Light Bicycle is also highly rated, I know a few local people who have their XC rims, and they are great. Nextie is also very highly rated.
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I have a set of Light Bicycle rims and was very happy with them for 2 years. I had an opportunity to buy a high end set of carbon rims at a good price so I jumped on it. I still have my LB rims as a back up set and would recommend them.
Just picked up a new 22 Epic EVO. I’ve recently owned a SC Blur v3 and a '21 Trek Top Fuel 9.9 and spent a good amount of test time on the new Blur and SuperCaliber. Happy to provide my thoughts on the differences of all of these if anyone is interested and shopping any of these models.
I can say that this bike is every bit as fast as the new crop of 100mm race bikes out there. There is a very minor efficiency penalty without lockouts but for mere mortals such as myself, this bike straight up flies.
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If you cannot afford the likes of Enve, SC Reserve and so on (I’m in the same boat), why go carbon?
Have you looked at the weight difference between a quality aluminum rim from brands like DT Swiss versus carbon rims, even high end ones? The weight difference is really marginal!
Getting the carbon rims light and compliant like an aluminum rim is all the rage among the top manufacturers. I would be highly skeptical of a cheap knock-off carbon rim to not be overly stiff & harsh.
I would rather have a high end aluminum rims with great ride quality and marginally higher weight, than a cheap not well made carbon rim.
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@adrian_r fair point.
Current setup: Stans Arch Mk3 (25mm internal, 453 grams per rim) with Neo front hub and soon a DT 350 rear hub, with 32 spoke count f/r. (2.6"/2.35" tires, but going to 2.4"/2.4")
Desired setup: 28-30mm internal rims, weight around 350-380 grams, DT 350 front and rear hubs and 28 spokes. (tires 2.4-2.5" front and rear)
I looked at Arch Mk4 rims, but they’re quoted as 481 grams each and only just at my minimum 28mm internal width, and are $129 each (plus shipping I think).
Cheap Chinese (looking like $300-400 landed I think) that break, is a concern. Cheap Chinese that are built heavy/stiff to make them not break, and therefore I’d get little weight savings and too much stiffness, is also a concern. I liken it to “sure, they’re carbon rims, but they could be the carbon rims that come on a Walmart $750 bike, and not a clone of a rim off a $1500 wheel set”. I did look at Light Bicycle, but I think their rims were $280 and 420 grams. So sort of minimal weight savings and not a huge cost savings.
With the thumbs up for Nextie, and another couple brands I’m chasing down, I think I’m willing to take a go. My hope in posting here is to get more people posting about any china direct rims they’d had success with.
I’d also note that some of the new direct to consumer carbon wheel brands are buying from these Light Bicycle, Nextie places, and putting on big margins. I’d guess only a couple of brands out there are really doing engineering on their carbon rims. In an ideal world, I’d buy the specialized’s.
Did you keep changing bike to upgrade to something better because the first bike wasn’t working out, or do you have some deal with a shop or something? Just wondering what the factors were that pushed you from one bike to the next over a relatively short period (for people like me who hold bikes for years). Thanks.
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Thanks. I’ve been following LB for a few years. I note that their latest xc wheel, I think is now $280/rim, and I think like 420 grams. I was surprised how much they charge for a rim that isn’t “carbon light”. They’re still on my list though, although Nextie has probably jumped to the top of the list at the moment. Just have to work out exactly which Nextie meets my needs, and is it still carbon light
thanks.
This one is pretty impressive. 30mm IW at 325g
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That looks pretty ideal. The $249 price tag is more than some China direct brands, but interesting given the number of good Nextie reviews.
Thoughts on doing the XC version for a front and the AM (+30 gram) version for a rear? Seems like it could be a good move.
I hadn’t seen that, seems like a good idea for sure. I have their heavier 30mm IW wheels (XMA36) and they’re very well made and ride nicely. About 1450g with DT 350s and steel spoke nipples. I’m sure these are great too and they should weigh about 150g less!
I race for a shop sponsored team. They used to sell Trek and Santa Cruz so I got good deals once a year on a new bike. Both the Top Fuel and Blur were excellent bikes and I would have been fine keeping both. Since the used market has been so good the last couple of years I just kept flipping bikes and trying new ones. The shop switched to Specialized this year so ordered an EVO Pro months ago. Loving it and will likely hang onto this one for a few years.
I didn’t care for the SuperCaliber (the geo wasn’t great and the Blur was good but not really a lot better than the v3 Blur I had).
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I’ve got a Pivot Mach4SL with the Orbea Squidlock. I haven’t built the frame up yet, but look forward to it.
I’ll report back on the squidlock.
Hump
it’s (as always) a balance between strength and weight. With more dollars you can even get closer to having both…
I have been running nextie (26.5mm / 390 specs 400 measured weight) rims for 3 years.
for the spark I wanted to get something wider (bikes comes with 30mm stock) but I didn’t want heavier wheels… so more expensive it will be 
I got some duke rims (lucky jack sls3 6ters) on the way:
30mm:330g / 28mm:310g (340/320 on the scale)
The nexties linked above are a great option for a few dollars less (similar width and weight)
Something a lot cheaper and pretty light would be the alu dukes:
29,5mm / 27,5mm 435g / 420g
Update and questions. Im riding the new SC Blur C which I was able to get shortly after they became available. First, I love how this bike rides. It is exactly what I wanted. I was deciding between this and the Epic and wanted to just buy a frame, but that wasn’t an option. The brain and availability of the Epic made my decision for me.
