29er wheels

[RazeR]

Ness carbon wheel set off Torpedo7. I paid $750 plus $30 for the 15mm spacers. They have since been on sale for $699 so keep an eye on their sales if you're interested.
I really knew nothing about these wheels when I got them, but figured someone had to go first. So I thought I would give them a try.
Pretty good so far. I had a small issue doing the cassette up as the qr spacer on the rear wheel has quite a large diameter, so some machining of my cassette tool was required.
They are quite a flash looking wheel set with all the red anodizing and bladed straight pull spokes. And of course the carbon rims.
My tyres went on and inflated without any drama using a compressor. May be fine with a floor pump?? I just used the pre installed tape and some Stan's valves.
I put these wheels on my Giant XTC Composite 29er. They replaced the stock giant wheels which are stiff and heavy.
The ness wheels weighed in at 1490g pair with the front 15mm adapters fitted. With pre installed rim tape but no valves. That's pretty closed to their claimed 1470.
This has taken about 700grams off my giant. 1100g if you include the tubes that were fitted. The difference is quite noticeable especially on climbs and acceleration. I never ride fast and am generally towards the back of the pack. But at a recent 3 hour club race I seemed to be passing a lot of people on the fast road sections and climbs. Unusual for me.
I haven't noticed any loss off stiffness and the xtc still has that super stiff responsive feel to it. But now it feels a little quicker.

Nice! I might shout myself a late Xmas prezzie (just don't tell my wife)

 

[pistonbroke]

A few more thoughts about the ness wheels. The finish of the rim is ok and the wall thickness is a little thicker than all the alloy xc wheels I have had. But the seem like they have straight walls. From memory they have no hook for the tyre bead to grab onto. You don't get that reassuring crack when a tire is inflated. I ran tubeless with pressures of around 25-28 without issue. Ra Ra evos stayed on and inflated on a fast 3 hour race on a pretty smooth track. Next test will be the Gravity 12 hour.
The hubs have a 24 point engagement which works just fine. The bearings roll pretty well but the rear is a little notchy from new. The rear freewheel is not silent but its pretty quiet. If your riding next to another bike with a noisy hub the ness is drowned out by the others. A hope or king hub is much louder. Loud hubs save lives.
I think I am pretty astute at picking quality materials and engineering. While I would say these wheels are good, I would not say they are outstanding. The don't quite have that real high end finish in the machining and overall quality. In saying that I think they represent good value if you want a light weight carbon wheel set but are on a budget.
They also came with some spare spokes which is nice.
I was looking at getting the Stan's Race Gold wheels which are lighter and can be found for about $700. But I'm a little too fat for them (82kg) and have heard a few reviews that say they are very flexy.
So lets see how I go with the Ness monsters. I am not an aggressive rider and tend to pick my lines carefully(pussy). A faster more aggressive riders results may vary.

Edit; they came with pretty red quick release skewers but I didn't use the front and the rear seems to bee a little too short. It only seemed to be captive a few threads when done up which seemed a little risky too me. So I used my Ti eBay one which is probably even riskier.

 

[mtb101]

A few more thoughts about t.l....................n riskier. 

mates just got a set for his chiner bike came in at 9.5kgs with the ness wheels. (1450grams I think wheels are), that's light, would be interesting to see what warranty covers. might have the 'not for off-road use sticker'. but seriously at least they're from a recognized site/brand, so they pass the lightweight test, then there's flex and reliability. They're going to perform for the weight. They look nice on his bike, don't look cheap that's for sure.

now mate's the sort of guy who doesn't pick lines, sometimes I see him not even lift the rear wheel over sharp rocks, he just powers over the straightest route. If they survive .... then I might get a set as well, for the price - bargain.

 

[krackers007]

Update

I have a set of TWEs for my Anthem 29er from Greg, who recommended running an Arch at the rear and Crest on the front as i'm usually around the 87kg weight. Built up tubeless, total weight difference between this set and the Giant stock wheelset was 400g.

Also, setting them up tubeless was a total non-issue! Put in the sealant and pumped them up very easily using a track stand pump.

