Easton debuted
their ARC rim a few weeks back, and with the $99 USD hoop being available in 24, 27 and 30mm inner widths, as well as both 27.5'' and 29'' diameters (
but no 26''), there's a good chance that one of the six different options will suit how many of us ride our mountain bikes. But while the rim's reasonable sticker price makes a lot of sense, just how many of us will be looking at building up a custom wheelset? The answer is not many, which is why it doesn't really come as a surprise to see Easton offering their pre-built Heist wheelset using the very same rim. Complete wheelsets will be available in both 27.5'' and 29'' sizes, as well as with all three rim widths, and all six of the choices will go for $700 USD.
Weights start as low as 1,650 grams for the 27.5'' size built with 24mm wide rims, and the new X5 hubs can be configured to QR or 15mm up front, and QR or 12 x 142mm out back (
Easton ships the wheels with everything you'll need). They even come with five spare single-length spokes that can be used on either side of the front or rear wheel, as well as being pre-taped and with valves installed at the factory to be run tubeless.
Three Rim Width Options
The Heist wheels are laced up with the company's new ARC rims that don't feature the sealed rim bed employed on some of Easton's other offerings. This means that a wrap of tubeless tape is required around the rim, unlike on their Haven or Havoc wheels, but it does save on manufacturing costs - a set of Heist wheels retails for $300 less than the aluminum Havens, feature a wider rim, and weigh marginally more in each respective size. Sounds like a good tradeoff to me. Easton's other concern with the sealed rim bed is that the threaded eyelet and nipple system that it necessitates makes service trickier: ''While we feel the threaded eyelet on our Haven UST wheels is very easy to work on, some shops and consumers are hesitant because it’s not the typical system,'' Easton's Adam Marriott explained when questioned about the more traditional rim design of the ARC rim. ''The Heist wheels are very durable but we wanted something that if people did have an issue, they could easily service it with a traditional spoke/nipple interface.
The Heist wheels can be had with 24, 27 or 30mm wide ARC rims.
They've gone with brass nipples rather than faintly lighter aluminum nipples, and include a pack of five spokes that can be used on either side of the front or rear wheel due to Easton designing them to accept a single spoke length all around. That's not a new approach by any means, but it is one that I'm always happy to see.
With a number of mega-wide rim options out there, some of which I've been very impressed by, I had to ask why Easton didn't make their widest option even larger than the 30mm inner width that they went with. After all, riders could choose either the 24 or 27mm wide rim if they wanted something more modest. ''Rim design takes a long time and the ARC has been in the works for a while. While we have ridden the 35mm wheels that are out in the market, all the current [35mm] rims are carbon, so changing to aluminum we feel is more than a 'small' weight penalty,'' Marriott said. Tire compatibility also played a role in Easton's decision, though: ''We wanted the wheels to be light, but at the same time take advantage of the benefits of a wider rim. Right now, we feel like 30mm is the tipping point where you can still use most tires on the market, and hopefully those are the tires that come on peoples bikes. With over 30mm, we feel there are only a few tire choices at this point that perform well.''
Unlike some of Easton's other wheels, the ARC rim sports traditional drilled spoke holes. This means that rim tape is required, which they come from the factory with.
New X5 HubsIt's been a handful of years since Easton faced some troubling reliability issues with their hubs, but riders who experienced those problems firsthand likely haven't forgotten. Easton hasn't, either, and they say that their new X5 hubs address those problems. ''
The architecture is similar to our previous hubs on the surface, but small and important details have changed,'' which is something that's especially important for the rear hub. One of those points is that it uses larger hub shell load bearings than in the older design, which should add up to longer bearing life, along with a reinforced drivering. The drive mechanism itself is a three-pawl system that engages on a twenty one tooth drivering, making for a seventeen degree engagement time. It can be made to fit either 135mm QR or 12 x 142mm dropouts, although you'll need a 17mm wrench and pesky 12mm hex key do make the swap due to the threaded drive-side cap. The front hub is optimized for a 15 x 100mm thru-axle by using larger bearings than the previous version, and endcaps can be swapped without tools.
Taking the rear hub apart is a cinch - it took me about three minutes - but first I spent five hours tracking down a 12mm hex key. Neither the front or rear hubs sport bearing preload adjusters, which is probably a good thing as we all know that guy who thinks he's doing meaningful maintenance but actually just overtightened his hub bearings to the point where they're only going to last five minutes his the next ride. Bearing preload is set at the factory, so no tinkering allowed, thank you very much.
