Carbon wheels – worth it?

So what’s the LB equivalent in terms of durability/size of say Stans Crest and Arch EX?

Bought some of the new IBIS carbon rims with DT 240 hubs.

So what’s the LB equivalent in terms of durability/size of say Stans Crest and Arch EX?

Well you can either go for their XC rim which is lighter than a Crest, whilst being as tough, or any of their wider more ‘AM’ rims.

Can’t really draw direct correlations to alu rims.

How much of your ride do you spend cranked over enough for that to make a difference?

Pretty much every single corner! Bear in mind that you’re usually leaning the bike more than your body, so the suspension will often be at 45 degrees to the ground.

I cant say I notice any diference in suspension action or lack of grip when cornering with my carbon rims vs the ally ones, infact all I notice is the faster acceleration from the lighter wheels and a bit more grip from the wider LB rims

Yeah, pretty much the same here. I am flex-oblivious apparently but I do notice the weight and the durability- they’re the weight of my alu Rovals and those really aren’t tough enough for this sort of use, they were always needing fixed. And they seem stronger than my old flow exes despite being a whole lot lighter.

I still reckon they take you well into diminishing returns though, but then so do most quality wheels.

Got 3 sets of LB, wouldn’t want to go back to an alloy rim now, stiff, light, easy to tubeless up. Nice and understated with no graphics
What more could you ask for.

Bear in mind that you’re usually leaning the bike more than your body, so the suspension will often be at 45 degrees to the ground.

In people’s minds, I suspect the angle of lean for your average rider on your average corner is significantly less!

I’m definitely in the “don’t really notice the difference in grip” camp, they do (in 29″ guise) feel stiffer than my 26″ Podiums though. But they’re heavier, even proportionately.

Chiefgrooveguru out for a spin at Swinley yesterday.

Carbon MTB rims wouldn’t last 5 minutes up here in`t North Lakes…..

ENVE’s don’t last 5 minutes here in the Peaks. My LB’s have taken a trashing though and still going strong.

How much of your ride do you spend cranked over enough for that to make a difference?

I dunno, and as you say berms alter the dynamics some what, but you’re still not perpendicular to the berm, you’re just finding the point where the wheels are brdeline between sliding and gripping as the angle between them and the ground changes.

I did once stick a go-pro on my rear dropout and was quite surprised how close it gets to the ground in even relatively mild corners.

Either way, I’d guess that the controlled flex of a frame/fork would be far more preferable to a wheel flexing which would do all sorts of wierd stuff (it would have to flex and rebound as it rotated), so for wheels I hypothesise stiffer = better, for frames, less so.