WTB Asym Wide-Format Rims - Press Release

 @boostin You need the Prey-tel rim stretcher 2000! Convert a 28mm wide 26" rim into a 25mm 27.5" or to a 22mm 29er in no time flat. Act now and they'll throw in free cassette expander tool as well!

 @h82crash: may I please borrow that stretcher thingy? No particular reason...

 @h82crash: Most ppl don't want their hoop stretched.

 @cmcrawfo: My wife wants her hoop stretched but my spoke is too small. =(

 FYI Asym 35's in 26" are available, WTB just hasn't listed them on their chart yet...

 The Asym i35 is available in 26". Just came a little later and isn't on the chart.

 @h82crash: I'm sitting at the hardware store while they look for some long-weights.

 Any details on the 26 i35?? Not seen any yet, nearest is the Flow MK3...

 @Henk-K: Weight quoted as 563 grams per rim. Definitely heavier than a flow, but its a lot more rim and it has eyelets.

 @RedBurn: I will cut you. Take it back

 @endlessblockades: They're probably over by the henweighs and striped paint.

 @RedBurn: damn right! 26 forever!!!

 mine too...

 they needed a sales Boost, c'mon

 That's right - not exactly new news.

 thought they were - awesome rims mind - had mine 2 years & still going strong!

 That's the first thing I thought. I looked at the date to see if there was a mistake.

 Maybe Mark just wanted to show off his sick new electric gate?

 its winter after all maybe theyve ran out of news. id rather see this than some road bike shit though.

 For real! Sometimes I see something 'new' that I recognize and I feel like I'm going crazy, but this time I know for sure these have been out since like 2014.

 Kudos sir. That was really funny. Thanks for an early .or ingredients laugh.

 I don't like carbon rims I'll never ride them... It also doesn't help I can barely afford aluminum rims so I'll definitely never ride them

 A lot of pros run aluminum rims. They think they're stronger.

 I think Id skip out on carbon if I wasnt racing to be an xc pro. Only because of the break value. Id start breaking a lot of carbon wheels. Ive ridden these wheels though. Damn they can keep a WTB tire on... 15 PSI on a descent and I felt like I was riding drunk but couldnt roll it off the rim

 hahaha, tooshay! Even Light Bicycle rims are getting expensive, direct from China!

 @dropoffsticks: With your budget have you considered wood rims?
Best of both worlds they say.

 @Hammerschmidt: still $185ea for my 29"/38 that i paid 1.5 years ago.
Theyre asym options are more though but havnt changed since debut.

 I think it's more of those who weigh to much for reliable carbon wheels. Or your broke.

 Aluminum rims bend or dent, carbon rims explode. For a racer the ability to finish a run vs a DNF is a no-brainer. Also some carbon rims are said to be overly stiff. I wouldn't know first hand however, I'm not a dentist.

 I can say that after running and breaking multiple carbon rims, there's definitely a need for aluminum XC/trail rims. It depends on the course, riding style, and tire setup, but there's a significant difference in feel between carbon and aluminum, and I do prefer aluminum rims in certain situations.

 Yeah. It's the price that's the preference. If I could afford carbon I would probably buy them.

 @Hammerschmidt: tooshay?


Touche, nice troll.

 @bridgermurray: more forgiving, not necessarily stronger.

 @Shredthenoob: Even if it was 1.5 yes ya gotta give the poor bastidge a break - he's got kids.

 @endlessblockades: no way for me to know that!

 Yeah +1 I've been using the i35s (which I found too wide for normal 2.35" tyres) and more recently i29s which are spot on. They hold a tyre on with a death grip and like @grampa mine built very easily and the i29s I have on a 29er have built into a nice stiff wheelset despite the larger hoops. Fully recommend, will be my go to rim for the foreseeable.

 @grampa I had a BIT** of a time trying to put 2.8 Nobby Nics on a set of i35's, how did yours get on?

