The ‘extreme’ test
I’m the rider in that thread that skilewis74 posted (here). I actually have a 50mm prototype 29er rim, but it’s probably close enough to the performance of the 47mm production model. My 24" muni has a 65mm rim, so this thing still feels kinda skinny.
Vivalargo and I rode gspot trail today, and I took the 29er. For those that don’t know, gspot is a benchmark stunt trail in SoCal and by far the most technical in the Los Angeles area. It is truly extreme - in the last few years two experienced mountain unicyclists have literally broken their backs on that rattlesnake-infested hillside (and thankfully eventually recovered to full health). It is essentially a downhill boulderfield that has 20’+ drops, huge steep cliffs, sandy chutes, numerous dirt jumps and many tight banked corners. The only places I’ve found a greater challenge are north of the border (Vancouver). We’ve written about our rides here many times - lots of threads reference it.
So, how did the new wide rim do? In two words: no problem. I threw myself over half a dozen five foot drops, down cliff faces, over dirt jumps and across sand slides, and caused no major damage. It does need a serious truing now and the spokes are making funny noises, but that was expected. John might have a photo or two, but we were mostly concentrating on the ride. The links above have plenty of photos of the terrain anyway.
My one nit with the experience is that a 29er in general seems a bit too fast for the trail. Gspot is all about controlled descent and precision on terrain so steep it’s at the edge of being unrideable. Even on a 24 with a brake, downhill speed can get out of hand in half a wheel revolution. I did walk around some technical lines, but mostly because extreme 29er is a new mental game for me. In terms of abuse, it still got a full dose. The bottom line to add to lunicycle’s review: This thing is durable.