I'm going to assumes arch on the back to handle any major hits... Do u have a dully or HT. what are the twe hubs like now you have been riding them for a while

 

[Boxer]

The lack of tyre bead hook on these and the other chiner carbon rims (plus unknown durability) was enough to sway me away. Most now run rim strips in these rims to reduce/eliminate burping. No such need on good ally rims with hooks (Stans, American Classic etc) just tape and away you go.

I also chose to go TWE instead and I went Crest/Crest Front and rear (weigh 75kgs) for my dually. Hubs are super smooth and big bearings. Rear freehub is in the middle of the noise scale. They seems stiff and durable. My first set on my HT are now 12 months old and are true and smooth still

 

[rider44]

A few more thoughts about the ness wheels. The finish of the rim is ok and the wall thickness is a little thicker than all the alloy xc wheels I have had. But the seem like they have straight walls. From memory they have no hook for the tyre bead to grab onto. You don't get that reassuring crack when a tire is inflated. I ran tubeless with pressures of around 25-28 without issue. Ra Ra evos stayed on and inflated on a fast 3 hour race on a pretty smooth track. Next test will be the Gravity 12 hour.
The hubs have a 24 point engagement which works just fine. The bearings roll pretty well but the rear is a little notchy from new. The rear freewheel is not silent but its pretty quiet. If your riding next to another bike with a noisy hub the ness is drowned out by the others. A hope or king hub is much louder. Loud hubs save lives. 
I think I am pretty astute at picking quality materials and engineering. While I would say these wheels are good, I would not say they are outstanding. The don't quite have that real high end finish in the machining and overall quality. In saying that I think they represent good value if you want a light weight carbon wheel set but are on a budget.
They also came with some spare spokes which is nice.
I was looking at getting the Stan's Race Gold wheels which are lighter and can be found for about $700. But I'm a little too fat for them (82kg) and have heard a few reviews that say they are very flexy.
So lets see how I go with the Ness monsters. I am not an aggressive rider and tend to pick my lines carefully(pussy). A faster more aggressive riders results may vary.

Edit; they came with pretty red quick release skewers but I didn't use the front and the rear seems to bee a little too short. It only seemed to be captive a few threads when done up which seemed a little risky too me. So I used my Ti eBay one which is probably even riskier. 

Nice looking set of wheels, nice weight and seem like good value.
Im tempted as well
Keep us informed how they hold up after some more rough miles

 

[Oldas]

Hi all

I have seen a couple of times people mention Mavic with little response. Most of you want to push Stan's, TWE or something built OS. I understand cost, it hurts the wallet but what about strength and quality? I have had a couple of brands of 29er rims over the last 6 months and so has my partner. The only decent ones seem to be Mavic ST's or SLR's if you keep it smooth.

My stan's ZTR arch's were pretty good I must admit, but I consider myself fairly smooth while not perfect on the trails. Mavic's don't miss a beat and give you one less thing to worry about especially if you are an aggressive rider.

One thing I know is I would not sacrifice my safety for a couple of grams regardless of the branding.

Just my opinion.

Cheers

 

[pharmaboy]

Hi all

I have seen a couple of times people mention Mavic with little response. Most of you want to push Stan's, TWE or something built OS. I understand cost, it hurts the wallet but what about strength and quality? I have had a couple of brands of 29er rims over the last 6 months and so has my partner. The only decent ones seem to be Mavic ST's or SLR's if you keep it smooth.

My stan's ZTR arch's were pretty good I must admit, but I consider myself fairly smooth while not perfect on the trails. Mavic's don't miss a beat and give you one less thing to worry about especially if you are an aggressive rider.

One thing I know is I would not sacrifice my safety for a couple of grams regardless of the branding.

Just my opinion.

Cheers

Others might chime in, but there are 2 things that make Mavic not as popular as they were 3 years ago or so.

1. cant be shipped in from overseas, and the local distro rapes and pillages as aussies on pricing - simply too expensive here as a result

2. Parts and reliability - -their rear hubs in particular have had lots of wear issues over the years, and when you need a new freehub that costs more than an entire replacement wheel from somebody else, people move to more reliable hubs that also have spares - including non proprietry spokes ;(

 

[c3024446]

Others might chime in, but there are 2 things that make Mavic not as popular as they were 3 years ago or so.

