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Flow Ex on Hope vs American Classic Wide Lightning


cpelser

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Posted

one question on the AC's. Have they increased the engagement on the freehub? i have an older set and they are great and spin beautifully but the slow freehub is irritating sometimes.

yea they spin for forever. I haven't noticed the hub being slow but when the nerd rode my bike he said they take up slower than his hope's. Maybe coz my only comparison is the fulcrum's. But I don't notice it.
Posted

Wish I could get a wheelset like this, just 29er

yea only problem is have had them built for build that is not gonna happen now.
Posted

Read up on the WTB KOM i25s yesterday. Light and strong. 

 

Built up with Hope hubs should see you have many happy miles. 

 

Considering these myself but I doubt the local agents bring in the 26" version.

Posted

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/es/en/easton-arc-mtb-rim-2015/rp-prod136865

 

tempting! i'm abit unsure about the 30mm though, is the a minimum width tyre that needs to be run?

anything, really. Bear in mind that 30mm is 1.18 inches wide, and you don't get ANY tires in that width unless you're looking at slicks. 

 

1.95's, 2.1's, 2.3's, 2.8's whatever. 

 

EDIT: Pretty much any tyre will have a far greater performance on the wider rims. 

Posted

my 5 cents. I have both sets of wheels you are looking at, and swap them out often between the two. The AC's are very flexible in comparison to the ZTR's, however lighter. So, how aggressive a rider are you? If you bang it downhills and corner hard, take the ZTR's, if you don't and ride more subtly, take the AC's. And the flex in the wheels is noticeable!! you'll feel it immediately, especially if you on the heavier side. Hope this helps, if not, delete it :devil:

Posted

my 5 cents. I have both sets of wheels you are looking at, and swap them out often between the two. The AC's are very flexible in comparison to the ZTR's, however lighter. So, how aggressive a rider are you? If you bang it downhills and corner hard, take the ZTR's, if you don't and ride more subtly, take the AC's. And the flex in the wheels is noticeable!! you'll feel it immediately, especially if you on the heavier side. Hope this helps, if not, delete it :devil:

The Wide lightnings are A LOT stiffer than ZTR ( esp Crest and Arch), really the most notable 1st impression, you are perhaps referring to other AC rims? This has also been noted in almost every review of these wheels.

I have been using them for a while now and they are the best upgrade I have ever made to a bike. I have had several sets of Stans ( and still have some), several sets of AC ( including Race 29er) and these are by a WIDE margin the best wheels I have had.

As to previous posts, WTB I23 are only 23mm internal width and the Flow 25mm, so, you need to compare other rims of similar width , 29.3mm, to be fair.

Pretty much anything in that range is a lot heavier than the wide lightnings.( for that price)

You could spend some money on 30mm carbon rims from Light bicycles, and that should tick all the boxes for weight, width and stiffness and durability at a reasonable price.

I do not find the engagement of the hubs an issue, got used to it very quickly, and very smooth running.

Posted

my 5 cents. I have both sets of wheels you are looking at, and swap them out often between the two. The AC's are very flexible in comparison to the ZTR's, however lighter. So, how aggressive a rider are you? If you bang it downhills and corner hard, take the ZTR's, if you don't and ride more subtly, take the AC's. And the flex in the wheels is noticeable!! you'll feel it immediately, especially if you on the heavier side. Hope this helps, if not, delete it :devil:

Who built them? Same person? Maybe the AC guy was a bit of a monkey... 

Posted

The Wide lightnings are A LOT stiffer than ZTR ( esp Crest and Arch), really the most notable 1st impression, you are perhaps referring to other AC rims? This has also been noted in almost every review of these wheels.

I have been using them for a while now and they are the best upgrade I have ever made to a bike. I have had several sets of Stans ( and still have some), several sets of AC ( including Race 29er) and these are by a WIDE margin the best wheels I have had.

As to previous posts, WTB I23 are only 23mm internal width and the Flow 25mm, so, you need to compare other rims of similar width , 29.3mm, to be fair.

Pretty much anything in that range is a lot heavier than the wide lightnings.( for that price)

You could spend some money on 30mm carbon rims from Light bicycles, and that should tick all the boxes for weight, width and stiffness and durability at a reasonable price.

I do not find the engagement of the hubs an issue, got used to it very quickly, and very smooth running.

The OP is asking about the flows, not crest or Arch, the flows are solid, and do not flex as much as the AC's, in my opinion.

Posted

Who built them? Same person? Maybe the AC guy was a bit of a monkey... 

Different builders, BUT, have had the AC's tensioned as tight as possible to increase stiffness, still not as stiff as the Flow's, and obviously nowhere as stiff as the carbons.

Posted

Different builders, BUT, have had the AC's tensioned as tight as possible to increase stiffness, still not as stiff as the Flow's, and obviously nowhere as stiff as the carbons.

 

There is a problem there then...

 

Unless your Flows were built really well, and now everything else now cant compare!

Posted

Spank Oozy Trail295 rims on Hopes.

I built some like this for my Solaris and they are incredible. 24,5mm internal. 1950g for the set.

 

Super stiff, light enough and awesome looking. (Black rims with white graphics, black nipples, black spokes and silver hubs.)

Posted

Well 107kg is too heavy for AC's anyway so don't bother with them. I have flow ex and they are not only bomb proof but give serious grip and amazing hold on the corners, drop offs and steep climbs, also very smooth to ride. Just a little bit heavier but that also gives me more confidence when taking a big hit.

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