I know there have been a few posts on here about the LB carbon rims and I don’t recall any negative feedback.

Are there many people using them? What are your thoughts?

I’m planning on building up some wheels and these are the current front runners for rim choice.

I’d be interested to hear more about them as well. There’s quite a big thread on mtbr about them too

Gee and Jason are both using them, and rating them!

got 3 pairs of 29er wheels, been using them for about a year. cracked one rim, otherwise they have been good. they just feel better than others I have used (stans crest, arch and flow amongst others). I use botrager rim strips in them for a tight tubeless fit. at the price these are I doubt i’ll ever go back to to alloy rims.

That’s the sort of review I want to hear!

What finishes have you got? Can’t decide between 12k matte or 3k matte.

I have, 12k, 3k both glossy and ud matte. they all look good. If i knew I was getting 3 pairs again id get all the same so they match whatever wheels I use. clearly matching is most important;-)

I have a set on DT240s. So far, very impressed, first ride out brought on an ear to ear grin. Dropped 500g on the previous set of wheels, and they seem to track better than the stock wheels too.

Built up very easily as well, and tubeless was no problem – I’ve got a layer of gorilla tape and then a Stans strip.

Not nearly enough miles to comment on durability yet but very tempted to get another set for my singlespeed. Oh and UD matt here.

I have just had a set of 3k matt wide 29er rims delivered. not built yet but finish looks very good and the company were great to deal with.

I cracked my rear at the Trans-Savoie but I “might” have had quite a brutal impact in a rock garden and would “probably” have damaged whatever rim I was running 😈

Torq wrapper inserted to stop the carbon rim damaging the tyre.

I did this on day one and rode it hard for the next five days 😯

I will almost certainly replace it with another as they do make for very special feeling wheels 8)

Brilliant so far taken some pretty big hits and are rock solid. Lovely feel to them, if I was to buy new wheels it would be these rims again.

Built up a set of the wider 26″ rims on DT240s hubs last year. They’ve been great so far. No signs of impending explosions or imminent death.

3k all the way, IMO 12k looks cheap.

I have been teetering on the buy button all day. I want 3 rims so I can build a normal front wheel and a dynamo powered front for 24hour/bike packing type racing. Gee’s review had got me 99% there so with all the other positive reviews I’m pretty much sold. 8)

By the way has anyone bought any of the light bicycle bottle cages? Wondered if anyone had preference on which shape holds a bottle best?

What’s the thought on hole count too? Planning on 32h laced to some Pro2s.

I think Gee was running 28 hole as the rims really are that stiff. I’m going 32 though laced to DT Swiss350 (if I can find somewhere with stock).

I went for 32h, with light spokes on 2 pairs (dt revs, sapim cx-ray)heavier spokes on 3rd pair. 28h would have been fine for me though at 11 &1/2 stone. I had bother with alloy nipples cracking so I replaced/rebuilt with brass.

Is tubeless 100% foolproof on these rims with normal tubeless ready tyres (not UST) and some normal tubeless tape?

Is the difference between the “clincher” and “tubeless compatible” rims that the former is more like Stans rims and seals up fine with tape/ sealent whereas the latter is a UST rim bead. The comments on the products page on the Light Bicycle website would suggest so but it isn’t 100% clear…

Thanks Keavo. I’m on the large side so will stick with 32h and some sapim cx-rays.

I’ve ran ‘normal’ tyres and gorilla tape. it felt a bit loose/slack when mounting some tyres but I didn’t have any problems with burping air in use. I now have bontrager rim strips in and it feels re-assuringly tight and the tyre beads pop into place with loud pop. it gives me more peace of mind when i’m riding.

Considering the price to weight I’d go with Stan rims, they’re lighter and just as strong

Is that on the “clincher” rim Keavo?

Im also considering these. Is the stiffness between the 29er versions and the stans crests really noticeable?

Im also considering these. Is the stiffness between the 29er versions and the stans crests really noticeable?

For me, stiffness over a set of 500g DT Swiss rims was noticeable, so I imagine clearly noticeable over Stans too (never owned a set of Stans rims myself though).

I have one of the wider 29er rims and one of the original. The wider one was moderately better to mount tubeless on, couldn’t get the narrow one to inflate until I added a Stans strip in addition to gorilla tape. This was with standard folder tyres rather than tubeless ready though.