1. cant be shipped in from overseas, and the local distro rapes and pillages as aussies on pricing - simply too expensive here as a result

2. Parts and reliability - -their rear hubs in particular have had lots of wear issues over the years, and when you need a new freehub that costs more than an entire replacement wheel from somebody else, people move to more reliable hubs that also have spares - including non proprietry spokes ;(

1. You have to be a bit cleverer than CRC or Wiggle. The germans love shipping Mavics to me...(keep this a secret!)
2. The american on ebay who gives replacement bushings for the freehubs for like $10 is a legend. The bushing is the only thing that wears out, not the bearing or the freehub body itself. Replacement pawls and bearings can be had cheap too.

I may have been lucky with spokes with most wheels, but have broken a Ksyrium SL bladed one, and it was shipped from the UK in a week, tightened it up, and the wheel was truer than new!

 

[pharmaboy]

1. You have to be a bit cleverer than CRC or Wiggle. The germans love shipping Mavics to me...(keep this a secret!)
2. The american on ebay who gives replacement bushings for the freehubs for like $10 is a legend. The bushing is the only thing that wears out, not the bearing or the freehub body itself. Replacement pawls and bearings can be had cheap too.

I may have been lucky with spokes with most wheels, but have broken a Ksyrium SL bladed one, and it was shipped from the UK in a week, tightened it up, and the wheel was truer than new!

Dead right on the bushings, which makes the availability of only the full free hub as a part from mavic a bit unbelievable (for a mere $164) - you've done your homework, many people havent - well except on the road front, where mavics are still common as original equipment. Now mavics on hopes with dt swiss spokes, thats another story...........

 

[Oldas]

Others might chime in, but there are 2 things that make Mavic not as popular as they were 3 years ago or so.

1. cant be shipped in from overseas, and the local distro rapes and pillages as aussies on pricing - simply too expensive here as a result

2. Parts and reliability - -their rear hubs in particular have had lots of wear issues over the years, and when you need a new freehub that costs more than an entire replacement wheel from somebody else, people move to more reliable hubs that also have spares - including non proprietry spokes ;(

We just bought some 2013 ST's for well under a grand from our LBS which to me, given people are spending 6-800 on cheaper options it's more than reasonable. Plus I am supporting my LBS which support me with any issues. I know parts and wheels can be purchased cheaper online I simply prefer LBS for these item's.

You raise fair points, I was just curious as to why the lack of Mavic recommendations .

While I am here, how many people have collapsed or buckled Rovals?

Cheers guys

 

[krackers007]

Hi all

I have seen a couple of times people mention Mavic with little response. Most of you want to push Stan's, TWE or something built OS. I understand cost, it hurts the wallet but what about strength and quality? I have had a couple of brands of 29er rims over the last 6 months and so has my partner. The only decent ones seem to be Mavic ST's or SLR's if you keep it smooth.

My stan's ZTR arch's were pretty good I must admit, but I consider myself fairly smooth while not perfect on the trails. Mavic's don't miss a beat and give you one less thing to worry about especially if you are an aggressive rider.

One thing I know is I would not sacrifice my safety for a couple of grams regardless of the branding.

Just my opinion.

Cheers

American Classics All Mountains... I was 95KG when I got these and not the smoothest rider these are solid, hold the tire well, no maintenance, no issues.... ... and they are not to pricey and I could live with 1800gms...you can always find them on sale somewhere!

 

[Big JD]

wheel builder is key

29er wheels are usually more flexy than 26er if built with the same type of rims and spokes - thats a given.

I have been running a 1450 gram XC race wheelset on my 5 inch 26er duellie and havent had an issue - thought i would crush them. I dont ride light (downhill runs at Buller included) and weigh 100+ kgs.

I have had 29er wheels fail and succeed regardless of type of rims and spokes - due to the quality of the build. I personally believe there is little difference in rims/parts and more opportunity in the build.

I have run Arches, Flow, Velocity Blunts and SL, DT Swiss and Mavic rims and King,Hope,Simano,White Industry,Pauls,I9 hubs. If you are building wheels ensure you have hubs that can be change for different forks and rear spacing, use hubs with greater spoke count (if you are heavy) and perhaps a thicker gauge and get them built well on what ever rim floats your boat.

