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ENVE 29" XC UST rims.

40K views 200 replies 71 participants last post by  proshopers 
#1 ·
By now everyone knows that these rims are available. Widths, weights, pricing, etc... are all on the ENVE site.

I wanted to start a thread to share some info that is quite pertinent to the ENVE rims, but that you won't find on their site.


For starters, I built 4 of these wheels today. Most noticeable and most impressive: The tension balances are as good as can be gotten with human hands and eyes-really, really nice.


Next, I wanted to know how well these rims aired up tubeless. Essentially, I installed and attempted to inflate each of these tires using only a floor pump.
Maxxis Ardent 2.4 EXO
Maxxis Ikon 2.2 EXO
Bontrager FR-3 TLR Team
Bontrager 29-3 TLR Team
Bontrager 29-4 TLR Expert
Specialized Purgatory 2.4 Control
Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4 Tubeless


All of them went on easily without a tire lever. They all also came off easily without a lever.


I used no suds, no sealant, no voodoo--just the supplied tape and valve. My reasoning for doing it this way is simple: If a rim/tire combo needs a compressor in order to seal up tubeless, then it is very likely (almost a guarantee) that I'll be able to burp air out of it or completely peel it off the rim at some point. This experience was learned early on and has been reinforced over the last ~8 years. If I can inflate it with only a floor pump, the chance of burping or peeling drops drastically.




On the first go-round I was only able to get the Racing Ralph to inflate and seal up. Nothing else. That was kind of surprising. I noted that some of the tires were coming close to getting the beads to 'pop out' into the hooks, but with a floor pump it just wasn't happening. This is fairly common with many of the other tubeless-ready rim/tire combos on the market, and is easily 'fixed' by adding a second layer of tape to tighten up the tire fit. I do this on my own personal tubeless wheels as it also substantially decreases the chance of a tire burping or peeling off.


So I added a second layer of tape, spent a few minutes evenly mooshing it down into the rim cavity, then started again with the tires.

On the second go 'round, The Maxxis Ikon was tight going on-not so much that I needed a tire lever, but close. I needed a lever to get the Ikon back off. Everything else went on and off by hand.


Also on the second go 'round, neither of the Maxxis tires would inflate. Not even close. But *everything* else went right up to pressure and stayed there without audible leaks. Pretty sweet.


No doubt sealant will be needed to keep these tires inflated week after week, but that was beyond the scope of my 'bench test' today.

So there you have it.

Questions? Your own experiences? Feel free.

Cheers,

MC
 
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#2 ·
Great info! What were the builds and weights of each wheelset? Do you plan on trying a UST tire like the Python? And it sounds like with a 2nd layer of tape you would be confident in all the tires setting up tubeless except for the maxxis.
 
#3 ·
that is interesting. My expierences have been seemingly the opposite.
My WTB Nano's aired up easily on my Crests, then mid-race, my front rolled off slightly in a hard corner and then totally flatted. (pressure was about 28psi)
My Schwalbe RR's needed a compressor to air up and seat, but I haven't had a single problem since.
 
#4 ·
really nice write-up, nice photos (as usual), and great info. :thumbsup:
i'm also surprised the TLR tires wouldn't air up when the schwalbes did.
not surprised about the tubetype tires not airing up on UST rims easily. that's my experience too.
love that sticker around the valve stem hole. :cornut:
 
#5 ·
No such luck with one layer of Gorrila tap and maxxis ingnitor exo or aspens. I was a little disapointed but coming from the original edges the difference was not all that exciting. I had to throw my stans rubber strip on. And pop pop done. I do really want to try a TNT tire without the strip and see how easy they pop on but with my tire set up stans and strip I'm still well under any UST tire set up. I would love to see maxxis make all tires with a tubeless talon bead but that's wishful thinking.
 
#7 ·
It seems that ENVE should have licensed Stan's bead socket technology instead of UST for better tubeless compatibility. I was really considering these and I don't suspect the new Easton XC EC90s will be any different from a tubeless perspective.
 
