Now then, I find myself in slightly unfamiliar territory.
All of my offroad cycling in various forms has been on rims up to a maximum of probably 17-19mm maximum. This has been on tyres previously up to 2.0 in wide, and with a bit of pressure in them they've been fine. I'm now up to 2.4 (Conti X King); they're still on 19mm rims, and they are sort of ok, but they do need quite a lot of air in which is not so good.
I'm therefore looking at some new rims. I have in mind a pair of Velocity Blunt 29" at 30mm wide, reasonable price, look ok. But is 30mm still a bit narrow? 35mm? 40mm? 45mm even?
I'm not looking at anything that ends with a +, mainly because I like the bike that I've got (Surly Ogre) and + won't fit, at least in the back.

I dont have blunts but i do have a pair of blunt ss('s?) . They seem fairly well made so i wouldn't have a problem looking at other velocity rims. Perhaps the blunt ss is a bit light for lugging loads around on a regular basis?

You could also look at the wtb asym. The frequencies are tough as anything and i cant see the added eyelets on the asyms making them less reliable.

I am running Conti 2.4 & 2.2 on XM481 DT Swiss rims.
35mm with 30mm inner.

which blunt rims are the 30mm ones? I have blunt 35's and like them so far. However I have to be cautious over width of rear tyre. A '56' 2.2 fits in my frame but I reckon a '57' 2.25 would be too tight.

Both myself and Greg had Blunt SS rims for the TD this year. No problems and 2.4 X Kings go up tubeless nicely on them.

ctznsmith wrote:which blunt rims are the 30mm ones?

http://www.velocityusa.com/product/rims/blunt-ss-622

Can't go wrong with DT. Took them fairly long to hop on the wider rims train and thus their 29" has grown lately. Some new advertised rims may not be available through normal channels just yet.
Use DT on my susser where I need strong rims and they've been fine so far.

On my rigid bike I run Easton Arc 30 rims. Good stuff. Easiest setup for tubeless imaginable. A regular track pump did the job.

I too mostly use Conti X-Kings and MT Kings in 2.4" on the mentioned 30 mm and don't see any benefit of 35 mm i.d. rims as the shoulder knobs are less pronounced with 35 mm compared to 30 mm. Hard cornering feels more imprecise. This isn't helped by the lower pressure that can be used on wider rims. I definately wouldn't go beyond 35 mm i.d. with 2.4". But this is also a bit down to riding style and type I guess.

http://www.velocityusa.com/product/rims ... unt-ss-622

I had in mind the Blunt 35s - sorry, wasn't clear on that, it's 30mm internal width.

Both myself and Greg had Blunt SS rims for the TD this year. No problems and 2.4 X Kings go up tubeless nicely on them

That's about as good a recommendation as I'll get I reckon! I'm likely to want a slightly different blend of speed and comfort; the SS are 26 internal which is maybe a bit close to the 19 I have now.

I too mostly use Conti X-Kings and MT Kings in 2.4" on the mentioned 30 mm and don't see any benefit of 35 mm i.d. rims as the shoulder knobs are less pronounced with 35 mm compared to 30 mm. Hard cornering feels more imprecise. This isn't helped by the lower pressure that can be used on wider rims. I definately wouldn't go beyond 35 mm i.d. with 2.4"

Thanks for this, I had wondered about the diminishing returns of going wider than 30 or 35mm with these tyres. 30mm it is.

I do like DT rims as well - hadn't spotted those, I have a pair of the apparently flimsy 28h XR400s on my CX bike that built up very nicely and seem durable enough. The price difference between the DTs and the Blunts is minimal, the DTs are 100g each lighter though. I shall have a ponder on this, many thanks for your help and comments.

I have a couple of wheelsets on older P35 / Blunt 35s as I think they're called now. Great width and profile for making the most of 2.3-2.4 tyres, real advantages for loaded riding, more than offsetting a bit of added weight. Tubeless hasn't been any issues with mainly Maxxis and Spesh 2-bliss tyres. They've both had a lot of use over 4 years or so, been good, have had numerous dings pulled out of the rim w/o issue and are running straight still (well built), I just think they're a relatively high price for the construction. They were the only real option back then, if I was buying now I think the DTs would be the ones, or WTB KOM I29s for a lighter option. Big fan of WTBs kit these days. A few guys locally have the DTs and rate them.

