Is there anyone who will be travelling to Vancouver Island Muni weekend from the U.S. who would be willing to bring up a rim with them?
Unfortunately the 700c Rhyno Lite is not available in Canada. I can’t find a substitute so I’m stuck with bringing one up somehow. It’s unfortunate that there appears to be no alternative in a big 700c rim. While I’m very happy with my 26" doublwide I feel Sun Ringle is a company not worthy of my support. I have watched as messages have been left by my LBS with no response forthcoming and I’ve sent unanswered email to Sun. I’d jump ship at the first opportunity.
But enough of that. I need the rim so… Is there anyone who wouldn’t be inconvenienced by playing courier?
The 700c Rhyno Lite is only about four millimeters wider (20%)than the Alex DM-18, Alex TD17, Alex Adventurer, and Salsa Delgao Cross. Only the latter doesn’t have eyelets, according to the catalog. The first three have a triple-channel construction like the Sun. The Adventurer and Salsa have a machined brake track. Of these, you also can get black, which is not a Rhino Lite option, according to our QBP catalog (there may be other options all-round that QBP doesn’t carry).
I’m convinced that the triple-channel rims I mentioned are just as strong or stronger. You really only need the width if you are doing a lot of sidehopping; but in that case I doubt that either width will prevent rollover. I may be wrong since I haven’t ridden a 29er off-road yet.
For serious cross-country ala GizmoDuck my opinion is that they’d all be equally suitable. He runs around the serious drops and up the hills that are too steep to roll.
Using the provincial assumption that all Canadians are close neighbors, you may want to PM erin or someone else from her club. I think a couple are planning on coming down to Seattle this coming weekend for the Seattle International Juggling Festival, and we’ve been planning some riding. Assuming it’s something that any ol’ LBS might have, perhaps you can appeal to her sense of nationalism to pick one up and smuggle it back across the border.
I have also been doing a lot of muni on my 29er. I’m using 125mm cranks, so it’s pretty quick. I am constantly surprised at what I can do on the 29er. Yesterday, I made it up a hill that I didn’t think would be 29er-able. I’ve got a v-brake, so downhills are a breeze. It rolls through technical sections of rocks and roots. Just keep your momentum going. And it’s fast enough to make boring trails fun.
I need to get me a RynoLite, but I can’t decide on 36 hole or 48 hole. I’m currently using a very narrow road rim. A Mavic CXP21 to be exact. I think it’s only 19mm wide. It’s performed better than I thought it would, though I almost rolled the tire off the rim on an off-camber uphill last week. It’s scary to look down at the rim and tire while riding. The rim is just so narrow, I don’t know how it supports the 2.1 Nannoraptor.