#9 ·
I think it has more to do with the UST spec of the rim, not so much the tires. We've had "issues" with UST spec 29"er rims, and the only tires that seat up with a satisfying "pop" on UST rims we've tried, (Mavic, Easton), are Geax's AKA and Saguaro.

I'm not a big fan of the fit of UST rims with anything other than Geax tires at this point considering what is available for tires.
 
#10 ·
mikesee said:
By now everyone knows that these rims are available. Widths, weights, pricing, etc... are all on the ENVE site.

I wanted to start a thread to share some info that is quite pertinent to the ENVE rims, but that you won't find on their site.

For starters, I built 4 of these wheels today. Most noticeable and most impressive: The tension balances are as good as can be gotten with human hands and eyes-really, really nice.

Next, I wanted to know how well these rims aired up tubeless. Essentially, I installed and attempted to inflate each of these tires using only a floor pump.
Maxxis Ardent 2.4 EXO
Maxxis Ikon 2.2 EXO
Bontrager FR-3 TLR Team
Bontrager 29-3 TLR Team
Bontrager 29-4 TLR Expert
Specialized Purgatory 2.4 Control
Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4 Tubeless

All of them went on easily without a tire lever. They all also came off easily without a lever.

I used no suds, no sealant, no voodoo--just the supplied tape and valve. My reasoning for doing it this way is simple: If a rim/tire combo needs a compressor in order to seal up tubeless, then it is very likely (almost a guarantee) that I'll be able to burp air out of it or completely peel it off the rim at some point. This experience was learned early on and has been reinforced over the last ~8 years. If I can inflate it with only a floor pump, the chance of burping or peeling drops drastically.

On the first go-round I was only able to get the Racing Ralph to inflate and seal up. Nothing else. That was kind of surprising. I noted that some of the tires were coming close to getting the beads to 'pop out' into the hooks, but with a floor pump it just wasn't happening. This is fairly common with many of the other tubeless-ready rim/tire combos on the market, and is easily 'fixed' by adding a second layer of tape to tighten up the tire fit. I do this on my own personal tubeless wheels as it also substantially decreases the chance of a tire burping or peeling off.

So I added a second layer of tape, spent a few minutes evenly mooshing it down into the rim cavity, then started again with the tires.

On the second go 'round, The Maxxis Ikon was tight going on-not so much that I needed a tire lever, but close. I needed a lever to get the Ikon back off. Everything else went on and off by hand.

Also on the second go 'round, neither of the Maxxis tires would inflate. Not even close. But *everything* else went right up to pressure and stayed there without audible leaks. Pretty sweet.

No doubt sealant will be needed to keep these tires inflated week after week, but that was beyond the scope of my 'bench test' today.

So there you have it.

Questions? Your own experiences? Feel free.

Cheers,

MC
Sweet Mike! I wish I had the coin to spend on some of these hoops for my Tallboy. They'd make a superfast, superlight combo with my Maxxis Beavers to fly through out mud. When is it going to dry up around here?!
 
#12 ·
my experience is also the opposite, tight fit are more secure because they do not release air by burping.

I think the UST design with the bead hook is much safer than stan's, providing a better support with a lateral load toward the center.

I have several hutchinson tires (python and toro), and the do get in place with a floor pump on shimano XT or mavic c29ssmax tires.

Mike, i don't see the point of doing your test without using soapy water to lubricate the bead to help them get in place.

Thanks fot the tip on the double turn of tape, i will try this on my notbues rims
 
#13 ·
1-bar said:
It seems that ENVE should have licensed Stan's bead socket technology instead of UST for better tubeless compatibility. I was really considering these and I don't suspect the new Easton XC EC90s will be any different from a tubeless perspective.
I have the Easton XC EC90's, used Stans yellow tape once around and the Maxxis Ikons went on no issue. Popped right in and have been on for a month now at 22-25 psi with no burping.
 
#14 ·
My experience with Ikons was that I had to use a couple layers of electrical tape outside the tire to squish it in the center and hold down the bead. I then had to remove the valve core and hit with a compressor and it quickly took air and set the bead. This was on an MTX33 wheel with stans tape and valve.
 
