I’m about to upgrade my old rear wheel to a Hope Hoop but know little about rims. I don’t need anything too sturdy as my wheels try not to leave the ground too often but need advice on which rim to choose. I’m running standard tubes at the moment if that makes a difference but would like the option of going tubeless in the future (something else I know nothing about!)

Cheers

stans arch ex?

The Stans rim options are Crest or Flow. Otherwise it’s Mavic 717, 521, 721 or DT XR400 or EX500.

FLOW

Think 717s are lighter

crest if you are smooth, flow if you are fat (Ive got flow)

For this…

would like the option of going tubeless

your options would be Crest or Flow EX.

taking this…

I don’t need anything too sturdy as my wheels try not to leave the ground too often

… purely at face value, I’d say Crest, but that’s without knowing what weight you are, how much agro your wheels will be taking or what width of tyres you’d typically want to fit.

I have both Crest and Flow hoops,
Crest on Spesh Rockhopper, 2.0″ to 2.3″ ish single ply or USTs
Flow on a Five with 2.5″ dual plys
I’m 14 st and clumbsy. Both are fairing well, both tubeless.

Is there much of a weight difference? I’m struggling to find weights listed anywhere.

I’m 6’4, about 180 pounds and ride a Specialized Camber. I don’t do anything too gnar but would rather have a wheel that is slightly stronger than I really need as long as the weight isn’t a lot more.

Crest rims are 340g, Flow EX are 490g, Arch EX 400g all based on black 32h 26″

http://www.notubes.com/ZTR-Rims-C18.aspx

Based on what you’ve said, Crest would cope but maybe consider Arch EX on the rear (Buy a Hope Hoop front with Crest then get a custom built rear from say Merlin with Arch EX).

What width tyres are you riding? Flows give a better tyre profile if you’re running 2.2+ tyres, regardless of whether you leave the ground regularly or not.

I’ve got Stans Flow and Crest, both have been excellent and I have a habit of ploughing through things rather than floating over them! If buying again would just get Flows as I prefer to run 2.3+ tyres most of the time and above 2.1’s the Crests don’t give a great profile (very rounded).

For me, flow every time. I don’t notice that they’re a bit heavier but I do notice that they’re wider. They make the tyre feel a lot more stable at lower pressures.