Carbon MTB rims=stupid

[pbayne]

Come on Huang,

Please give us some straight talk on carbon mountain rims. These things come at extremely high prices but offer far less than much more affordable aluminum options.

Why on earth would you buy a $700+ rim from Edge, Syncros, etc. when you can buy an aluminum rim that is lighter and worlds tougher, like a ZTR355 for around $90. You can buy a (claimed) 1200g aluminum wheel set for half of the cost of a heavier set of carbon wheels.

Unless you're one of those money is no object kind of people, what's the point?

 

[justme]

Comments from someone who's obviously never ridden carbon mtb wheels.

I know alot of people like Stans really light stuff, but honestly once you've ridden the carbon equivalent you realize how much of a difference there really is.

I've got several sets of carbon mtb wheels as well stans. After having ridden the Edge set only once, I knew I had no more need for the stans.

The edge set is sub 1200 grams, the stans is over 1200 grams.
The edge set has no weight limit, the stans has a 170lbs weight limit.
The edge set is 28 hole with a deeper rim, so it's more aero than the 32h stans set.
Most importantly the edge set is worlds stiffer than the stans set. This is such a noticeable difference.

Yes the carbon rims are far more expensive, but they are not delicate like you'd think. I've now been using my first edge set for almost a year. They've seen lots of miles and a huge number of rocks smacking their sides and yet they remain like new.

The only aluminum rim I've ever had that's been as tough as these was the much heavier Velocity Deep V.

 

[pbayne]

Comments from someone who's obviously never ridden carbon mtb wheels.

You're right, I've never tried them, so I am speaking out of ignorance. I'm surprised to hear that they are stiff and relatively tough. At least they seem to perform better than aluminum equivalents. Edge is probably offering the best out there as well. Good company for sure.

I'm not sure that it justifies the almost $2000 price tag for a rim; maybe its a typo on their website, but that's what it looks like to me. You could buy 2 of those Stan's Race wheel sets for that price, or 20 high end aluminum rims of the equivalent weight.