Thanks for the reviewing this Dustin! I personally make sure the exhaust/muffler is not facing directly or just below any of my carbon hoops because I melted one of my Roval SL in 2015.
I have two sets of Berd wheels. Hawk27 w/I9 hubs and Hawk30 w/Onyx hubs. I prefer the 30 w/onyx, just feels better. The Hawk30 are on my 130/140 bike while the Hawk27 is on my 160/170 bike.
I have a quote sitting in my inbox for Talon hubs, Berd Spokes and DT Swiss XM481 alloy rims. I'm close to pulling the trigger, but still not sure. I'm an aluminum rim fan and think they would ride awesome with their spokes.
I have sent Berd my hubs and hoops and had them Dremel my Hadley Hubs and lace them up to wide RaceFace alloy rims. #1 Why alloy? Because I wanted to try and see feel the flex and dampen effect with alloy rims. #2 I went really wide, ARC35 rear and ARC40. My reason is that these wheels are for my hardtail and my wheel set serves as my compression dampener on my hardtail. I completely feel the dampened effect and love these wheels. For reference, I only use hardtail bikes geared and SS MTB. I have the wide i35 Stan Baron CB7 hoops with classic ONYX hubs on my SS. Those carbon wheels ride softer that typical carbon hoops, maybe the width but I really like them. As for Berd Spoked wheels, I will most definitely be getting another set. I’m building up a new gravel rig and going wide tires. I will send Berd my hubs and hoops or perhaps get them to lace up some i30 rim wheels with the ONYX hubs they have. Yes i30 on gravel, why not?
D, I totally agree on the too light thing. I had salt cycles build me the same wheel set YumYum runs that came in at 1406g on my Yeti sb130. I could not stop crashing after I put them on. I had to run Cushcore and exo+ tires to regain stability which ended up being a killer park setup but defeated the purpose of the weight savings.
Dude right! It’s kinda weird. They are definitely nice to pedal up hill but something just feels a bit off haulin butt down hill. Just weird to have them so light
I've got the Berd Hawk 27 with the Onyx Vesper hook flange hubs on a titanium hardtail and really love them. Acceleration is amazing. Climbing is killer. Dissecting rock gardens is great. I have also noticed that I don't feel as beat up and tired after epic rides. Only downside is the cost.
No denying the acceleration and climbing is superb. I just can’t say I totally agree descending through rock gardens. I’ve rode other wheels that feel better to me. But I could be the minority here
Great review, the 1lb savings is definitely an eyebrow raiser. I swapped my following frame for an offering, zero regrets. Are you going to order a Scor 4030 frame, you're the first person I thought of when I saw they released it.
Interesting observations. I’m also curious if considering the greater sprung vs unsprung weight that the experience could be improved upon with slightly different suspension tuning than usual. I do feel you in regards to the alloy hoop tracking sensation, i have noticed this feeling coming from stock CB synthesis wheelsets. I’m also finding it interesting that folks are building up alloy wheelsets w BERDS… now that’s commitment to aluminum right there!!!! I’d sure love to try an alloy/berd set up at some point. I’m currently running traditional carbon hoops with OG vittoria airliners front and rear with EXO tires… i feel like i can accelerate and mob equally as well. I’m curious to try some DD casings now😮
I’d be curious to try alloy / Berd setup. But worry it might feel kind of “spongy”. But I’d be curious. I’ve never rode the airliner but have a buddy who always funs one in the rear
So just curious, why do you prefer 27mm internal width rims? You say like the ride and feel of your 30mm internal width rims. Maybe there is something to that and the issue is 27mm vs 30mm. I’ve been using 30mm iw rims but just got a set of WAO Convergence wheels with the 33mm iw rims although they actually measure to 32mm iw. I’m curious to see how slightly wider rims perform with 29x2.4 Mazzas.
I like the tire profile I bit better on the 27mm rim. Might just be in my head but I don’t feel the front drift as much as I do on 30mm rides. I look at riders like Troy brosnan who runs even more narrow with 25mm rims on his 2.4 dhr2s
27mm is gonna be better for cross country. That issue in the fast rock gardens would disappear with 30mm and wider tires. I’m going 27.5” Berd TR 30 on 30mm. 2.6” tire.
Why didnt you get the hawk30? They were definitely available before the talon hubs were released. I have the hawk30 on my hardtail with a insert and i needed to lower the tire pressure to spot the pinging. It definitely rides less vibration at the bike park. I can get more laps in. It probably wont make as much sense on a full suspension bike but in a steel hardcore hardtail like a kona honzo esd, it eliminated the weight penalty of the frame.
If I had a hardtail I’d definitely go hawk 30 so I could run a 2.6 tire. But for my full squish bike. I like a 2.4 tire and I like the tire profile on the 27 internal. I feel like the tire hooks up a bit better