Okay, so this is the post we have all been waiting for. The way the Edge rims actually perform. I can say that I only have a couple of rides in so far, but I can tell you a few things that I have noticed in that time.
It would be easy to load up all of the commonly used cliche’s and post up some views on these wheels that would pass as some sort of article. However; I think that it might be useful to know what I am guaging these thoughts against beforehand. I don’t mean to brag, but I have been afforded the opportunity to ride some pretty stellar wheel sets in the last two years or so. Wheels like the Bontrager Race X Lite set, the Mavic Cr29max wheels, a set of Bike 29 Royale wheels, a set of Industry 9 single speed wheels, and most recently a set of Salsa Gordo/Hope Pro II wheels. All of these great wheels have been ridden extensively by me and all of them (sans the Gordo set) exhibit one trait that I do not care for. Lateral flex. Until I had recently ridden the Gordo/Hope wheels I built I figured some lateral flex was going to always be part of the game in 29″er wheels.
I can truthfully say that now I know that 29″er wheels do not have to always be this way. First the Salsa Gordos showed me this, and now a lightweight option- the Edge Composites XC rims- are showing me that you do not have to have a heavy wheel to get rid of lateral flex. Not that there is anything wrong with the Gordo. It is in a wholly different category of rim from the Edge Composites XC. It’s just that I never expected a wheel this light to be this stiff, especially for a big guy like myself.
Just a couple of other notes so far. The American Classic hubs are great. Nothing noticed really other than the free hub makes a noise that is reminiscent of early five speed free wheels when you coast. The hubs spin really well and the engagement, while not on the level of my Hope Pro II’s or Indutry 9 hubs, is decent. The quick releases, which were re-designed for ’09, clamp with authority. A nice feature in my mind.
The off camber situations and hard cornering where I would normally find a wiggle in rear wheels is simply not there with the Edge rims. These built up stiff! Of course, acceleration is top notch, which is to be expected with such a light rim. The one thing that was stressed to me over and over again at Sea Otter back in April was that the ride quality of the rims is what is the best thing about them. Not the light weight. Well, I can say something to this already.
The rims do impart a sense of smoothness, maybe lack of vibrations would actually sum it up better. The other trait I have noticed so far is the quietness of these wheels, well…..except when you are coasting, of course! The rims seem to damp noises quite well, which only makes sense when you thnk about it. I guess I never knew how noisey my aluminum rimmed wheels were until these came along. Sticks and rocks that normally “pinged” off the rims were now mere thuds or lightly heard “whacks”. Not unlike wood on wood. Kind of a unique sound that I noticed right away.
There will be much more testing and analysis on these wheels to come. Look for an update in a couple of weeks.
Good feedback. Do you think the price is an issue or do they fill a good void in the lineup for racing?
GLG: Wow! That’s a great question. I think it depends on what you are searching for as a rider of 29 inch wheels. If I were a serious racer, XC, endurance, or ultra-endurance, these rims would definitely be on my short list. As for the average trail rider, the cost/benefit scale is tougher to accept.
Edge does make a 28mm wide All Mountain model that might be appealing for those running beefier tires and looking for higher performance/lighter weight in their trail bike set up. The purported durability of the Edge Composites product is supposed to be superior to aluminum rim technology. If it bears out in our tests, then I can see someone that values having the very best going for these rims, no question.
The question that remains though is “Are they the very best?” I think that needs to be a “yes” to answer your question in the affirmative.
Hopefully our testing will ferret that answer out for all of our readers.
Do you think these rims could be built with Industry Nine Spokes? I am thinking that maybe I could have them macine me special spoke that would have an extended Faux Nipple, which would allow me to true them without dismounting tires, etc. I have to have tuebless and only being able to true from the inside is a downside to these rims.
mtbboy: I am quite sure that is not possible with these rims, at least not this or the AM model. The reason is that the spoke hole “drilling” (That isn’t really the correct term here, as the holes are actually molded into the rim and not drilled out post manufacturing) are not nearly large enough in diameter to accommodate the Industry 9 aluminum spokes.
