New 29er Wheelset: Carbon versus aluminum

PB Forum :: 29ers
New 29er Wheelset: Carbon versus aluminum
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flag cburdick1
Posted: Nov 13, 2014 at 10:35 Quote
Hello all,

I'm in the process of building up a Tallboy LT. Many of the parts are coming from my trusty Blur, though the Chris King / Stans wheelset needs to be rebuilt with a set of 29er hoops.

So, here's my question: I could rebuild the wheels with Stans Flow rims for about $250 (using the hubs I already have) or the bike shop where I got my frame will lace my Kings up to a set of Carbon Nox Teocali's for about $900.

On paper, it's $250 versus $900 (a no-brainer, right?) but I'm worried about the transition to 29" wheels... will carbon (ie lighter and stiffer) rims make that much of a difference in ride quality? When I demo'ed the Tallboy it was built up with Enve rims, and I didn't find it to be sluggish or noticeably flexy... will an aluminum rim be that different?

Has anyone out there tried carbon versus aluminum and noticed a significant difference?
flag slowrideraz
O+
Posted: Dec 4, 2014 at 6:12 Quote
Carbon rims hands down. 29ers need lighter and stiffer wheels, especially if you are new to the wheel size. Good luck with your build and post pics when you're done.
flag cburdick1
Posted: Dec 4, 2014 at 10:27 Quote
I'm having my Chris King ISO hubs laced to Nox Composites Teocali 29er rims. They are on order, shop has my hubs and will have them built up sometime next week.

Yays!
flag jchasse
O+
Posted: Jan 16, 2015 at 15:34 Quote
I'll be the contrarian, and say aluminum. I'm building a new 29er trail bike (Intense Carbine). I've got Enves laced to DT 240 hubs on my current bike, and I'm putting aluminum rims on the new bike. I realistically didn't notice any material performance advantage from what were widely billed as the best carbon wheels out there. And a set of I9s weight roughly the same as a carbon wheelset, at less than half the cost. The $1,400 I'll save will buy a lot of good beer and Bourbon Smile
flag troysks
FL
Posted: Feb 26, 2015 at 21:30 Quote
go carbon, noticeably less flex but slight trade off with a slightly harsher feeling.
flag titaniumtit
Posted: Apr 1, 2015 at 16:01 Quote
Balls to harsher feeling! Run lower pressures. Plus carbon absorbs a lot of chatter.
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