Pinkbike's Take | While limited time on the new Heist wheelset has me being a bit hesitant to call this a review, initial setup and a handful of rides is enough for me to offer some early feedback. First things first, I feel like those riders who are new to the sport should have to spend at least a few weeks trying to tubeless an older wheelset from four or five years ago. Only then, after you've cleaned the Stan's fluid out of your hair and patched the holes in your walls will you be allowed to move onto an easy-to-tubeless wheelset like the Heists. The ARC rims used on the Heist wheelset had the tires popping into place without complaint, and they seated straight at about 40 PSI. It doesn't get any easier unless you pay someone else to do it, which you shouldn't do. Taking apart the rear hub for maintenance or an axle conversion is pretty simple, although having to use a 12mm hex key is a pain in the ass due to none of the supply stores in my town having a standalone 12mm hex for sale. I would have been better off tracking down a left handed hammer, and I ended up buying a set of hex keys solely to get that big sucker needed to hold the axle from spinning while I loosened off the endcap.
The Heist wheels feel a lot like wheels on the trail, but I'm not trying to sound snide with that remark. It's just that they feel like solid, reliable wheels that won't likely cause you any headaches down the road, which may not sound that exciting but is really what we all should be looking for, isn't it? Of course it is. They don't cost more than a used hatchback with low miles on it, and they're stout enough to take a good beating. Also, a replacement rim costs $99 USD when you come up three feet short on that massive double. The 30mm wide rims of my test wheelset worked well the Specialized tires that I've ridden them with, but they're also not so wide as to rule out me using tires with a bit more square or a profile. There hasn't been any burping, either, even at 20 PSI, and I'm confident that there's next to no chance I'd be peeling a tire off in a corner.
While not the most exciting wheels out there, the Heists are a smart choice for someone who wants to go wider without spending a ton of coin. - Mike Levy |
www.eastoncycling.com
I've got a perfectly capable Knolly Chili that rides just as well, if not better, than its 27.5 and 29 counterparts.
*promptly puts flame retardant suit on*
Go ahead guys, you are welcome to downvote or bash my comment for keeping the 26" dream alive.
I'm still not convinced that 650b will make my life complete, so I'll be sticking with companies who are still producing 26" wheels. Like Hope, fr'instance.
What's really sad about these discussions is everyone thinks that wheelsize relates to everything! It doesn't. It's all about a bikes geometry! There are 29rs that are more playful than 26" bikes and their are 26" bikes that climb faster and have more traction than 29rs...
End of story!!!
- mountain bikes and road bikes came with over THIRTY different seatpost diameters (from 25.0 thru 31. depending on brand, model year, model... now the bike industry has pretty much settled down to three main sizes (27.2, 30.9 and 31.6).
- every fork maker with a thru-axle dropout interface used a specific proprietary axle assembly unique to that fork and usually only accepted hubs from one maker to go with it. Same went with the handful of frame makers that employed rear thru-axles.
- people complained about suspension forks at all because being most often longer than rigid forks, they were not really backwards compatible to existing bikes (especially as wheel travel increased) without compromising the frame geometry and integrity.
- fork steerer tubes came in more sizes and headset interfaces on premium mountain and road bikes than they do today. 1", 1.125" and 1.25" diameters, plus unique diameters for Klein and Cannondale, and threaded or threadless varieties of each. Not to mention the ones that had weird double-interfaces... steerer tubes which were for example 1 1/4" threaded to interface to a threaded headset, but because they used an internal mechanism for the shock (Cannondale Headshock, Action-Tec ProShock) they had a short 1 1/8 threadless section at the top for the stem. Action Tec did that for a few years.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing#/media/File:Velocipedist.JPG
Woohoo for Canadian brands
Please don't mistakenly blame my bike's wheelsize for my level of poor fitness. They are two independent matters and one of them, I'm currently working on :p
Give it 6-7 years, and the industry will be trumpeting the light weight, extreme maneuverability, and sheer playfulness of 26" wheels. It's only a matter of time.
Not more than 2 hours ago I was riding to the trailhead from my house, rolled off a curb to cross the street and the rear wheel creased and collapsed in on me.
Yes a curb, like a sidewalk, on the side of the street, roughly 8 to 10 inches vertical.
I had a nice, long 30 minute walk back uphill to my house, with plenty of time to think about the avenue I was going to use to approach this situation. Every conclusion I came to ended with me feeling like I am screwed and have no chance of getting any help from Easton's Customer Service department. I cant really blame them, I could be completely full of shit, how can I prove this is what happened and I didn't actually huck my bike to flat off a 10 foot ledge? I cant.
