Zelvy Carbon Rims - Any out there in RB land?

Mywifesirrational

Mywifesirrational

I however am very normal. Trust me.
After a google and rotorburn search not much discussion on either regarding Zelvy carbon rims, unlike LB rims... a lot of chatter about them, mostly pretty good.

At $1250 au for AM's on hope hubs or $375 a rim, it seems to be the right price between $ENVE$ and LB rims, I quite like that is an Australian based company.

Warranty is twice as long as LB, crash replacement is nice, Life time crash replacement at 50% of RRP (nice) - but must be built by a zelvy approved wheel builder...mmm Will email who is approved in Melbourne.

Anyone got a set of either AM / DH zelvy rims, quality? like the 'wideness' of them? tubeless isn't a nightmare? recommend?

I'm currently on Flow Ex's excellent rims - have held up really well and tubeless is pain free, but there alloy so they're no good any more, after I explained that to the Mrs she thinks carbon rims are definitely the way to go.

Why aren't there reviews of these popping up in google?
 
Ivan

Ivan

Eats Squid
Are they just rebadged XMIPlay rims?

They also have the titanium wire.
 
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ChopSticks

ChopSticks

Banned
with the new pricing Zelvy have become alot more appealing.... but thats still $300~ more than the LB equivalent (yes you can support Aus company etc etc)

Gripper (John) also has a set.... he seems very happy with them... worth asking him for his review/opinion!
 
Mywifesirrational

Mywifesirrational

I however am very normal. Trust me.
Ivan said:
Are they just rebadged XMIPlay rims?

They also have the titanium wire.
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I just had a look at XMIPlay, their MTB rim is different weight and width, just trying to work out where zelvy are made, going to be here or somewhere similar.

ChopSticks said:
with the new pricing Zelvy have become alot more appealing.... but thats still $300~ more than the LB equivalent (yes you can support Aus company etc etc)

Gripper (John) also has a set.... he seems very happy with them... worth asking him for his review/opinion!
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Seen a post or two from him and others that say they are good but nothing more.

It's not so much that I want to support Aus, it's more that I have complete Au consumer protection when purchasing in Au. $50 for shipping from LB if a rim cracks going to add up fast, while LB seem good with warranty, you never know.
 
Gripo

Gripo

Eats Squid
My review is limited to 2 month of trail riding on the Zelvy 650b 35mm (29mm internal) AM rim....I had a spare set of Hope Pro2 hubs that I upgraded to Evo's and had FTR build the wheels for me with DT Comp spokes and brass nipples...nothing fancy, just normal solid build.

Rim quality was better than I expected, sure it's significant $'s so you expect that but compared to a set of Enves I had 3yrs ago with their airholes from the moulding process the Zelvys looked very professional with quality that surpassed those Enves by a mile....I even had to get some superglue on the Enves to stop an area delaminating....

Quality of the Zelvys carbon finish is up there with my other carbon bits from Thomson, Santa Cruz and the likes and possibly came from the same factory?

One of the draw cards for me was the Zelvys normal external nipples as opposed to Enves internal. Having had the Enves alloy nipples disintergrate in the sealant and the need to remove the tyre/tape to true well and truly lost me.

The Zelvys sealed up tubeless without an issue and held air for several days before a top up with air was required. Gorilla Duct tape was used as a rim strip along with Stans standard tubeless valves and Stans sealant, tyres were a Maxxis 2.25 Ardent folding and a Schwalbe 2.25 NN TLR.

I gave them a clean and inspection last weekend and was glad to not see any issues and still spinning true after 400ks of dirt.

Ride quality from a carbon rim is unusual but great, seems to take out some harshness in chattery trail, the other benefit comes from the 29mm internal width broadening out the tyres footprint. Initially I was going to run a 2.35 up front but won't be doing that now.

With local support and 2yrs warranty I figured it was a worth while gamble into my first carbon wheelset.

Send Greg at Zelvy an email of FB message he'd be glad to answer your Q's.
 
Mywifesirrational

Mywifesirrational

I however am very normal. Trust me.
creaky said:
http://www.carbonality.com/rims-1/mtb-rims.html
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Thanks for link, Dh rims 175 seem tempting, just to see how long they last. I didn't realise there we so many carbon rim options.

Gripper said:
With local support and 2yrs warranty I figured it was a worth while gamble into my first carbon wheelset.
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Thanks for the review Gripper, this was my exact thought process as to why Zelvy.

Just not sure what wheelsize to get, with a new nomad on the way I am going to initially run 26 just so people go WTF (hopefully).
 
M

MrPlow

TMBC
Hey guys. Sorry I am not on farkin much these days.
I will start by saying they are not re-badged Xmi play (never heard of them ones!) Or light bike etc. I am not sure where these are made as understandably the factories like to keep their client's confidential. I can't vouch for their quality either way.
Each rim is made to our specification (carbon weight, grade and weave) in a reputable factory that manufacture for several other companies, including a popular European brand ;). In saying that I am sure those who have dealt with an Asian factory will know they will make whatever (quality) you want. And most of you probably realise this is how the bike industry works these days.

