Currently have Hope Pro3AM4’s on Flows which are great for my normal riding.
I like having a 2nd set to throw some more DH orientated tyres for uplifts etc.
So, is the EX721 a better option than the Flow (not EX).
My thinking is I have found some new Pro3AM4’s that can have either rim on. 721’s are heavier by about 90g’s per rim. I would also gain spare rotors too..
Would need to go tubeless well too..
Thoughts?

…for the Liteville 601?
Syntace W40 wheelset of course.

Yes but they are very expensive 😉

I have 721s as my alp mincing wheels and flows for normal riding.
721s are really dated, I would look at getting something better and wider at a similar weight. I’d only really consider them with cheaper hubs as a budget wheel for bashing around on.
Maybe some of the UST rims might be a better bet if you’re looking at Mavic?

Yes wheels like EN521s and EX721s are dated in that they’re heavy and narrow by modern standards but arguably with bikes becoming longer, lower, slacker, having more travel and likely being ridden on more rough stuff than ever before then these wheels are ace in that they’re cheap and virtually bombproof.

It’s no good putting blingy, lightweight, wide rims on your AM bike if they dent, crack, go out of true every other ride etc etc….if I was building a burly FS on a budget I’d be looking at the Mavic EN and EX range and they’d probably outlast whatever bike you put them on!

TBH I’d be tempted to use the Flows you have, and get a posh wheelset for your day to day that’s neither of the above. But that depends on your budget.

I found the 2 pretty similiar in lifespan, on a big bike- the Flows dented up a lot and that got pretty worrying, some nasty wee stress marks and that… Whereas the 721s shrugged off impacts but in the end, the 721s cracked at the eyelets and I cracked a flow at the valve hole and mashed a flow ex so flat that it wouldn’t hold a tyer. So it wasn’t so different but I preferred riding on the flows, preferred looking after the 721s, thought they both did pretty well.

I’m not the hardest rider though even on the dh bike, maybe the 721s would have been better if I was. WTB i25 is like a tougher flow ex ime.

stevied – Member

Would need to go tubeless well too..

IME if you want to ride halfway hard on a tubeless’d 721 it needs a full conversion kit which does skew the cost and weight a bit. People do it with tape but I found it unstable and very burpy unless I ran higher pressures than I would with tubes.

Thought about 823?

i have both – flows on my hardtail/general trail full susser and ex721’s on my dh bike

both have been good for me, but my mates who run flows on dh bikes have complained they ding too easily at the lower pressures. the ex 721’s are brilliant on dh bike – easy to swap tyres/fix punctures quickly at an uplift (rarely) but the rear has a few dings/flat spots now