon 30mm rims you can drop another 3psi.
So all those together you can drop 25 psi? What are you starting at for that to be true? Or are you being sarcastic?
 

ED75

Monkey
Dec 3, 2003
174
2
France
Hi there, using a pair of LB 26" 26 ID on my Mojo HD since May ...
I personaly weight around 156lbs and I'm really astonished to read about the pressure you're running !!!

Even running in big Alpine rocky trails, i've had no problem with 21psi up front and 24psi on the rear.

I had just a problem 3 months ago having a slow puncture (did not feel it) and smashing a few rocks hard, I cracked my rear rim badly (no noise), but it still holds the pressure pretty well.

Just received a pair for my next DH bike in 650B 30 ID ... will do the trick no problem
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,852
9,557
AK
Hi there, using a pair of LB 26" 26 ID on my Mojo HD since May ...
I personaly weight around 156lbs and I'm really astonished to read about the pressure you're running !!!

Even running in big Alpine rocky trails, i've had no problem with 21psi up front and 24psi on the rear.

I had just a problem 3 months ago having a slow puncture (did not feel it) and smashing a few rocks hard, I cracked my rear rim badly (no noise), but it still holds the pressure pretty well.

Just received a pair for my next DH bike in 650B 30 ID ... will do the trick no problem
You can probably go to at least 16psi.
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
i ride in the pnwet. I ride like a gorilla with a stiff suspension. 185lbs. i corner hard and use the shit out of my side knobs. This is the reason i cannot ride schwalbe tires, that fucking knob in the channel between the centers and sides ( why why why do companys put that there).

I chose the rim because of the thicker sidewalls with no hookbead beacuse of the way i ride. The lower pressures were not even in the scope of my wants.
Can't ride Schwalbe in the pnw? Have you not tried the Dirty Dan?
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
No thanks necessary. I read that Kidwooo tire diary when it came out. He knows what's up. I have a DHR2 on the back of my trail bike and it works great, want one for the front to replace the DHF, probably will do the Woo cut or the way Ratboy trims his.

This doesn't answer my question though. Dirty D's don't have that intermediate knob which sucks. Trim them down and you have an amazing year-round tire. I used them for years this way and could hardly find a fault. It was the only Schwalbe tire I found didn't have sideknobs with the life-span of a gnat.

Apologies if this detracts from da crabon rimz thread.
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
My new 450g version is getting laced right now...Ill let you know how long it lasts...The aluminum one I've been running the last few weeks isn't looking so round anymore
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
I think you should seek compensation from mtg since it's his fault you're crushing rox and hoops. :thumb:
I actually think I'm easier on rear's now..the Mega definitely smooths out those square edges although maybe the extra speed negates that..

I'm splitting a Procore system with a buddy so we can each run it in the rear...should help with rock smashing although I'm wishing I got another 400g version if I am going to stick a 200g "tube" in there..
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
What's the exact model please ?
My 650B 30 ID (DH) are precisely 430grs each.
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..
 
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