The rims carry a 2 year warranty with life time crash replacement. (See www.zelvycarbon.com for details).
As You probably know we sponsor kovarik racing. And they are loving the product. I can honestly say Karver has not had an issue. Actually, he flatted at mt joyce gravity enduro. And rode on the rim for the longest stage. He is still riding that rim. Claire smashed a rim after landing into a rock garden. She smashed rock so hard you could see the blast impact dust of the Rock on the side wall of the tyre. The rim didn't explode. Actually if it had a tube it would have still been rideable.
They both ran our 650b enduro rims at cairns world cup downhill with no issues. Claire placed 10th after 4 crashes on her race run. Chris was by far the fastest through the whoops and speed trap by almost 10kph at a crazy 75kph, before an off course moment and a bike full of mud ended his chances.

At the moment we are flat out shipping out rims and other products all over the world. So stock is low. Contact me at sales@zelvycarbon.com for info. Otherwise stay tuned to our Facebook page for details on new product and other developments. Cheers. Plow. I will try and stay tuned in to this thread and answer your questions.
 
S

shiny

Go-go-gadget-wrist-thingy
I hope to have a set of carbon rims in the next 6 months. I have come down to either Zelvy or Curve carbon rims. Both Aussie based, similar warranties/prices and both have done a lot of testing to ensure their product stand up to MTB'ing.

Enduro Mag had a review of the Curve wheels, yet to see anything on the Zelvy.

Let us know what you decide and ride impressions!
 
M

MrZ32

Likes Dirt
Yeah, the zelvy rims are awesome... nice and wide with the Ti bands for extra durability.

Greg has done a really good job and im really happy to see an Auzzie developed product do so well. That and Greg is a champ, always a good bloke to chat with and has a passion for bikes on par or greater than you or I.

Kovarik sent me a msg sending praises about the rims not so long ago... i currently have some enves on my jekyll but im keen to move across to the zelvy's as they are super wide... that and because Greg's follow up service is second to none.

If anyone is keen to hear a good back to back comparison with the enve rims and zelvy's, let me know and will post one up soon.

James
 
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crank1979

crank1979

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I have a set of Enve wheels and would definitely like a comparison to the Zelvy's. The Zelvy's are top of my list for new wheels for one of my bikes.
 
Mywifesirrational

Mywifesirrational

I however am very normal. Trust me.
shiny said:
I hope to have a set of carbon rims in the next 6 months. I have come down to either Zelvy or Curve carbon rims. Both Aussie based, similar warranties/prices and both have done a lot of testing to ensure their product stand up to MTB'ing.
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I had a look at the curves, there a bit narrower than my current Flow Ex's, I quite like that the zelvys are wider again over the flows.

Once I get my new nomad, I'll then decide on wheel size and put in a order.

Greg said the 27.5 where about 20 days away and the 26's are in stock.
 
N

namlub3

Squid
I'll have a set of Enduro Zelvy's on the Nova hubs on my SB66 in the next month, so I'll keep an eye on this too to let you guys know how I run with them. Planning on setting up Ghetto Tubeless.

I'm only running a set of Shimano MT68's at the moment, so my comparison won't be quite as nice as Z32's, but I've ridden his Jekyll with the Enve's, so a bit of jumping back and forth between us two can hopefully draw some good comparisons.

Was a day away from getting Flow EX's built up by FTR, but had a moment of clarity and decided to go the long term upgrade/my sanity briefly departed. Hopefully now 26" doesn't die completely to 650b when I look to upgrade my frame in a couple years...

Very keen to see my baby all spiffed up on carbon :D
 
Quintin

Quintin

Eats Squid
i run the zelvys and beat the shit out of them 3 times a week at 95kg with reasonably low pressures. no issues whatsoever after 500+ km and a few DHs too.



IMG_8527.jpg
 
omac

omac

Likes Dirt
Can anyone tell me the internal width & weight of a AM Zelvy wheelset with hope 15mm & 12mm/145 hubs?

Cheers
 
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ChopSticks

ChopSticks

Banned
omac said:
Can anyone tell me the internal width & weight of a AM Zelvy wheelset with hope 15mm & 12mm/145 hubs?

Cheers
Click to expand...

35mm outter... not sure on inner (I would have a stab and say 27mm?)

1690g~, 1690g~, 1720g~ for 26",27",29" respectively (with hope hubs)
 
Mywifesirrational

Mywifesirrational

I however am very normal. Trust me.
Just ordered a set with chris king hubs, $1500, I find that to be quite good value. I normally run hopes but for $250 more what the hell, already in trouble with the mrs.

About a month wait as the hubs have to be ordered and wheels built.
 
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