Product Review: Stan's Crest 29'r Rim and 3.30 Ti Hub.

Stan’s Crest 29’r Custom Build.

RRP: $1330

Many racers nowadays make the mistake of judging a bike purely by its weight. When it comes to a race I have seen far too many riders at the side of the track cursing their $14000 wonder bikes; you cannot win if you cannot cross the finish line. So when it came time to invest in a set of lightweight wheels for my 29’r, I faced the famous phrase of one Keith Bontrager; “Strong, light, cheap. Pick two.”

After some research I found myself narrowing it down to 2 choices;

1     The newly released Easton EC70 29’r Carbon wheels. Strong, light, but over $2000 and unlikely to be in the country for another 4 months.

     A custom build of Stan’s Crest 29’r rims on Stan’s Ti hubs for $1330; a hell of a lot less than the Eastons and Tubeless ready. Light, cheap, but I had no idea towards their strength.

I, being a racer boy on a budget and with a slight sense of naivety, chose light and cheap. I can hear you crying out now but, for the average “race ready” set of wheels, anything less than $1400 is considered a pretty good. This is especially true when you consider there are wheels floating around the $4000 mark on some bikes. Would I be making the same mistake as every other racer with stars in their eyes? I would soon find out.

When they first arrived I was impressed. At 1500g they were over half a kilo lighter than my previous wheels and tubeless ready. My Schwalbe Racing Ralphs mounted first try with a floor pump and held their air perfectly. They held so well in fact I had trouble getting the bead off the rim again to insert sealant. Stan has done his research into designing these rims.

Their debut (aside from a spin around the block) was at a race. From the get go my Giant instantly felt… energized. The AC/DC song Thunderstruck played on the start line might have been an omen as they rode like greased lightning. The wheels were plenty stiff with no wind up or noticeable lateral flex. The Ti hubs engaged wickedly fast sending me flying through switchbacks with ever increasing vigour. The hubs also had a nice, solid click to them that my previous wheels lacked. The trail Ninjas may frown at this but there is nothing like the buzzing of a loud hub to reassure you of your speed (or lack thereof). I dominated the race in a way I hadn't for a long time. So far so good.

Fast forward 5 months and these wheels were about to face their ultimate test; XC Nationals. They had required no truing, no maintenance, and were still running like new up to this point. It was on this day I would find out what the Crests were really made of, aside from 6061 grade Aluminium. Unfortunately, out on the trail, a high speed crash occurred with another rider and in his haste to get going again, he stood on the spokes of the front wheel. The wheel was more taco’d than a food fight in a Mexican restaurant and it seemed that Keith Bontrager was right. I couldn't have strength as well as affordability and light weight.

But then something happened that gave me new found respect for Stan and his team of engineers; the rims held their air. Despite barely fitting through the forks and wobbling like jelly in an earthquake the wheels were holding their air. Tentative at first, I began to ride. And they held. They didn't collapse, they didn't explode in a burst of sealant. They just kept working.

I picked up more speed and began to race again. I blew through Grinder at full speed and they didn’t break. In the final lap of the race I hammered inelegantly down the spoke smashing stairs and rim denting drops of Rotorua’s exit trail in my fastest time of the day, and they still kept working.

Strong, light, cheap. Do I really have to pick 2?

Fast forward again to April where, having had new spokes and rim laced to the front wheel, I competed in the Mountain Bike leg of the Xterra in Rotorua. I was involved in a sprint finish and as I entered the finishing chute, at 30kmhr, a spectator jumped onto the course and I hit him at full speed. The front wheel suffered no damage whatsoever.

So it seems I have found something special. A wheel set that is pretty damn light, terrifyingly tough, comparatively cheap for a set of race wheels, have fast engaging hubs and a great tubeless system. Strong, light, cheap. It seems Mr Bontrager’s words are more like general guidelines. 

Stan, you the man.