I like Mavic wheels sets and have never had a problem - same with DT Swiss.

 

[Big JD]

Others might chime in, but there are 2 things that make Mavic not as popular as they were 3 years ago or so.

1. cant be shipped in from overseas, and the local distro rapes and pillages as aussies on pricing - simply too expensive here as a result

2. Parts and reliability - -their rear hubs in particular have had lots of wear issues over the years, and when you need a new freehub that costs more than an entire replacement wheel from somebody else, people move to more reliable hubs that also have spares - including non proprietry spokes ;(

heaps of mavic parts on ebay or via US websites

 

[creaky]

TWE Carbon Wheels

Guys (and Girls),

I'm considering scratching an itch seemingly related to the desire to try some carbon wheels. Hopefully trying to avoid the ENVE price .... don't worry, I understand how they are better but just too expensive to justify for me.

Greg at TWE seems to get 99% top reviews for his builds but I can't seem to find much on people's experience with his carbon rim wheels.

His price is reasonable - more that Light Bicycle wheels but way less than ENVE. Two rim widths are available.

Specifically I am after opinions from anyone who has a set of his carbon wheels:

1. Do they seem nice and stiff ?
2. Reliable ?
3. Do they work well tubeless with just tape ?
4. Any other notable features ?

Cheers

 

[pistonbroke]

Edit on the Ness carbon wheels.
They do have a hook in the walls to grab the bead of the tyre. Sorry for the mistake. I changed a rear tyre and tyres go on easily and inflate with a floor pump. Tyre used was a Racing Ralph 2.2 evo.
Hubs are easy to pull apart and service. I discovered the bearings in the free hub are the notchy ones but the wheel bearings are perfect. They are Enduro branded bearings.

 

[supagav]

TWE Carbon

Ok So have one of the TWE wider rim carbon rims built up onto a TWE hub as a rear wheel, this wheel has taken a serious beating and stayed true through out all of my riding except when I broke a spoke,
I re trued the wheel and raced the rest of an 8hr race on them in a pairs team. I couldnt feel the difference being one spoke down. The wheel is stiff and it tracks very well compared to stans wheels I was using before.
As for tubeless setup they are a pain in the ass to get them to go up because of the shape of the bead-hook bed but once up they have been faultless.
I am running an Enve AM up front and while the Enve is super nice, the difference on the trail is not that noticeable (comparing front and rear wheels only), what you do get with Enve though is a UST style looking bead hook bed that does make setting up tubeless easier.
At the end of the day I would recomend a Carbon Wheel from TWE any day of the week, also remember with TWE you are buying the best industry crash replacement warranty around.
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.png

Guys (and Girls),

I'm considering scratching an itch seemingly related to the desire to try some carbon wheels. Hopefully trying to avoid the ENVE price .... don't worry, I understand how they are better but just too expensive to justify for me.

Greg at TWE seems to get 99% top reviews for his builds but I can't seem to find much on people's experience with his carbon rim wheels.

His price is reasonable - more that Light Bicycle wheels but way less than ENVE. Two rim widths are available.

Specifically I am after opinions from anyone who has a set of his carbon wheels:

1. Do they seem nice and stiff ?
2. Reliable ?
3. Do they work well tubeless with just tape ?
4. Any other notable features ?

Cheers

 

[bikerboy85]

Creaky, Ive raced and trained on Greg's carbon wheels in the 26inch variety with no problems what so ever. They are light and super stiff and the hubs are very smooth. I also have friends who are riding his carbon rims in the 29inch version and they can't stop raving about them. Im actually about to order a set for my Scalpel.

So in answer to your questions
1. Do they seem nice and stiff Yes, very stiff
2. Reliable ? Yes, as others have mentioned he has the best crash replacement warranty ever.
3. Do they work well tubeless with just tape ? Yes, but its a little tricky, must use a compressor
4. Any other notable features ? so much cheaper than ENVE

 

[Ackland]

How many points of engagement on his rear hubs?

 

[samj116]

Specialized Wheels

Hi Guys, Just dinged the back wheel on my Specialized Roval Control Wheels. Aparently the rim is beyond repair......anyone know if other rims can be laced up to the Roval hubs using the same spokes? - Thinking Stans Arch Ex.

Much appreciated