25mm or 30mm Rims with 2.35 tires

[Wimmas]

I have Stans Crest S1 which are 23mm with a 2.35 front and 2.25 rear, on a dual sus. No issues on either. They ride great.

 

I weigh 72 - 73 kg, front around 1.3-1.4 bar and rear 1.6-1.7 bar when riding MTB.

 

Also in JHB and ride Cradle Moon often. Did blue, red, yellow the other day at those pressures and 100% fine. Did Northern Farm red last weekend and even with all the roots and those same pressures, no issues.

 

My opinion, 25mm should be fine.

[guidodg]

28 or 30mm especially on the front wheel definitely..!

[DieselnDust]

In my experience the fatter rims and bigger volume tyres feel more vague. Dont waste your money.

^^^ this.

[dasilvarsa]

It also depends where you live. 20-25 mm Rims work Fine in Gauteng but Would Work Badly in Cape Town. In Cape Town you really need 30-34 mm Rims and the Widest Tyre You can Find.

Mud Clearance is not an Issue.

[s14phoenix]

I have 33mm OD 27mm ID running 2.35 perfect. If I had only 25 or 30mm id to pick from I would consider also whether the weight matters as generally the 30mm ID wheelsets end up almost 200g more but support the tyre much better and allows slightly lower pressures.

 

If weight does not matter for you in this situation then 30mm definately.

 

My 27mm weigh what 25mm weighs but supports like a 30mm. Well it is close...

 

5c

[MrJacques]

[Jewbacca]

It also depends where you live. 20-25 mm Rims work Fine in Gauteng but Would Work Badly in Cape Town. In Cape Town you really need 30-34 mm Rims and the Widest Tyre You can Find.

Mud Clearance is not an Issue.

Work Badly? I rode Ezelenduro on 23mm ID rims with 2.4 tires and got some top 10 times on stages.

 

You don't 'really need' 30-34mm rims and balloon tires.

 

It is the trend and it looks like it's here to stay, but you don't 'need' them and you can still go plenty fast without them

[Me rida my bicycle]

Running 29mm (Flow) wheels, great ride but nothing under high volume 2.25 otherwise it's to square and you lose all of the "advantage".

[Christofison]

...

 

Here's a slightly more rigorous test:

 

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/rim-widths-comparison-test-mountain-bike.html

I can 100% relate to the opening paragraph of this article, back when I went from 2.25" tires on 19mm rims to 2.4" on 28mm.

"Leaning into that first corner something unexpected happened. As I started to lay the bike over the tyres held, digging into the dirt and I could push the bar closer and closer to the ground. That's the magic - one of those perfect moments when the bike and the trail seem made for each other, when you feel like a hero, if only for a split second."

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

I have this conversation often.

 

The sweet spot for most MTB riders is 25mm.

This works really well for all tyres between 2.1 and 2.4".

 

Some guys want something more aggressive or durable, then 30mm inner width rims have some benefit, and work well with tyres 2.25 - 2.6"

 

There's not a really wrong answer - 25-30mm inner width rims will work well in 99% of cases.

 

Don't overthink it.

 

Would I ever build a new set of MTB wheels with rims narrower than 25mm? Nope.

Will you benefit moving from 23mm or narrower rims to something wider? Yup.

[Meezo]

I have this conversation often.

 

The sweet spot for most MTB riders is 25mm.

This works really well for all tyres between 2.1 and 2.4".

 

Some guys want something more aggressive or durable, then 30mm inner width rims have some benefit, and work well with tyres 2.25 - 2.6"

 

There's not a really wrong answer - 25-30mm inner width rims will work well in 99% of cases.

 

Don't overthink it.

 

Would I ever build a new set of MTB wheels with rims narrower than 25mm? Nope.

Will you benefit moving from 23mm or narrower rims to something wider? Yup.

haha sums it up really.

 

 

side note, if you had a choice on

 

1. DTSwiss EX511

2. WTB KOM

3. RF Arc

4. Flow EX3

 

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

haha sums it up really.

 

 

side note, if you had a choice on

 

1. DTSwiss EX511

2. WTB KOM

3. RF Arc

4. Flow EX3

 

 

DT Swiss EX511 (enduro) or XM481 (trail) (30mm)

DT Swiss XR391 (25mm) Light weight XC

Spank 350 / 350 Vibrocore (30mm)

Spank Spike Race 33 (28mm internal) for DH/enduro/trail

WTB KOM Tough i25 / i29 (25/29mm)

WTB KOM Light i25 for light weight XC

Raceface ARC Offset 25/30mm

Raceface ARC30 HD for enduro/e-bike

Alexrims EXR30 30mm (excellent rims if you're on a tight budget, just on the heavy side)

[Headshot]

25

[guidodg]

30mm for 2,35 and up

 

I run a 25mm on the rear with a 2,25 and a 28mm on the front with a 2,35

[Grease_Monkey]

25mm rims for 2.35" and under. 

 

If you are going to be using exclusively wider than 2.35" tyres then 30mm rims. 

 

In my experience, I'd rather have rims that are a bit too narrow than too wide. Running a narrower tyre on a wide rim squares them off, and if you run lower pressures you just end up damaging the rim. Your actual rim is also more exposed to rocks, etc on the trail ending up in scratches and dings.

 

On the flip side of the coin I have had no issues with running a wide tyre on narrow rims (2.5" on 21mm rims). You can't run super low pressures, but it works. 

 

Obviously you want the ideal fit, but reality is your tyres will be changed many times on the same rim. So like many mentioned here, a 25mm rim will give you a bit more flexibility in tyre choice than a 30mm rim - especially when it comes to XC tyres.

 

For reference, I use 32mm rims, but I only use wide tyres. There have been a few times when I wanted to use narrower tyres for a marathon type event where I couldn't because the rims are just too wide. 

[DieselnDust]

23 -27mm internal width rims for tyres 2.0 to 2.35

28-35mm for 2.4 to 2.8 width.

 

23mm still offers benefits in lighter weight without giving up too much in the volume department.

 

There are other factors to consider besides just internal width. Rim strength and stiffness, vertical compliance, lateral flex and section twist all play a role in determining ride quality. The width is a small component