 @danielgrafik: I have had 2.8 Nobby Nics on there as well which I found to set up fairly easily. My exact setup was using Gorilla tape as tubeless rim tape, using soapy water on the tire bead (in a spray bottle - sprayed on once the tire was on), core removed from the valve and a powerful compressor. I then use the Stans injector to put in the sealant. There are some very pronounced "PONG" moments as the tire seats and it seats very true. That is my usual setup technique - both getting the tire on the rim and getting it to seal seem quite straight forward. @ThomDawson your remarks make a lot of sense. I have heard complaints about rims this wide on 2.35" wide tires. I think the rims are very exposed to rock strikes and leaned over cornering strikes when the tire doesn't bulge out enough.
Another rim in this range that really impressed me was the Kore Realm P35 which is even less expensive and the build left me saying "holy shit, this is the nicest rim I've ever built." That one is on my wife's bike so I haven't had a chance to test its strength. korecomponents.com/product/realm-p35-rim

 I believe so, I've noticed the narrower ones myself though never used em. Think you're right about em being oem only.

 My i23 seem very stiff and reliable...would consider these next time (although happily rolling with some Halo Vapour 35 right now), but how stiff are these compared to others? Is there some way of measuring this?

 That's what bugs me about Stan's rims. Only ones doing eyelets that I know of is higher end DT Swiss and WTB

 Forgive my ignorance, why are eyelets good?

 @dchill: Sun Ringle does eyelets. They're also the company that manufactures the Stan's rims, and they license the Stan's bead socket profile for their rims, so it's like getting Stan's rims with eyelets. They could really update their rim profiles though, they're definitely still on the narrow side for their non-plus rims.

 @acali: Keeps the spokes from pulling through. Spreads the force of the spoke out over a wider area of rim, so you get more strength without having to make the whole rim bed thicker.

 @TucsonDon: Except judging by the cross section image and the claimed weight (vs Flow MK3 for example), WTB chose to make the whole rim bed thicker anyway in this case.

 I have 2.3 Maxxis tires on the i29 and the profile isn't to squared out. I imagine 2.5's would work great with the i35.

 2.5s should be fine, Wide Trail 2.5s should be even better. Heck, If you want something smaller, the e*thirteen 2.35s on a i35 is about equivalent to putting a normal tire on a i29, so you could give those a shot as well.

 Gorilla tape works fine ;-)

 @ThomDawson: Not in my experience.

 @scottzg: I've had two wheelsets both setup with gorilla tape. One currently in use and no issue whatsoever. Can't imagine why it wouldn't work...on any rim? Please enlighten me.

 +1 for gorilla tape on wtp i29 asym.
Gorilla tape isn't as smooth as actual tape so can make seating harder. And can sometimes cause slow leaks but I've airways just retaped and it's been fine.
I've also had issues with it moving on the rim but never actually caused any issues.

Actual tubeless tape is better but gorilla works fine most of the time.

 The 3 I've had have all worked fine with no WTB tape anywhere near them.

 I've been running the i29 for several months now and I can confirm they were more difficult than symmetric rims to setup tubeless for 2 reasons:

1. The valve hole is not horizontal so the valve ring cant screw down flush with the rim. This made it hard to seal.
2. The rim bed is offset so its harder to get the tape to adhere to the rim without any gaps between the rim and the tape

However, I did finally get it to work with 2 wraps of thin gorilla tape and a few extra layers at the valve and on the other sid of the valve. The wheels have been bulletproof since.

 @skill7: Never had any problems with a set i29 and a set i35 using WTB tape en WTB valves. Just as easy as symmetric rims.

 WTB i23's, WTB trail Boss tyres, set up tubeless with gorilla tap and not a problem!

 The valve stem seals on the inside of the rim, the valve ring only serves to preload the bung seal on the inside of the rim which it does just fine being offset. I've used valves out of old tubes which sealed just fine first time, same with purpose made tubeless valves.

The rim bed being offset shouldnt cause any more of an issue than a standard rim if you use the correct width tape and you get the right amount of tension on the tape as you install it.

A single wrap of tape and properly installed valve stem is all I've ever needed on two sets of these rims and should be all anyone needs if done correctly. Look for user reviews of any rim and you will find somebody that has had a bad time setting up tubeless but it's almost always not a fault of the rim/ tyre/ tape etc. It's almost always the installation.