32h here as that is how I could get the hubs, but would have happily gone 28h if I had the choice. Sapim D-light spokes to save a bit of cash over CX-Rays and because Revs don’t seem universally recommended on disc hubs.

Im also considering these. Is the stiffness between the 29er versions and the stans crests really noticeable?

Very much so. I’ve got the ‘wider’ 29er ones which are stiffer than the Flows I also have but not a hugely noticeable difference as I’ve always been happy with my flows.
Compared to crests though – chalk and cheese.

I’ve found mine burp a bit more easily than the Stans, but nothing drastic. The Bonty rim strips sound like they are worth trying out though.

mine are the 30mm wide 29er clincher, tubeless compatible. I think there a more models available now than when I got these, but looking at the website they all appear to be called tubeless compatible. these feel more like flows but better (they just feel better, don’t ask me to prove or explain it) at a weight close to crests. everytime I raced on crest rims I had to true the rear wheel afterwards.

I’ve been running a pair of the wide 29er rims for about 9 months now and they have been great,I’ve been using them tubeless with just stans tape to start with but have added a couple of wraps of insulation tape on top to get the tyres a bit tighter, using schwalbe tubeless ready tyre’s.

Considering the price to weight I’d go with Stan rims, they’re lighter and just as strong

Really! Mine weighed around 380g each which is similar to Crests but they are in a different league stiffness wise. Also I’ve flat spotted Crests but these seem much stronger.
Also as mentioned they are a very good company to deal with.

I have two sets, both are the 29er wider style in matt UD finish 32h. My older set are close to 12 months old, and the newer set are about 5-6 months old, these were made with LB’s new process which saves a little bit of weight but are visually identical. The Matt UD finish is very understated, although people still seem to spot they are carbon.

I have had zero problems with them. I built them myself onto Hope Pro2 rims and haven’t had to touch them since building. I run them with Bontrager rim strips and they work very well, I don’t think I have had any issue fitting tyres, I think I have used most makes of tyre over the past year, they have all inflated without any drama.

There are a few minor scratches on them now, but nothing really noticeable. I managed to rip a tyre sidewall a couple of weeks ago on a fairly fast rocky downhill and rode for a bit with no air in the front tyre, but the rim seemed unmarked afterwards.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again. When you price them up remember to allow for import duty, I got billed for it both times, and I think it was about £20, mainly Parcel Forces handling charges…

Bonty Rhythm Rim strips work brilliantly with them. Well worth an extra few pounds for a simple no faff with tape set up.

Is tubeless 100% foolproof on these rims with normal tubeless ready tyres (not UST) and some normal tubeless tape?

Yup. Currently using Spesh 2Bliss TR Ground Control. Had to put a tube in overnight to initially seat the bead though.

Just pulled the trigger on these and a couple of bottle cages. Now I need to find somewhere with DT Swiss 350’s in stock. 😀

Hi There

Seems like lots have taken the plunge. Running dt240 28 holes (white) and revs with mine, 26er wides that is. Easy to build and have stayed v tight & true. Not touched them at all, they are beautifully stiff and compare more than well with my flow hoops with same tyre footprint. At 1400g they spin up super quick too. The low weight really helps on long days and feels like you’ve aquired another level of fitness. At other times they’re just great fun and a compliment to my asr5c.
Oh went with brass nips so I could get spokes to a bit higher tension. Gonna plump for some 29er wides next I think. I am wondering though if anyone knows if they’re recently introduced 26er super wide is going to go over to the 29er format?

They’re are a few incidents of cracking over on mtbr but then what products don’t fail from time to time. Especially when er “jra”. Think the thread on mtbr is about 170 pages or somink just for the 29er rims.. so lots of users out there. I suspect for 29ers tho these rims really help stiffness wise!

Incidentally you might wanna check out derby carbon rims too. Threads on mtbr. Double the price but are in 40 and 36mm for 650b & 29er respectively. They’re new but the guy seems standup so far!

Composite, yhm?

It will be interesting to see how the pricing on the new Stans Carbon rims comes out. Does anyone have any inside info on these? The cheapest “branded” carbon 26 XC rim I can find is the DT Swiss XRC 300 for £375 each on Evans….