ENVE Twenty9 XC Carbon Wheelset

Though the pitched battle between the 26in versus the 29er proponents seems to have ended, the debate between the two can still be a fun topic around the bike shop. Tradition is certainly on the side of 26" wheels, but then again so much of the mountain bike ethos revolves around debunking traditions and blazing new trails. The Enve Twenty9 XC Carbon Clincher Wheelset gives you all the lightness and speedy acceleration of 26in wheels, but in a fast-rolling 29er package.

The Enve XC is the lightest of their mountain wheelsets, but they're feathery without being wimpy. On the contrary, the XC Carbon Clinchers can handle the toughest requirements of mountain biking. That's because the folks at Enve use a special bladder system that allows them to increase the heat and pressure while molding the carbon. That packs the layers tighter, improving the rim surface and adding strength and balance. It also means they can be much more precise with the amount of material they use to avoid adding excess weight.

In the early days of carbon mountain bike wheels, the spoke-rim intersection was a bit of an Achilles heel for the wheels with pulled-through spokes being all too common. Enve has recognized that issue and created a method to prevent it from happening to their wheels. The spoke and valve stem holes are created in-place during the molding process. The greatest benefit of all of this hard work on the front end is a final structure with intact and continuous carbon filaments. Long fibers distribute stress loads over their entire length -- the longer the fiber, the greater the distribution of the stress. This is advantageous and their wheels are able to exceed spoke tension capabilities of other carbon fiber wheels because of it. In effect, higher spoke tension is better for the spokes, and if the rim can handle the loads, the wheel is more durable.

The Enve Twenty9 XC Tubeless Carbon Clincher Wheelset is built with 32 hole DT Swiss hubs laced with DT Swiss Aerolite stainless steel spokes. After all, it would be a shame to pair these top-shelf rims with anything other than the best components. Enve wheels are designed to be used with tubeless tires. The inside rim dimension and shape meets UST standards to ensure faultless tire installation and tubeless performance. They come with two UST-style valve stems and a roll of tape to seal both rims. The rims measure 32mm deep and 24mm wide.  The front hub comes equipped with a 15mm thru-axle configuration and the rear is is ready for a 12x142mm thru-axle.

Note: The rims are covered under the 5 year manufacturer warranty. The hubs and spokes are not covered under the ENVE warranty. We are only able to ship to this product to addresses within the United States.