#15 ·
Cool, thanks for the pics and write up. Your conclusions on the Maxxis tyres however also does not jive with my results on Stans Flows. I've aired An Ardent, 2 Ignitors and 2 Crossmarks very easily using a floor pump and soapy water as recommended, never had an issue with them coming off the rim while riding - BTW, non tubeless ready, normal sidewall versions. Will note I sliced the sidewall on a Crossmark very quickly and they came off and were replaced, Ignitors worked fine, sidewalls held up fine, even though they'd already been scuffed to death with tubes in them - did add glitter to the sealant as a precaution.
 
#16 ·
LyNx said:
Cool, thanks for the pics and write up. Your conclusions on the Maxxis tyres however also does not jive with my results on Stans Flows. I've aired An Ardent, 2 Ignitors and 2 Crossmarks very easily using a floor pump and soapy water as recommended, never had an issue with them coming off the rim while riding - BTW, non tubeless ready, normal sidewall versions. Will note I sliced the sidewall on a Crossmark very quickly and they came off and were replaced, Ignitors worked fine, sidewalls held up fine, even though they'd already been scuffed to death with tubes in them - did add glitter to the sealant as a precaution.
But Mike is using a UST spec rim, not a Stan's. That's my point. Stan's will fit tighter with most tires and require less fuss to set the beads.

The UST spec rims are not supposed to require rim tape either, no? These folks saying they are using rim tape/Stan's tape on UST rims is an indication to me that something isn't quite right here. YMMV
 
#17 ·
Never used UST, don't know anything about the standard, hefted a friends early on when I started riding and was like WTF, these things are tanks and have stuck to Stans and thicker casing normal tyres or TLR. Most all tyres have gone on and off the Flows easy as pie, only one that took some good effort was the Bonti MudX and Michelin XC A/T and both those tyres hold air like nobody's business, rest actually I would say went on too damn easy. Maybe Enve should license the Stans bead lock.
Guitar Ted said:
But Mike is using a UST spec rim, not a Stan's. That's my point. Stan's will fit tighter with most tires and require less fuss to set the beads.

The UST spec rims are not supposed to require rim tape either, no? These folks saying they are using rim tape/Stan's tape on UST rims is an indication to me that something isn't quite right here. YMMV
 
#18 · (Edited)
The ease of mounting and inflation is most directly related to the geometry of the drop channel, and has little influence on whether or not a tire will "burp" during use. For instance, if the center drop channel was made extremely wide and deep, any tire will mount extremely easy, but there will be so much space between the beads of the unseated tire and the rim that the tire will never inflate.

I do not find it remarkable that only the Racing Ralph was able to be inflated using a floor pump- it was the only UST tire tested. While Tubeless Ready tires (usually) have a UST spec bead, they do not share the same sidewall. A thin sidewall will not excert the same force against the inner wall of the drop channel during initial inflation. Instead, they'll sit "loose" inside, leaving gaps between the beads and the rim through which air will escape during attempts to inflate the tire.

Bead retention (or the rim's ability to reduce the likelihood of "burping") is mostly influenced by the interference fit between the tire's bead and bead seat shelf of the rim. This includes the diameter of the bead shelf, the inside diameter of the bead, the elasticity of the bead, and the rubber coating on the bead. The geometry of the bead and the inner retaining lip of the rim also play some role.

Mavic's UST spec calls out precise dimensions for the inner rim profile, including the drop channel. There's not much leeway given to play with, so I suspect this new Enve rim will perform much like any other UST rim in regards to tire mounting, inflation, and bead retention.
 
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#19 ·
Guitar Ted said:
The UST spec rims are not supposed to require rim tape either, no? These folks saying they are using rim tape/Stan's tape on UST rims is an indication to me that something isn't quite right here. YMMV
There is nothing in the UST specification that precludes the use of rim tape in the rim.
 
