It's his build... who cares how heavy his rims are if the can enjoy them??

 so it means I can't be curious?

 I live, and have lived in really rocky places that can be very hard on rims. 823s are super strong. I know I could have saved weight with the 819s, but I don't think they would of held up as much. Plus I save a bit of weight by running tubeless.

 Fair enough though with the raise of the new rim models compared to the old sunrims vs mavic choice I even think of swapping the 823 from my dh bike rear. I like the build though. Very neat.