Bling wheels – Industry 9 Vs carbon rims

So I have a few hundred quid to spend on some nice wheels. I am unsure whether to go for some second hand Industry 9 wheels which look ace, or just buy some carbon rims and build onto existing hubs (Hope). Both options claim to increase stiffness and reduce rotational weight etc but which would be best?

Carbon for my money. All day long.

Hmm that is not the answer I was hoping for.

Shameless plug although I happen to have a new set of Chris Kings which are under half price over >

What kind of build are you achieving for, xc/trail or more dh?

I got second hand I9 to replace hope on a 29es, for me I9 are far far superior.

Very happy.

Which rims are the i9s on?

For what it’s worth I was in same boat as you albeit looking at new CK hubs onto Stans rims or new CK hubs onto EXC1550 rims.

Well I chose the Stans route as carbon rims were going to be a huge initial outlay and would probably mean a huge second outlay getting them repaired or even replaced in future.

They look great, might feel great but honestly carbon for rims is just silly idea once thought about it!

I’m starting to think I need some stiffer wheels on my 29er.

But for me I think it’s Chinese carbon vs Mavic Crossmax XL vs Hope on Flow EX.

With their respective drawbacks being potential cracking vs high price/unproven stiffness vs bit heavy.

If I didn’t tend to ride a lot of rocky trails, I’d be all over the LB carbon tbh.

For what it’s worth I was in same boat as you albeit looking at new CK hubs onto Stans rims or new CK hubs onto EXC1550 rims.

But you could have got plenty of carbon rims that would’ve been much nearer Stan’s money, which would be a fairer comparison…

arch ex

rider 92 to 95 kgs without backpack

Personally happy with them.

Sorry, meant the OP.

😳 sorry

I bought some Light Bicycle Carbon rims for my DH bike, which I had built by my LBS (in oz and they wern’t particularly well built at that). Despite my best efforts and even though half the spokes came loose they survived me hitting every root and rock I could manage (due to my ‘super smooth style’) while in whistler for a couple of weeks this summer.

Super stiff, apparently very strong, still true and about 1780g for a pair of 33mm wide DH rims on Hope Pro 2’s.

I’ve a set of I9 ultralights, great now (learnt to trust them and tensioned them properly), however when I first got them the spokes loosened within a mile on the first ride. If they haven’t been properly built this will happen. I purchased a park tension spoken tension tool and haven’t looked back since. Nice and light fantastic pick up.

EDIT: I should just say I purchased them awhile back and they have had a few importers since and them problem is understood so you shouldn’t have an issue now.

I replaced my Stans with Light Bicycle carbon 29er rims (on some DT hubs I bought for the task) – what a world of difference. On a strict weight-for-weight comparison, the carbon rims are noticeably stiffer, something I didn’t think I would notice but did. I’ve ridden the last month minus a couple of spokes in the rear, as haven’t had a chance to repair, and wheel is still fairly true.

Hubs don’t make much real world difference except for maintenance costs and schedules – but if we wanted easy and cheap to maintain we’d all be on Shimano hubs.

My recommendation – go with Light Bicycle or similar carbon rims, and spend what you can afford on a good wheelbuilder. Have him/her recommend the hubs, and then try to actually take their advice (I’ve never taken Al’s at Wheelcraft, giving him ample opportunities for “I told you so” the next time I’m in).

I’m a complete wheelaholic, so feel qualified to talk s**t about wheels 😀 My latest quest has been for a decent weight stiff wheelset for my 140mm travel 29er – have tried all sorts of rim/hub/spoke combo’s.

My recommendation for 26″ & 650b would be the I9’s. If you’re on 29 rims, then it’s a bit more difficult. There’s such a range of stiffness in carbon rims that I definitely wouldn’t just assume carbon=stiffest. FWIW, I’ve just spent about 12 months on a pair of Roval Traverse SL29 (carbon rimmed ‘Enduro’ type wheels) and they were OK, but not quite as stiff as the handbuilt Arch EX/Pro2 wheelset that was on the bike previously.

A pal has some Chinese no-brand rims that he built up as a budget wheelset, and they’re absolutely C**p! he’s back on his Arch EX’s.

