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Any experiences of durability so far? Their claim of carbon weight appeals to me but I want the rear to be strong enough for trail riding and the odd enduro race.
My experience: cheap(ish), light, wide but unfortunately quite soft.
My Light Bicycle carbon rims were more expensive yes, but lighter, wider, stiffer, comfier, stronger and seem to hold onto the tyre better.
Mine have been fine, 16 months use, rear is a bit bashed up. I'd say they're about the same toughness as stan's. Not as stiff as carbon
I23 KOM rim three months old on my Hightower and they are toast, think they are too soft, the rear is scrap.
The front is badly dinged on it's way out.
If you dont want the expense of carbon the i35 are a better option.
Ilatsni, how long have you been running the Light Bicycle rims? Are these the best non-brand carbon rims available?
If people are denting KOM rims surely they need to pump their tyres harder or stop casing jumps. Yes - I know softer alloy doesn't help but smashing into stuff is surely an issue too. I also know that you get more grip with softer tyres but there is such a thing as too soft.
After spending an afternoon tinterweb researching, I'm liking the look of the DT Swiss XM1501 wheels, carbon weight at alloy prices and first-class quality.
I've spent 16 months smashing a set of Flow EXs around. 5 or 6 races, a trip to the Alps, couple of Fort William trips, uplift days and general riding. About 2000km off road.
Front just needed a re-tension, rear needed a more extensive rebuild. But the rims are solid. They're not the lightest, but I prioritise durability and reliability over weight as you can't go very far if your rim is bust.
There's gotta be a catch with the lighter alloy rims, I heard good things about the KOM i25 but I've not tried them.
i25s in 650 flavour seem to be fine. Easy to build, stayed true, no dings.
Thing is, they do 2 rims in the same dimensions- the KOM is the lightweight, the Frequency is the hardcore rim. So if you're beating up your KOM, you've probably got the wrong one fitted (or you chose the light one knowing it'd not last forever). I was going to go KOM front/Frequency rear on mine for that reason.
What's quite nice though is that they have the ERD (or claimed ERD, at any rate) so if you make the wrong call, you can easily change. I approve this. I'm a big fan of the Frequency but it's not light, it's nice to have choices.
Running my 29er LB rims for about 8 months now. The 34mm wide asymmetric ones. They are awesome... although it looks like the price has gone up. A lot.
I can't recommend KOM's. If you have to go Alu I think Arch's are a bit tougher. Not much, but a bit. KOM's are about as strong as Crests in my experience.