[Closed] Wider rims?

Not got hugely wide, but a bit wider. Can't tell with handling. Though is my first carbon rim so maybe can feel difference there but not noticed so far.

The one thing I did notice though was seating the tyre tubeless was much easier. At least from a pump point of view. Getting it over the rim was a faff, but once on it just popped up with a track pump with no effort, which is a first for me. Seems the wider rim makes it easier for the bead to slide into place. Also stayed up without sealant but then might be specific to that rim. Seems to have a tight grip on the bead when seated. I put sealant in anyway after as need that puncture sealing benefit.

I went from Mavic XM 819s (essentially the same rim as yours) to Hope Tech Enduros (23mm internal). Despite only being slightly wider, there was a definite improvement in handling with no more tyre roll on cornering when running lowish pressures on 2.35" tyres. I've not convinced of the benefit of going for super wide rims unless running wider tyres - with 2.35" tyres I think the 23mm internal width is about spot on and gives a good tyre profile.

If you're not having any issues with tyre roll at the pressure you choose to run with your chosen tyres then there is probably little to be gained. With my old 2.25" High Roller LUSTs (which size up on the narrower than stated side of things) , I didn't have any issues with the XM 819s.

I can only really speak from the experience of fitting too wide a pair of tyres to narrow rims which was really horrible, same tyres on 21mm rim width & transformed to a much nicer ride.

I'd be interested to hear views for an optimal width for 2.3" tyres. Spesh seem to spec 30mm internal on many, Whyte have upped to 27mm. I'm using skinny 23mm. My mates 2.3" Hillbilly on a 30mmi looks HUGE!.

I don’t know about optimal but I really liked how 2.3 Minions worked on my 30mm internal rims. They had a good profile and I was able to run them at fairly low pressures without them squirming.

30 mm internal does seem to be gradually becoming the new sweet spot, love mine.

I haven't used a 19mm rim for a long time but have used (a lot) of 30mm carbon rims, am since back on 23mm rims and can safely say it makes sod all difference running a 2.3" tyre.

Never got the whole low pressure thing either, even with the wider rims I couldn't run less than about 27psi in the front & 29 in the back without it feeling like you were going to tear the tyre off the rim if you gave it some in a decent corner.

29x3 on 25mm internal rims? Just say no, even if running with tubes and not at low pressure?

Im lucky enough to be running WTB 45mm Scrapers with B+ tyres, WTB Asym i35mm wheels with 2.3 tyres and also a set of WTB asym i30mm wheels again with same 2.3 tyres.

The sweet spot for me is the 35mm. The tyres have a far better profile and provide more grip at lower pressures with lower risk of burping.

The 30mm's when compared to some hope enduro;s on a back 2 back ride earlier this week provide more grip but the tyre profile isnt as different as I was expecting.

Hope that helps a little.

30mm rims feel more direct and seem to give better feeling in corners than my 23mm inner width rims.

Subtle, but I definitely noticed it on Chicksands pump track.

Marginal gains though - buy wide rims if you need new rims.

[i] I went from Mavic XM 819s (essentially the same rim as yours) to Hope Tech Enduros (23mm internal). Despite only being slightly wider, there was a definite improvement in handling with no more tyre roll on cornering when running lowish pressures on 2.35" tyres. I've not convinced of the benefit of going for super wide rims unless running wider tyres - with 2.35" tyres I think the 23mm internal width is about spot on and gives a good tyre profile.[/i]

If you've not tried it, aren't you just guessing?

It depends on all sorts tbh- like, some tyres really benefit from a wider rim, schwalbe frinstance often work better when squared out by a wide rim to try and give them some edge, maxxis are better designed so don't get the same big benefit. I like the volume myself but it's not gamechanging and I think there's a lot of personal preference here- I like to run my tyres fairly soft, I don't mind a little squirm, some people would hate it.

I've been considering converting my 29er to 27.5+. Are there any relatively cheap (£200ish) wider rimmed wheelsets available, or are they all £400+?

Alpkit do a cheap B+ wheelset. It's a bit lardy and the bearings are a bit rubbish by all accounts but other than that people seem to like them.

Got some Ryde Enduros, 29mm internal. Bigger tyres definitely sit far more comfortably on them (mounted Spesh, Conti and Maxxis so far).

Also got some WTB Scrapers, although they have only been ridden once, so too soon to make any sort of informed comment.

went from 21mm to 30mm (internal) using the same Mountain King 2 tyres.

Less squirminess so yes better handling. I would be kidding myself if I said it was massively different though.

However it looks much better as the rims look beefier and the tyres have a much better profile.

I believe current school of thought is 50-60% of tyre diameter.
So for 2.2" that'd be 28-33mm, for 2.8" 35-42mm,

30mm internal sits in the range for 2.2"-2.6" tyres which most people fit inside their non+ sized frames and forks.

27mm sweet spot for me - 30mm can be great, but depends on tyres - you can go [i]too[/i] square with some. Maxxis seem better with wider rims than most.

From time to time, I window shop at Chain Reaction, looking at the custom Hope wheel builder. I dream of a Hope Fatsno RDS hub with either a Stans Hugo or WTB Scraper rim, but even the front wheel alone comes in at ~£200 with 10% British Cycling discount.

With my 25(?)mm Emmental rims, I expect 29x2.4 is the safe limit.

If you search PX and you have wider 29er rims, there were two 29x3.0 Bombolini tyres left for £34 each. 😉

Thank you to all who replied. I think Tom_W_1987 has it right that its a 'marginal gain'. So easy to get caught up in the press/manufacturer move towards something and think thats the way forward. I do feel tyre squirm but prob could be sorted with a little more pressure. Prob just saved myself a few hundred quid! Cheers.

If you've not tried it, aren't you just guessing?

Absolutely, but it's not a completely uneducated guess. I also run 23mm internal width rims on my DH bike with 2.5" tyres and have absolutely no issues with them. All I meant was that I wasn't convinced by the trend for wider = better in all cases.

My reasoning is, that for the width of tyre I'm running now, 23mm (or thereabouts) seems to give the ideal profile for the tread pattern of the tyres. I'm not finding a lack of grip, I'm not getting any tyre roll, and I can run the pressures that I want to run. I would imagine that a much wider rim would square off the tyre profile too much and this would come at the cost of cornering grip. As you say though, I haven't actually tried.

If running wider tyres though, then wider rims definitely make sense.

Worth looking at Halo vapour 35 wheels (30mm internal) as a good compromise of wide, fairly light, and cheapish at £120 for a front wheel. You could use plus tyres or normal tyres.

I've been running Derby 35mm internal width rims since 2014 and am very happy with them. Coming from 23mm before I wouldn't like to go back down. If I ever replace them I'd be looking in the 30-35mm range for use with 2.3-2.5 tyres.

Worth looking at Halo vapour 35 wheels (30mm internal) as a good compromise of wide, fairly light, and cheapish at £120 for a front wheel. You could use plus tyres or normal tyres.

Recently rebuilt my front wheel using a vapour 35 rim. Liking it so far. I did go from 26" (dtswiss 5.1) to 650B however I have kept the same* tyre. The profile on the wider rim is noticeably different and makes the 26" look wrong. Overall width was within 1mm.

* well I bought the same tyre in 650b.

I've gone from 20mm internal 26'ers to 33mm internal 29'ers, using the same style of tyre a MM. I notice a bit more grip on the wider rims. 20mm internal I was running 22 psi, would've run them lower but I could feel the tyre moving about. 33mm internal I am running 15 psi, feel great and can probably go lower on the pressures again. I'm waiting for more 2.5/2.6 tyres to hit the market, would really like a phat front tyre!