BY far the best (29er) wheelset that I’ve found so far have been the Mavic Crossmax XL’s that I’m currently on – I’ve tried exactly the same model of bike as mine with Enve carbon wheels and the Mavics are so close in stiffness that the difference is v.hard to discern. Only word of warning with the Mavic’s is that the rear hub requires more attention than other decent hubs.

Anyway, HTH.

p.s. FWIW, I’m a 90kg and a bit of an aggressive ‘pin it’ style rider 😆

Useful info thanks Bowglie, sounds like you’re doing similar riding to me. Have you taken the XLs anywhere very rocky?

Have you ever had a set of Crossmax SX? If so how do the XLs compare on deflection? Ideally I want a 29er wheelset as stiff as my 26in SXs – and weighing 2kg or less.

<finds someone whose view matches the one I want to be true>
My recommendation for 26″ & 650b would be the I9’s
Interesting … go on, tell me why?

A pal has some Chinese no-brand rims that he built up as a budget wheelset, and they’re absolutely C**p

Really? He’s about the first person then! What was wrong with them out of interest? I’ve genuinely never heard anyone be dissatisfied with them.

You’re right that carbon isn’t necessarily the stiffest, but as Light Bicycle rims get such good press, and are nice and stiff, it’s hard to imagine why you’d experiment with other brands at that price. Likewise Derby if you’re spending a bit more!

chakaping – Member

But for me I think it’s Chinese carbon vs Mavic Crossmax XL vs Hope on Flow EX.

With their respective drawbacks being potential cracking vs high price/unproven stiffness vs bit heavy.

If I didn’t tend to ride a lot of rocky trails, I’d be all over the LB carbon tbh.

TBF they’re probably the toughest out of those 3. (I’ve no personal experience of the XL but they’re spreading the metal pretty thin, and their heavier crossmaxes aren’t all that tough)

Right, I’m back online – Chakaping, apologies for delay replying!

Yes, I’ve tested them out on some of my favourite rocky descents, and have speed-bombed a couple of them – y’know, just to give the wheels a proper test 😉 These wheels are proper stiff for 29’s; much easier to hold a line when bombing through rough and/or loose rocks, and they change direction just like a stiff 26/650b wheel.

As far as strength of rim goes, I believe Mavic have added material to toughen the bead area of the rim (circa 30% stronger according to their blurb FWIR). FWIW, I run large volume tyres tubeless at daft low pressures (depending on where & how I’m riding, can be as low as 15-16 psi). I’ve had a fair few rimstrikes on the rear wheel (including a proper ‘oh s***, that’s the rim f***ed’ moment), but as yet, no dings. One thing I have noticed is that the fat bladed spokes do get grazed by flying rocks – but I’ve taken the precaution of getting some spare spokes just in case).

I haven’t ridden any 26″ SX’s for a few years, so difficult to give an accurate comparison, but FWIR, the last handbuilt 26’s I rode (Pro2/Flows/Comp J bend spokes) were possibly not as stiff feeling. TBH, I def. wouldn’t want to use the XL’s on a hardtail, as I’d imagine you’d get battered by them.

As far as the Chinese rims go, I’m not sure if, or how much of my pals wheel woes were down to poor build/tension – but TBH, I wasn’t entirely surprised that they weren’t a huge step up on his Arch EX’s (which were a decent handbuilt set on CK), as they felt great.

HTH

So it was likely actually nothing to do with the rims at all…?

I stand by my comments – the I9s look great, but they’re expensive, spares are a bitch to get and they’re not that light. Replace i9 with Crossmax if you prefer, and delete the bit about lookin great!

Mavic factory builds fall apart like nobody’s business.
New set of Deemax’s, flange sheered off first ride and spokes are a biatch to sort out, not to mention extortionate prices for their factory ones.
Shame as they’re deemax rim looked the dogs!

Never again.

Hi Bowglie, just spotted this. Thanks for the feedback. Very useful.

I’ll have to see if there are any decent offers on them in the post-Xmas sales, as they’re a bit too pricey at the moment.

I’ve personally had mostly good experiences with Mavic factory wheelsets, owned four and just had issues with one (fixed under warranty).

Carbon rims may be amazing value and really well-suited to some people’s riding, but I’ve seen reports of too many shattering to feel comfortable about buying them for a lot of rocky riding.