Ibis

741 Carbon Fiber 27.5in Wheelset - DT Swiss 350 Rear Hub

The trend toward wider rims is perhaps the simplest trend to explain in all of cycling right now — more rubber on the ground equals more traction. Ibis’ 741 Carbon Wheels accomplish this in a couple of ways. First and most obvious is the rims’ 35mm internal width. For comparison, a Stan’s Flow rim from a couple years ago had a wide-for-its-time internal width of 25mm. This added width spreads the tire beads outward and allows the tire to take on a more U-shaped form, rather than the lightbulb-like shape we’re used to. That means more knobs on the ground, and with less work for the sidewalls to do, you can run them about 5psi lighter than you normally would.

The second key to the rims’ success is their lack of a bead hook — right, lack of a bead hook. No snapping in place sound when you mount tires, just a nice settling in. This makes the wide rim both light and strong, since the shapes are simpler, and therefore less carbon fiber has to be used. We haven’t burped one yet. At the core of the rear wheel is a DT Swiss 350 hub —a workhorse from a company that makes nothing but workhorses.