Some issues:
- Twist-loc. This never worked properly and I’m still waiting on a warranty replacement. After 3 months of holding it locked and waiting, I swapped it for a Bontrager drop-lock. I like the action of my old dropper lever better (PNW loam), but otherwise this is a better setup. I can use standard grips, has worked flawlessly, and feels good from an ergonomic perspective. Only "complaint’ would be that I have 2 clamps on the bar and I’d like to find an adaptor. Has anyone seen or heard of anything?
- Build quality. Glue/tape came unstuck on the chain protection, and was improperly installed. Lots of loose or improperly setup cables and hoses. Dropper lever broke on the first ride. Not sure if this is an LBS issue or SC. Anyone had anything similar?
Other Changes I’ve made:
- Brakes. The TL brakes and 160mm rotors are not enough for this bike. I swapped over my XT (single piston) with 180s from my old bike and it feels very nice. Lots of preference here, but I like it.
- Drive train. My previous bike had GX AXS with a X01 cassette and Rotor PM cranks, so I brought that over and used a wolf tooth adaptor to connect it to the XT brake clamp. Tough to say anything bad about this setup (other than the fact that they don’t “match”). Slightly heavier than the X01/XX1 derailer but good cost savings while being functionally identical. This worked out because I was able to sell the entire drivetrain that came with the bike.
Sidebar: I put a Box One Prime 9 drivetrain on the old bike and it is pretty great. BOX is local and I found them when I wasn’t able to get parts from other folks. The shifter is not as clean/refined as the Shimano/SRAM equivalent, but the ride is quieter, setup is easy, use has been bulletproof. I haven’t needed to adjust it in 6 months. I miss the extra mid-gears sometimes but as someone that hates drivetrain noise, it has been a nice addition.
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Really like where you’ve gone with this - especially the drivetrain replacement. I’m considering the same, as I also have a PM (P2M NGEco) and a Shimano 11-speed XT drivetrain that I’m planning to swap over. Putting brand-new GX on my current frame would definitely enhance resale value.
A few questions:
- What bike did you change from, and why?
- How did you choose the Bontrager drop-lock?
- What are your goal rides/events with this bike?
Thanks!
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I’ve been eyeballing those ALU Duke rims for my upcoming XC wheel build.
I’m coming from Hunt’s (440g 25mm) and was going to get Stan’s Crest MK4 (399g 25mm).
I wish I could know what the extra width would be like. I’m trying to build a sub-1500g wheelset and not dropping and rim weight makes it basically impossible without spending absurd money on Berd Spokes or something.
ETA: does anyone have the ability to describe the benefits of wider rims? I run 2.35" tyres and have no desire to run less than that or more than 2.4" on my race wheels. The Stan’s rims have a weight limit of 85kg, and I’m ~77kg in my trainer get up (so probably 80kg kitted up for MTB?). I ride light and cautious, but am concerned about running close to the limit.
1.) Was on a Hardtail. It was stripped, painted, and every part replaced, but it started life as a Trek X-Caliber. Not my only bike so it was more of an N+1 than a replacement, but this is the bike that lost the most use when the Blur arrived. Mainly the HT is on the trainer these days, but it also my commuter bike that I feel ok locking up places when the family goes places.
2.) Bontrager was chosen based on ergonomics, visual, and availability. I don’t care for the style that doesn’t have a lever style action or is vertical, so that deleted a lot of options. LBS also had it installed on a bike and I was able to try it and walk out with one. Install took under 30 minutes and was pretty straightforward.
3.) I do a couple of 50+ Mile races a year, and the occasional XCO when it is convenient, and but biking is my passion, not my career, so enjoyment is goal #1. I use a low volume plan and supplement with TrainNow, downhill days, running, and lifting for health as much as competition. Also, my rides are usually a mix of dirt/path on the way to single-track which is why I had stuck the a HT for so long. I tested the Evo but not the Blur TR and did not care for the geo changes from the Epic. I couldn’t get comfortable without going to the next size up (XL), which just felt like too big of a bike for me.
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A friend rides this set up. He describes it as exactly that, “good enough” tread accordingly.
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Those seem like LBS issues rather than Santa Cruz issues. I’m also local to Box so it makes wonder what shop you worked with. If it’s FB (I wont name the shop here), I’m surprised because they usually do a super job.
Most tires in the 2.3-2.4” range these days seem to be specced for 30mm rims… or at least, all tires I’ve tried recently consistently measure less than stated size on my 25mm rims.
So you’ll get a slightly different tire profile on narrower rims vs what the tires are “designed for”.
Does it make a difference? I don’t know. I’m 160 lbs and ride everything from smooth XC to chunky Moab rocks and drops on my 25mm rims. Can’t say I’ve found myself ever saying that I wish I had wider rims.
The one thing I would get wider rims for is if I was going to put a 2.5 or 2.6” tire on my bike. I would not go this wide on my 25mm rims.
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