My feeling is that Edge is going to pursue the tubular tire as a solution to this, although it seems that one would still need to dismount a tire to repair a spoke or true the rims.
What might work is a “nail head” type spoke that used a nipple at the hub flange, ala Cane Creek. That would solve your truing issues, yet you would need a very special spoke to mate with the inner pocket Edge has molded into the rim.
At any rate, it is a moot point as long as these rims are the only options from Edge.
Speaking of the subtle thuds of sticks and rocks… how is the rim surface holding up?
Is the clear-coat thick or easily chipped off?
I so wanted you to tell us they’re no better rim that the sub-$100 options out there….
Can I get away with just get one Edge rim in my Superfly for now, a rear? I do have a decently light hub ready for it…
I also notice rear wheel flex, and it may actually form a mental hurdle preventing me to ride my bikes harder. I am more agressive and daring with my heaviest and stiffest rear wheel…
Shiny Flu: So far, nothing that I can notice. I just heard a lot of sticks getting banged around in the rear, but nothing to see so far.
Cloxxki: I couldn’t agree more with your last statement. I often felt the same way.
GT, have you had a chance to ride the Rhythm Elites yet? I have a set and I find them to be quite stiff. They are flex nothing like the RXL or the Mavic (the later felt like rubberbands to me!). We sell them all the time here and folks love ‘em. You can even use the RXL Tubeless rim strip to convert them. Sounds hinky but it works just fine.
Oderus: I take it you are talking about the Scandium rimmed gems? I have seen the wheels at Trek World, but I have not ridden them. I was told that they wer quite the improvement.
Good to hear they are working out.
Any thought of a comparison with other Carbon 29er rims? (I guess that would mean the new Bontys).
What rim does the Rhythm Elite use? Can just the rim be ordered, much like the Bontrager Duster rim?
LeeT: Yes, we would love to do a comparo. As of now, that isn’t on the radar however.
dave: As far as I am aware at this point, the Bontrager rim is only available as part of a wheel system.
What is the retail cost of these rims? (Edge that is… both the XC and All Mountain… can’t seem to find info on that, although I’m tired today so maybe my “mad search skillz” are off today.
dave: $850.00 each.
Yowza. I knew they were spendy. But I guess you get what you pay for if you’re looking for the ultimate 29er XC wheelset.
Thanks GT.
That’s outrageous! 10x the price of some Stan’s rims! For the price of these rims you could go with some ZTR 355 29er rims (only about 15g heavier each) AND use the extra cash to buy a new custom Indy Fab steel hard tail.
To each his own when spending money, but I know where mine will go….
Brandonecpt: Except that your wheels would be flexy, and wouldn’t ride as well. (I know, I’ve ridden on 355′s) That’s where the big difference is here. Is it worth it? Obviously, you’ve made up your mind, but to some folks, yes- It is well worth it.
great review.
i now have two sets of these wheels. long story and i am a greedy pig.
one set has the hope pro II hubs and will be my race set on my vassago. the other has chris king hubs and will either go on my winter jet9 build or be up for sale soon(cheap).
light, stiff and expensive, yes you can have it all now. flex in the rear wheel used to really bother me. especially on steep hard climbs. thats where i pass everybody in my races. problem now solved.
one thing i noticed is that these rims are very durable. the ones on the vassago has gotton some hard rock riding lately and not a scratch with rocks bouncing off the rims and sliding into sideways into rocks. i thought that i would see all sorts of torn carbon, but they look great.
Guitar Ted: My 355 ZTR’s are a little flexy, but very little. I’m not a big guy, so I don’t notice much at all. For a bigger guy, I could see this be an issue, but I’d recommend the bigger guy drop some weight before trying to only make his bike more stiff anyway.
I’m all for cool stuff (my cross and road bikes both have Zipps (202′s and 404′s)) so I’m not opposed to spending money, but I guess I just don’t get these.
How do the work set up tubeless?
What tubes are you running? I was planning on Turbo tubes from Specialized but the valve length is not adequate for these deeper rims. Maybe I need to persuade them more!
Nik: Edge sent valve extenders with the rims, so I am using standard 26″er tubes in these wheels.