There's a thread over on mtbr discussing cheap ($350 shipped or so) carbon rims that can be bought direct from the manufacturer. Quality looks good from the pics that have been shared, but I'm still too scared to order a set. Maybe after there are some more detailed long term reviews I'll go for it. ENVE, roval, etc. is just way out of my budget

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Trek 5500 - 13.75lbs on a $1400 Budget
20 gram 1x10 chain guide

Easton doesn't honor it's warranty

I've orded a set. I'll let you know how I like them. Enve was out of stock.

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My blaaaack Tarmac SL4

Enve rims ride oddly. It "feels" less stiff than a Stan's Flow, but offers great tracking that typically comes with stiff wheelsets. For those used to stiff alloy wheels, Enve's lack the feedback may get some getting used to. Some call it compliance, I call it dead, when I kind of like some stiff and lively feel. While stiffness and compliance are hard to measure by feel, by the "seat of your pants", you can estimate it through comparison. Some inexperienced people find that a stiff, uncompliant wheel, with lots of feedback to be "very stiff", but it may not be as stiff as a stiff and compliant wheel in lab tests, and may not like them in the end. Too much feedback can lead to extra fatigue, so it's not ideal for everyone. The Enves cover lots of ground with, hold up to abuse, and track very well, holding the line you pick, riding skinnies between deep multiple ruts or "surfing" the ruts, and making your tires feel a little better. I ran beefier tires on my i9 enduro wheelset and I'm running micro knobbies full time on my Enve wheelset, riding the same trails. The Enve + faster tires can make for some more sketchy situations, due to how much faster they roll and how much more careful you need to be at controlling that speed, but the faster times you get and how fresh you feel when you are with friends (who may begin to despise you) says all lot of good about the wheels. Crests, for comparison, feel *extremely* flimsy. I'd never ride the Crests again and can't understand why they're recommended so much.

Overall, they perform exceptionally well, but they simply lack the feel that gives you the initial impression that they are amazing. It's that carbon damping effect, I guess. Sometimes having that feedback and not too much compliance is desirable, when you actually have the senses to make use of feedback to react to the ground. Great if you're going for all out performance and have the cash, but hard to write great things about them at first, besides that they hold up to more abuse than one would typically credit a carbon XC part to withstand. On the other hand, when riding in a group, if you're like me and my buddies, you literally will be riding circles around your friends. The more you ride them, the more you appreciate them. I initially wasn't stunned by their performance, but it wasn't quite a fair test, as I cut so much weight down and got my bike so much faster, that my riding skills were a little lagged when it came to carrying more speed and spinning up faster and needing to adjust braking better (basically being a bit nervous).

My wife is running some Enve carbon wheels on her Specailized S-works HT and loves them. King hubs, CX-ray spokes, 28hole.





She's rough on parts and loves King hubs, so we went with these on her build over the Rovals.


I have an Epic S-works 29er and went with the carbon Roval SL wheel set. I weigh 175lbs and haven't had any issues with them yet. I like the slightly wider rim on the Rovals (my only complaint about the Enve). They aren't as stiff as the Enve setup though. Tough call, both are great wheels. The Rovals are cheaper, a bit lighter, and have a wider rim. I think anyone would be thrilled with either.