Back when 2006 turned to 2007 I got a set of wheels built on the original Velocity Blunt rims. At the time, they were some of the widest, (at 28mm) and competitively light weight rims for 29″ers available. Like many rims for 700c mountain bike tires, the fit was not very good. That was par for the course then. Now things are radically different, and seeing that, Velocity set out to update the Blunt slightly . Early this year rims started showing up that reflected the change to get tires to fit a bit better than they did on the original Blunts. The rest of the design, with exception to the more subdued graphics, remains largely unchanged. I again obtained a set of pre-built Blunts on XT hubs and have been riding them for the past couple of months now. Here is my update on the Blunt rims.

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As you can see, I went for a subtle color. (ha!) Velocity Blunts now come in a myriad of anodized and powder coated colors. The graphics are much better, (my opinion) and I don’t have to feel like a rolling billboard while using these. Okay, so much for the looks. That is fine, but how do these stack up against the advancements since early 2007?

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My feeling is that in 2009 going forward, if you have a rim design, it had better have some sort of rim strip design that can be employed to make it tubeless, or be a tubeless rim, and have the manufacturer’s blessing upon said system. Now, Velocity designed this rim in 2006, so I can understand the Blunt not being tubeless, but a tubeless design/system of some sort needs to be developed by Velocity, or their rim designs will become antiquated in a hurry. That said, I discovered a way to make the Blunt tubeless for me that worked and seems reliable for me. I am not recommending this as a solution, nor does Velocity recommend this. So, if you do this, it is at your own risk.

I used a plastic Rhythm rim strip from Bontrager which fit rather well in the Blunts. The tires here are Bontrager TLR XR models. No issues at all with the set up, for me. I wish rim companies would take the initiative to develop or recommend certain solutions for tubeless use, but in the meantime, we are left to our own devices. Again, this worked for me, your mileage may vary. Hopefully the new Velocity rim design that is currently in development will be part of a tubeless ready system.

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The set up has been problem free so far with the Blackbuck having been switched over to a rigid fork since this image was taken of it back in July. The rims are still true and round. The width gives the XR tires a great footprint on the earth and I really think the XR’s have come to life because of it and the tubeless set up. I have bottomed out a couple of times but no damage to the rims so far. Rigidity is harder to gauge due to the fact that I did not personally build the wheels, but knowing Velocity rims as I do, I would say that they are on par for the course in this regard. Did the tires fit better? While I never tried the tires with a traditional tube set up, I would say that the fit still isn’t all that tight when compared to say, the Salsa Semi/Gordo rims, which I would hold as a benchmark for tubed tire fit.

Conclusions: My take on the Blunt rims is that they are a great training/XC type of product that will work for average trail riders looking for something different in looks and color options. If you are abusive, aggressive, or a really big fella, these may not be for you. Unfortunately the Blunt came out at a time when factory tubeless ready tires were still a bit of a pipe dream for 29″ers, and because of this, there is no real recommended way to make them tubeless. Enterprising tubeless devotees have done it, but keep in mind that you assume responsibility for your actions regarding the conversion of a Blunt to tubelessness.

Velocity Blunt rims are available through several sources and on-line as pre-built wheels from several sources in a wide array of color combinations.