Blunt SS = good / strong / lightish - I've only managed to get one flat spot by twatting them into something at full speed when quite tired. Use them on the lighter wheel build.

Blunt 35 = nicer profile with big tyres / look nice - I run them on my SS for normal MTB duties and I've put some sizeable dings and flatspots in the rear which have all bent out fine with some persuasion.

Both are super easy to set up tubeless - I'd have no reservations about recommending either rim.

Just to chuck my 2p worth in the ring :

My hobby/business is building wheels and I agree with everything mentioned above, the other rim option you have is the Pacenti DL31, the newer version is superb, i've got several customers riding them and they have been consistent in their dimensions and quality, reliable and they are as the name suggests 31mm wide.

The Blunt 35's are Superb too.

TheHappyCog wrote:Just to chuck my 2p worth in the ring :

My hobby/business is building wheels and I agree with everything mentioned above, the other rim option you have is the Pacenti DL31, the newer version is superb, i've got several customers riding them and they have been consistent in their dimensions and quality, reliable and they are as the name suggests 31mm wide.

The Blunt 35's are Superb too.

You surely will have much more experience with the Pacenti's than I do, but I can't recommend them;
Of three I had two Pacenti's fail completely. I might have had bad luck, but surely no user error here - as no other rim of mine, lighter or heavier, ever cracked along the eyelets before or ever since. Dinged, tacoed, smashed into pieces (Synchros, DTs, Flow EX, Mavics, Sun Ringlés) but never had them crack like a Pacenti.

Hmmm conti xkings!

I bought some on offer few weeks ago,i can't get them to hold air at all anyone else having this problem they are tubeless ready too but running them on hope enduro rims

Mike wrote:Hmmm conti xkings!

I bought some on offer few weeks ago,i can't get them to hold air at all anyone else having this problem they are tubeless ready too but running them on hope enduro rims

Awful tyres for staying sealed - just bang more Stans in and pray. Ride nice though...

Mike wrote:Hmmm conti xkings!

I bought some on offer few weeks ago,i can't get them to hold air at all anyone else having this problem they are tubeless ready too but running them on hope enduro rims

I toss in about 40 mL (rough estimation from fill level of bottle), sway the tyre around a bit, then distribute the liquid with an old washing up brush. Mount it completely on one side and nearly completely on the other. Put in another 20 mL. Pop tyre onto rim. Pump. Shake. Spin. See if it's enough. If not add another 20 mL. If still not enough. Swear and kick something

Contis as of 2016 have so far held air much better than the pre2016 ones. Never needed more than 60 mL.

Different story with the older ones. Mostly at about 80 mL and still loose about 0.15 bar/24 h.

This is all with Conti Protection side walls.

Racesport may have the same rubber, but those side walls are thin as f*ck and easily run down after 500-1000 km offroad and apparently kr-happy to setup TL.

I've got a pair of Blunt SS rims and had a tyre blow off the rim at 35psi. Not the sort of pressure I'd normally use but sticking a bit of extra air in for some road miles, you never know. Tyres were Vittoria Barzo. I thought it might have been me not seating the tyre correctly so after I'd cleaned the sealant off the walls and ceiling I tried it again. I didn't bother cleaning after this one but tried it again on the other wheel, same thing. The Barzo's now live on my Stans rims and I'm running Ralph's on the Blunt SS, but for this reason I wouldn't buy them again.

Interesting - I've run over 50 on some tyres on mine - no issues. Possibly the tolerances the wrong way on both sides of the combination for you.

GregMay wrote:Interesting - I've run over 50 on some tyres on mine - no issues. Possibly the tolerances the wrong way on both sides of the combination for you.

I agree, it's just a bad tyre/rim combination. The new Arch rims look interesting though and its a good excuse.