Spotted at the Philly Bike Expo aboard a team rider’s bike, these carbon fat bike rim prototypes are getting put through the paces for a Winter 2015/16 release.
The design comes from the supplier, not from Boo Bicycles, but CEO Nick Frey said there’s a lot to like about them, revealing a few interesting notes about fat bike carbon rims. For these in particular, he says they’re reasonably light, between 500g and 600g per rim, 80mm wide and set up tubeless very easy.
The have a double wall construction, so they’re stiff and strong, too. It’s here that some of the construction gets interesting. He said because the tires are so big and provide so much cushion between the ground and the rim, the carbon rims haven’t needed the same level of impact resistance as a carbon rim designed for normal mountain bike tires. So, they’re able to use less expensive, lower quality carbon to save cost without sacrificing performance or durability.
The plan is to offer them sometime next year as an upgrade option on complete bikes, but we see no reason they couldn’t be offered as a standalone aftermarket part for any fat bike you may own. Closeup pics below…
