Easton today officially announced its new ARC aluminium mountain bike rims for riders that prefer to build their own wheels. The tubeless-ready rims will be offered in three different widths and two diameters, they’re impressively light, and their reasonable prices are within reach of mere mortals.
Easton ARC rim key features:
- 20mm depth
- Welded construction
- 24mm, 27mm, or 30mm internal widths
- 32-hole spoke drilling
- 27.5in or 29in diameters
- Claimed 27.5in weights: 425g (24mm); 475g (27mm); 490g (30mm)
- Claimed 29in weights: 455g (24mm); 515g (27mm); 535g (30mm)
- US$100 / £80 / €100 / AU$TBC
- May availability
Easton's new ARC rim specs are quite impressive, at least based on company claims
Easton says the ARC’s multiple rim widths are intended to fulfill the needs of a broad spectrum of riders, from XC to trail to enduro. And while the rim dimensions are much wider than anything else Easton has produced to date, advancements in aluminium extrusion, alloy, and heat treatment technology have brought the weights down.
According to Easton’s senior manager of product creation, Adam Marriott, the 24mm-wide ARC is in fact lighter than the rim used in the current 21mm-wide Haven.
Tubeless, wide, relatively light, and reasonably priced - what's not to like?
Welded seams should make for increased strength as compared to a pinned setup and if past wheel models are any indication, Easton’s ‘bead barb’ internal rim profile should yield a highly reliable tubeless setup – at least when using tyres with proper tubeless bead profiles. Sadly, tubeless devotees will have to purchase the requisite conversion kits separately since they’re not included, but hub compatibility should be excellent as all of the new ARC rims will be available only in 32-hole drillings.
For more information, visit www.eastoncycling.com.