#21 ·
Just had a set of these Enve 29XC UST wheels built up. My shop builder who is very experienced and respected, said they were one of the best rims he has ever built up from a even tension perspective.

If you're going to double tape, why don't you just use the Stan's rubber rim strip?
 
#22 ·
Guitar Ted said:
But Mike is using a UST spec rim, not a Stan's. That's my point. Stan's will fit tighter with most tires and require less fuss to set the beads.

The UST spec rims are not supposed to require rim tape either, no? These folks saying they are using rim tape/Stan's tape on UST rims is an indication to me that something isn't quite right here. YMMV
You do not need to run the rim tape with the UST, but on certain tires you cannot get them to bead. The UST rim is designed for UST tires which are much heavier and do not lose shape when mounting. A regular tire on some UST rims will drop into the center channel and you cannot add enough air pressure to seat them. If you put a small layer of tape on the channel you can force the bead into the sidewall very easily because it cannot drop in.
 
#23 ·
1-bar said:
It seems that ENVE should have licensed Stan's bead socket technology instead of UST for better tubeless compatibility. I was really considering these and I don't suspect the new Easton XC EC90s will be any different from a tubeless perspective.
i think they tried to work something out, actually, and the folks at ENVE didn't see the geometry of stan's BST working well with their material. probably being as small as it.
 
#24 ·
Spinning Lizard said:
You do not need to run the rim tape with the UST, but on certain tires you cannot get them to bead. The UST rim is designed for UST tires which are much heavier and do not lose shape when mounting. A regular tire on some UST rims will drop into the center channel and you cannot add enough air pressure to seat them. If you put a small layer of tape on the channel you can force the bead into the sidewall very easily because it cannot drop in.
The ENVE UST rims have holes in the rim bed to install and access the nipples like almost any other rim. Tape is absolutely required.
 
#25 ·
Spinning Lizard said:
You do not need to run the rim tape with the UST, but on certain tires you cannot get them to bead. The UST rim is designed for UST tires which are much heavier and do not lose shape when mounting. A regular tire on some UST rims will drop into the center channel and you cannot add enough air pressure to seat them. If you put a small layer of tape on the channel you can force the bead into the sidewall very easily because it cannot drop in.
When you apply the tape, are you putting it in the channel or leaving it flat? What width tape id you use? It seems one layer of yellow tape in the channel is so thin that it would not do enough to make any difference.
 
#26 ·
bholwell said:
The ease of mounting and inflation is most directly related to the geometry of the drop channel, and has little influence on whether or not a tire will "burp" during use. For instance, if the center drop channel was made extremely wide and deep, any tire will mount extremely easy, but there will be so much space between the beads of the unseated tire and the rim that the tire will never inflate.

I do not find it remarkable that only the Racing Ralph was able to be inflated using a floor pump- it was the only UST tire tested. While Tubeless Ready tires (usually) have a UST spec bead, they do not share the same sidewall. A thin sidewall will not excert the same force against the inner wall of the drop channel during initial inflation. Instead, they'll sit "loose" inside, leaving gaps between the beads and the rim through which air will escape during attempts to inflate the tire.

Bead retention (or the rim's ability to reduce the likelihood of "burping") is mostly influenced by the interference fit between the tire's bead and bead seat shelf of the rim. This includes the diameter of the bead shelf, the inside diameter of the bead, the elasticity of the bead, and the rubber coating on the bead. The geometry of the bead and the inner retaining lip of the rim also play some role.

Mavic's UST spec calls out precise dimensions for the inner rim profile, including the drop channel. There's not much leeway given to play with, so I suspect this new Enve rim will perform much like any other UST rim in regards to tire mounting, inflation, and bead retention.
+1. Beautifully stated. Personally, from a burping standpoint (and many others), I find it hard to beat the Bonty TLR rim/strip combo. Whenever I remove a tire from those, I have to wrestle with it gently a minute or two before it will release from the bead "hook". Gives me a nice, secure feeling while on the trail. Other rims just seem to release the tire bead as soon as the pressure is released (like in a flat).
 
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