The new WTB KOM rim was designed for racing enduro, hard and fast.
Enduro World Series competitor and WTB employee Jason Moeschler says they were seeing carbon rims cracking and breaking at the races, but they liked the weights.
So, they wanted to make a rim that was lightweight but could take a beating without prematurely ending someone’s race.
The material is an alloy that’s similar to scandium, so it’s light, but the real story is in the shaping and design…
If you hit a rock, the bead is designed to fold in and actually hold the tire tighter. Then, there’s a crush zone on the sidewall that runs down to just below the tire bed. That means if you *REALLY* hit a rock and dent the rim, it shouldn’t affect the integrity of the rim.
It has a 23mm inner width with a UST compliant shape. Weights are 392g (26″), 412g (27.5″) and 432g (29er).
The other benefit of carbon is the lateral stiffness. To match that, they made it 32 hole only and gave it a massive 160kg of force spoke tension limit.
So it can be built stiff, but I won’t be so stiff that it compromises what the tire can handle.
Basically, Moeschler says it’s the rim that can get you where you want to go quickly with the least amount of issues.
Available near the end of the year, retail pricing TBD, likely around $100 (€70-75).