So I am here to give you guys a little insight on this new wheelset, and just so you know the ARC 30 is the same rim, just sold as an individual rim, the name HEIST 30 is proprietary to the wheelset.
If Easton would help me out I would consider buying another rim (maybe even another product in the future) from them. I want to believe this was just a fluke or a lemon wheel, nothing is perfect, not even metal. So I will send them an email with a picture of my giant crease from my giant 10 inch drop that put the wheel to its grave and we'll see where it goes. Maybe Easton will help me out and I'll continue to do business with them in the future. I own a business myself so I understand how crucial word of mouth is in sales, especially in a niche market, hopefully they understand that as well.
P.S. The worst part about it is, I love the way these wheels look. I had custom decals made to match my bike.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/12663010
I literally laughed and hung up.... douchebag
The rear hub was the worst I have ever experienced in 20 years of MTB. Replaced twice under warranty and the problem was never solved. Since replaced with custom DT/Stans build.
I will reserve judgment until some real reviews come out.
No 26 is pretty sad.
In general, OEM has some influence on after-market product offerings (read: the industry is simply not producing as many 26" XC/trail/all-mountain bikes like they used to). Not only that, but we just weren't getting the same demand for 26" (as seen on PB forums) from even bike shops. We have decided to stick with the growing 650b/27.5" and 29" offerings at this time.
Out of the wide-rim wheel offerings out there, the Heist is lighter and wider than majority of wheels in its class (e.g. Stan's ZTR Flow Ex). The X5 is an entirely new hub, designed for its durability and affordability. For those wanting to go wide (and have better traction through corners), the Heist is one of the most affordable options on the market.
Just Sayin'....
www.pinkbike.com/photo/12672064
I am SO disgusted with this trend.
I just bought a very nice carbon, 26" bike 15 months ago, and if this current trend continues, I may as well toss it into a chipper because I can't buy ANYTHING new for it. Fox has basically discontinued support for the 26" wheel on their 2016 product line, and every new wheelset I see is 27.5 and 29'r specific.... I give up.
I mean the irony of releasing a line of rims while not offering 26" is completely missing out on the 4X, DH, DJ markets. But that's their decision. Using the same length spoke usually means that you're gonna have SHIT bracing angles on your rear hub (and perhaps the front as well). And like you said, at $700 these days, people expect a lot more, especially when these seemingly rising retail prices seem to offer less every year.. forcing the average joes to go the custom route to save $200 or 300 bucks and getting a better wheel!
Hell, even if you're not into anything wider than 25mm, the Arc 24mm rim is 105g lighter than Stans Flow EX and that's a pretty massive weight savings in rotational weight. 105g weight savings is a fact, so not just my opinion, man
Please explain it to me, I clearly don't understand. Maybe it's because I can read. They've made an easy chart with pictures for people like you, it can be found here:
cdn.mos.bikeradar.imdserve.com/images/news/2015/04/15/1429077827885-irupqlcyhs7i-700-80.jpg
I'll reserve judgement until I've ridden the rims, something that seems impossible for many of the commentators on here.
But wheel size compatibility didn't? Wait, what?!
www.ryde.nl/en
Thanks to Dirtrag for showing them from Sea Otter as seemingly every other publication glossed over the brand.
I was thinking about getting the Purgatory because of its 60a/50a compound, but have no idea if it is as capable as the High Roller II I currently ride.
why useless? DT 240s are one of the most adaptable hubs on the market - with axle and adapter kits to fit pretty much anything
www.dtswiss.com/Accessories/Conversion-kits
what do DT 240 hubs have to do with size of rims? Easton don't supply their factory wheels with DT hubs, but their own hubs.
Their new rim and many other rims are available aftermarket for custom wheel builds, in 26", 27.5" and 29'er
I have DT 240 hubs on my road bike, and mountain bike, I like the look of these Easton rims for my next wheel build
Hand built wheels allow you to choose your own rims
In my house we have 14", 20", 26", 27.5" and a 29". Its horses for courses and I thrashed my 26" hardtail last night around the local jump spot and trails but one things for sure, its getting replaced with a 27.5 shortly because in my 20 years of mountain biking including racing all diciplines, I am well qualified to say its better. I am lucky enough to have reached a point in my life where I can afford to buy new kit regularly. Therefore I am the market for new kit. Its called progress and occasionally it sucks but we deal with it by moving on.
However, a reasonable weight non-carbon 27.5 wheel set that is wide and realiable is of interest to me and what I would like to see is other viewers experiances.
Rant over.