 @ThomDawson: Gorilla tape works fine.....until you have to take it off. It leaves a sif sticky residue on your rim that is a nightmare to clean off.

 @teamcliff: if you tear it off like a gorilla. Pull it off carefully and scrape off and clean any residue with some ipa. 30 second job.

 @teamcliff: Paint thinner will take off that residue quite easily.

 You can create very effective valve seals by cutting a couple squares of old tubes and poking holes in them then sliding them over the valve stem and tightening down as usual.

 @ThomDawson: Gorilla tape for life. It even comes in "togo" size which is 1 inch wide, Perfect for rims. I've done about 6 wheelsets like this.

 @ThomDawson: 1) The tape was not designed for tubeless applications and as such is not as air tight as a tubeless tape.
2) It works fine most of the time but does create issues especially if you are routinely changing out tires etc. Specifically the glue or whatever in the tape can leach out and make it more difficult to remove the tire as it almost glues it down.
3) Its more easily damaged then tubeless tape especially if you use tire levers at all. Which means if you ride a lot and need to change tires on a regular basis that you end up changing the tape more often as well. I've also seen more issue with leaking at the valves hole.
4) Its thicker than tubeless tape so depending on the brand of rim and if they adhere to tubeless rim diameter standards then it can also make it more difficult to mount tires.
This is just my experience and opinion as it does work just not as well.

 @Jsmoke: totally agree with your observations on gorilla, but when it's £3:50 for a roll over £12 ish, it's a bit of a no brainer really.

 Don't tape over the rim beads.

 @skill7: American Classic valve stems is what you should have used. In my opinion, they are the best valve stems around for any tubeless setup. I hate the standard ones that Stans and everyone else sells.

 @HK-Mazur: Oh ok, thanks for the tip. Maybe I won't have to jerry-rig my valves anymore

 @Trabes Yes, i35 is wide enough for a 2.8".

 Yes I've built a 26" wheelset with the new Flow 29mm. My Minions sit nicely on this width with the side knobs more pronounced. I think 35mm width would square up the tyre too much. 35mm fans may not agree, but Stan's claim to have tested all widths and concluded 29mm was the way to go.

 @rstwosix: Thanks, nice to get some feedback. Also think you can go too wide.

 They do have it in 26! I just built one up for the rear of my bike. It's a 26" asym i35, QBP has them in stock now. Not sure why it wasn't in this press release or on their website as I figured that's why they were doing a press release since it's the only new one in this line up.

 doublewides yo! in kawi green.

 I've run the frequency i23, frequency, i25, and now the asym i29's, and much to my surprise the asym i29's have been more durable. I've hammered the crap out of them for well over a season and they are still solid and have needed almost zero attention. Pinch flats and a few pings and minor dents and scratches. My i23's were ok, and i25's were better, but still got out of shape a lot easier and required more attention to keep them true, and still developed some flat spots and worrisome dents. Would not hesitate at all with the asyms. Not really sure what the hell could beat them for the price/weight/performance/durability. Stoked on them and super happy to hear they are making the scrapers and now the asym i35's in 26". WTB really seems to have their shit together from where I am standing as a consumer. I've always had an image of WTB as being kind of generic cheapish oem type stuff with some gimmicks, but damn if they haven't changed my mind completely with their latest rims and saddles and now tires.

 @Metacomet: Thanks for the info! I'll be looking at the asym i29s for the next build over the winter. I'll leave the i25 up front, but the rear is pretty knackered after a few seasons.

 TIL my face is not on my head.

 My i29's were 527 grams each, so basically right on the money.

 RIGHT? what the hell! Lets sell thousands of 28 hole hoops for OEM builds and offer NOTHING for retail sale.

 Agree!!!!!

I have i23, 28h. Woukd live to convert to i29. SOL!

Forced to buy DT Swiss.

Whats up with that Mark Weir? God damn it. Are we going to have to take our shirts off and wrestle over this!?