Epic 8 S-Works frameset. Roval cockpit. Flight Attendant. XX groupset. ENVE M5 Pro wheels with 2.35” Fast Trak tires. Roval Control wheels with 2.4” Rekon Race tires. Nothing new from last year. Last year I raced everything from 20 min short track through 37hr, 240 mile endurance race.
Awesome! Was the 240 mile on the epic 8? What race?
What we really want to know is: do the pedal inserts stay in…
That generation of the Spark was so ahead of the curve when it was released that it’s still a perfectly suitable bike today, it’s remarkable.
Yes, all races were on the Epic 8. The long race was the Boise Trails Challenge. I’ve won it the past 3 years.
I’m humming and hawing about some new wheels, mostly as it relates to spoke choice. I’d like to hear what you all think of polymer (aka Berd) and carbon spokes? Are there any ride quality changes with carbon spokes? Are the compliance of polymer spokes all they’re cracked up to be? Has anyone ridden both, and could compare them? Any quality of life issues living with either option compared to a bladed steel spoke?
It really was. I’d still be riding mine if it weren’t for the super sale of the epic evo 7s a few years back.
I have been advising against carbon spokes on MTB for non-race only application wheels. Berd’s or Polymer are great and the tried and true aluminum!
Why?
It would probably help if I added context, wouldn’t it?
I forget these conversations are spread out on the forum, here is a thread and my comments directly in relation to this;
This being said I do own carbon spoke versions of every discipline wheel. The road and gravel wheels never come off the bike - I now run aluminum MTB spokes on my wheels. My comment is in relation to what I not only have experienced but am observing also from the field.
Maybe I’ll finally put that XT front wheel I bought 9 months ago on my bike. I did the rear already as my Bonty wheel was eating spokes (and was entry level).
Otherwise, ride my bike more… I’ve done as many MTB rides in the last 3 weeks as I did the entirety of last year, which is SAD.
Thanks for the context. I assumed carbon spokes might be more fragile, and therefore susceptible to such issues. I also assume that they might get better with more iterations.
Any chance you can add some numbers to the last line of your reply? How many failures have you seen?
I ran Berds for a while but depending on your terrain they can also be more fragile than steel spokes. I damaged 2-3 in the rear riding in very rocky areas with large/ sharp rocks. I believe in their increased impact resistance (a smooth steel rod being inserted into a spinning wheels) but they definitely lack abrasion resistance when compared to steel.
Not a deal breaker but something to be cognizant of.
Sure — happy to share, but I do need to be careful about how I frame this.
Over the last two seasons, I’ve seen roughly 60% of carbon‑spoke MTB wheelsets sold experience one or more carbon spoke failures. In none of those cases were the failures classified as a manufacturing defect. That said, deeply discounted replacement pricing was typically offered.
Importantly, in all of those cases the rims survived, were rebuilt, and are still in use today as far as I know.
Some failure modes is similar to what @wfenwick mentioned with Berd spokes. The challenge with carbon spokes is detection — after rock rub, strikes, or big impacts, it can be very hard to identify splintering or delamination unless you’re inspecting very closely.
For transparency, one of my own carbon MTB wheelsets is included in that stat. At the time, I was ~95 kg and riding the lightest setup I could reasonably find. I lost front‑end traction on the face of a jump, got launched, and landed most of my weight on the front wheel at an angle before crashing (over the handlebars).
That impact immediately broke one spoke. I finished the day riding it that way, but when I got home and inspected the wheel more carefully, I found eight additional spokes had splintered.
The rim itself was completely fine, and that wheel has since been rebuilt with aluminum spokes.
One more data point: I haven’t personally seen any road or gravel carbon‑spoke failures, with one exception — a road set (rear wheel) where the rider hit a massive pothole at speed and completely folded the wheel. That incident would likely have caused failure regardless of spoke material.
I’ve been using Berds on a set of XC Wheels for 3 years now, not a single issue other than one spoke that needed re-tensioning. Usage in Colorado and New England. I’ve had them on a set of lightweight gravel wheels too and no issues there, but use isn’t as hard.
I pesonally just got a set of Nextie Alpha 36S delivered - I’ll be swapping over a set of DT180’s I have, and am leaning towards building them up with Berd.
The only carbon spokes I have are on a set of Gravel Wheels that will probably see primarily all-road or easier gravel use. Really just started using those recently.
I’ve not ridden carbon spokes but I put a set of 25mm inner width Berd carbon wheels on my gravel bike 6 months ago. They are incredibly light at an actual 1080 gm with tape and valves. I find no effects on pedaling, handling or aggressive cornering as might be a concern with respect to any spoke elasticity. They do subtly mute some ride harshness. No damage yet riding a lot of gravel and single track, but I agree they could be susceptible to getting cut on an mtb. Overall, I really like them on the gravel bike. I have no current plans to put a set on my mtb, though if I was competitively racing XC, I’d seriously consider a set for the weight savings.
Having a warranty issue with my Ibis Exie and the made in USA and Exie for all have been discontinued. I know they announced and are selling the Ripley SL.
Think they are launching a redesign of the Exie or just shifting everyone to the Ripley SL? Kind of bummed, really loved my Exie.
Oh no, what happened to your Exie?
Has anyone had a good look or even bought the new Pivot Mach 4 SL? I think it looks like an awesome bike, if a little pricy - but so are all new bikes it would seem. I am not an all out racer but enjoy long days out - the odd marathon race / event. Possibly even a stage race. But more to complete than compete. Yes, it lacks a good option for a second bottle (it can technically hold 2), but the trade off is excellent suspension.
If anyone has picked one up yet (have watched all the YouTube videos), would love to hear your thoughts?
I just demo’d the new Mach 4. While riding it didn’t give me a reason to want it. Didn’t feel like it climber better than my EE7, didn’t descend better, one less bottle cage and heavier.