Stan's Bravo Carbon Wheels - First Look
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Stan's NoTubes may be best known for their tire sealant and aluminum rims, but they're venturing further and further into the world of carbon fiber. Last year saw the introduction of their carbon rimmed Valor cross-country wheels, and they recently unveiled details of the new Bravo all-mountain / enduro race wheelset.
Measuring 32mm externally and 26.6mm internally, the Bravo's carbon rims use Stan's Bead Socket Technology (BST). According to Stan's, by using a shorter rim sidewall profile and no bead hook the likelihood of pinch flats is reduced and the overall volume of the tire is increased, due to the fact that the lower portion of the tire's casing is not compressed inwards as much as it would be with a taller sidewall.
The Bravo wheelset is built around a completely new hub called the Neo. When designing the hubs, precision and durability were the company's top priorities, and the CNC'd hub shells are designed to have extremely tight tolerances to ensure that the bearings and freehub pawls are aligned correctly. Compared to Stan's previous mountain hub, the Neo's bearings are 4mm taller and 2mm wider for increased longevity, and the sealing has been improved throughout for better resistance against the elements.
Even the front hub end caps have been carefully designed to remain securely in place when the wheel is removed, preventing the frustration of pulling up to the trailhead only to find out that an endcap has somehow gone missing. Each end cap has a barbed seal that allows it to press on and rotate easily while being held much more securely in place.
Even the front hub end caps have been carefully designed to remain securely in place when the wheel is removed, preventing the frustration of pulling up to the trailhead only to find out that an endcap has somehow gone missing. Each end cap has a barbed seal that allows it to press on and rotate easily while being held much more securely in place.
The Bravo rims measure 26.6mm internally and use a hookless design.
A look inside the Neo Ultimate hub. Note how the hub flanges are angled to improve the the angle of the spokes as they travel from hub to the rim.
The four pawl Neo freehub body on the left, and the six pawl Neo Ultimate XD driver on the right.
The 28 spoke wheels will be available in two different versions, the Pro and the Team. The Pro version is built around the Neo Ultimate hub, which uses a six pawl freehub body design to deliver a quick 5 degrees between engagement points, and has more extensive machining than the standard Neo hub to save weight. The Bravo Team wheels are laced to the standard Neo hub that uses a four pawl design and had 10 degrees between engagement points.
Claimed weight for the 27.5” Pro version is 1640 grams, with a price of $1900 USD. The Team version is expected to weigh 1705 grams and will retail for $1575 USD. The Bravo wheels will be available in 26”, 27.5”, and 29” versions for 12x142 or Boost 148 rear hub spacing, and 15x100 or Boost 110 front spacing, along with options that will fit a Cannondale Left or the RockShox RS-1. Available mid-July 2015.
www.notubes.com
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I mean, Kirkland Signature and many store brand groceries are just as good as General Mills, Kraft, etc. I just don't know how good these knockoff bike components are.
My buddy said the Light Bicycle folks said they made rims for companies "like Specialized".
So yea...$2000 wheelsets make no sense.
DT350's + the rims + 64 WS butted spokes and deal on build I was out the door for $850CAD. That was in November and the $ has tanked way further since so add another 10% to that to buy now, but still a deal.
They're the 30mm internal ones. I run Maxxis Minion 2.3 TR rubber at 25psi front and 26psi rear and I'm 175. I can probably go lower but still feeling that out and I've dented aluminum rims badly in the past.
One big bonus with carbon rims is you rarely (if ever?) have to true them.
The thing you don't usually get with the knock offs is the nice paint job and refined hubs, etc.
they are Carbon, will last if you ride them right
There was someone who actually did the research and cut an enve wheel and a LB hoop to look at the carbon structure (I believe he was a composites engineer). The layup was the same except...LB started and stopped their layup at the same point, where enve overlapped their layup. It was the only difference, but a big one. I'll admit I read this article before I got the wheels, and they were a 2013 set. They may have changed things. Needless to say, for the price, they are awesome. They held up to my abuse. I wouldn't hesitate buying them again. You can definitely feel the difference in stiffness between them and Alu hoops
My LB rims might not look amazing like enve or cool green hope stickers, but the ride is a big improvement and there saving me money by out lasting alloy rims. I have way more confidence in them. So to me LB are a no brained from now on. Got some superstar am 26 carbon wheels aswell and gotta say the LB rims are much better in every important detail and handling. I watched LB for over a year before buying and they evolved so much, it proved they didn't just wanna pump out cheap and fast they want to improve all the time. Plus they have a great rep for backup. like hope do
The days of > 1000 Eu wheelsets are over.
It is only a matter of time before the same ( chinese ) approach hits frames .....
C'mon man.
Duh.
Both female and male riders on LB rims. Hookless, 650b 28 and 32 spoke counts. 1 year of racing so far on the Enduro bikes, not trued them ONCE!, only minor spoke tension adjustments. 1 Failure : landing on top of a pointy rock( i think ivb read that happening somewhat often jaja) When landing on the rock it didnt even came apart in pieces like it should, just some delamination, and it allowed my rider to finish the the stage , and not also that, to finish the whole race(2 more stages)......first!
Only trouble noticed so far; they are kinda "Too Stiff" on the front when not riding top o the line forks that can handle the shatter better than the Aurons we where using, put´ed a BOS on it, end of troubble and chatter.
Carbon rims have as many advantages as disadvantages even price aside, but while we are on the subject they are nowhere close to be undestructible, weight gains to modern alu rims are minimal, and the most expensive alu rims are half the price of cheapest carbon.
#ryderimssponsormeplease
Or you could spend $550 less, and get some Nox Composite Farlows that are
a) Wider
b) Lighter
c) Handbuilt, and probably the most durable carbon rim on the market.
d) Come with better hub options
Have had good luck with a few of their alu rims though, just wouldn't buy a full wheel build from them any time soon.
stans with lousy engagement for roughly the same
Hmmm...
Better than any aluminum rim I've ever owned!
That's my sales pitch done
Such a drivetrain would come close to duplicating the full range of 2 chainring setup.
My 3 bikes all have Stans wheels, Alpha 340 Disc & Crest Gold but unfortunately I'm not really well heeled enough to be dropping $2k on Wheelsets.
Hurry up with the peasants edition please Stan!
£350!