Which rim?

[Blackhound]

Considering purchasing an Exposure Revo light / hub combination if I can get one at a good price. (Wiggle have some deal where you can £50 off a £300 spend later in month) Looking at a Stans Flow/Crest/Arch but no experience of any of them. Erring towards the Crest at the moment. All same price.

It will be 29er, tubeless and primarily used for bikepacking.

Any thoughts or other recommendations?

My sums are
Revo light / hub £252
Stans Crest £65
Discount -£50
Total £267 + spokes + tape + build.

[paul78]

Just built a dynamo hub using a Halo Aerowarrier rim (29er) .. I have never got on with Stans rims no idea if Halo can run tubeless.

SP dynamo hub and Revo hub are amazing !!! you won't be dissapointed.

[Anthony]

Crest for general lightweight xc
Flow for heavy duty trail riding to include bigger drops.
Arch is the middle ground between the 2.

Non are heavy, even the Flows are extremely light for their usage.

Great rims and brilliant tubeless.

[Mart]

Been running Flows for the last 3 years and they have been bulletproof
Been pleased with my choice of do it all rim. Very easy tubeless set up

A lot of people I ride with have Crests in 29 which suit them for XC

[FLV]

If I recall, some of the smoother DH pro level riders use Flow's as thier rim of choice. It would seem over kill for bikepacking?

I am currently using crests fro the first time, they have seen about 600 miles I think and so far so good, the odd scuff but no problems.

I also have a set of arch 26ers. They were used on my bikepacking hardtail and my 6" full sus which did numerous trips to the alps on up lift weeks with no issues whatsoever. Tough wheels in 26 variety.

In sumary, unless you're carrying very heavy loads crests will likely be fine.
Remember though, every wheel is subject to build quality which can easily make it good or bad

[johnnystorm]

I run Crests on my XC race bike and haven't managed to bend them at Dalby.

I've got another pair to go on my Fargo, that'll be a heavier bike, loaded & no suspension. It'll be an interesting test (well, for me anyway!).

[gairym]

I'm currently running a Crest on my rear (29er) and so far so good (though it's not yet had much hammer).

I usually wreck rear wheels (I'm not the lightest rider out there as you've seen) and so it'll be interesting to see if it holds out for very long.

My plan is/was to switch it out with another rim (a 355 which is an older Stans rim roughly equivalent to the Arch) and then use the Crest on the front (which I never damage) but I've yet to get around to it.

[Blackhound]

Thanks all. Might go for the lighter Crest if I decide to proceed to save a few grams. I tend not to be very heavy on equipment and my wheels are kept close to the ground whenever possible.

[Anthony]

Gairy, the 355 is simply the older version of the Crest (Crest was marketed as the strength of the 355 with the weight of the Olympic - the new Alpine!)

The arch is and has always been the arch.

It goes, ish in order of strength

Podium (silly light xc race rim with limited millage)
Alpine (old Olympic but lighter)
Crest (old 355 but lighter)
Arch
Flow.

[gairym]

Gairy, the 355 is simply the older version of the Crest (Crest was marketed as the strength of the 355 with the weight of the Olympic - the new Alpine!)

Ahhh, bugger.

In a way that makes things simpler for me as before I was going to have to take apart two perfectly good rear wheels make a nice front and a rear swapping the Hope hub from the Crest rim to the 355 rim and building up the Crest with an old Hope front hub I've got laying around.

Now all I need to do is build up the front with the 355 and I'm away though I do wonder how long it'll be before I destroy the Crest???

Thanks for the intel!