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Reader’s Rides, er, Wheels – Custom I9 Derby 29er Wheelset

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Derby I9 Wheels (1)

Frank from Marty’s Reliable Cycle in Hackettstown, NJ wanted a pair of heavy duty carbon wheels. Rad carbon wheels, made with Industry Nine hubs and spokes – in purple of course. The result is what Frank thinks might be the first set of I9/Derby wheelsets in the world.

Check out the weight and more after the break.

Derby I9 Wheels (2)

We recently got a chance to take a look at Derby’s new wide carbon rims at Interbike. The 29er rims are built with a monstrous 35mm external and 29mm internal width and weigh in at 465g while carrying a 250lb weight limit. For many riders, the 250lb instead of 200lb or less limit opens up the world of carbon rims. Frank’s wheelset built with I9 142×12 and 15mm thru axle hubs and I9’s proprietary spokes laced to Derby’s 29er rims register 800g for the front, and 960g for the rear on the shop’s Park scale.

Derby is running a special winter sale, with the rims listed at $299 (650b or 29), with regular pricing set at $379. Frank said retail for the custom wheels pictured above should be around $2100.

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22 Comments
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Wilco Cycleworks
10 years ago

Have a pair of 650b Derby rims down at I9 being built up right now. Rims are awesome and the hubs are fantastic. That purple looks killer!

Chasejj
Chasejj
10 years ago

Badass!
Now Derby just needs to get the 26″ rims in production and we will all be happy!

Diego
Diego
10 years ago

Why so heavy? 2x465gr rims + sapim cx ray and alu nipples, Dt 240 or similar hub would be weighting 100gr less. I have always thougt that new I9 hubs and spokes were lighter as traditional ones. Aesthetically those wheels look fantastic!

Chasejj
Chasejj
10 years ago

Diego-Super wide and HD construction is a priority over absolute flyweight on these rims.
The extra width provides a much nicer tire profile and traction benefits. The cost is les than 1/2 of a Enve rim as well.

bog
bog
10 years ago

I can build with King hubs, Supercomp spokes and Derby rims for almost the same cost.

King hubs: $429/pair
Enve rims: $1600/pair
Spokes & Build: $200

Total: $2229

So the big difference is the wider Derby rims (which I love – I built some on Hope hubs) but you don’t get the same warranty or Enve name.

Skid
Skid
10 years ago

The rims are $300ea
the hubs are $575 (set of Torch Classics)
so there is $925 in spokes and labour?

mike
mike
10 years ago

too friggen expensive. Can’t believe these Retail for 2100…

Bense
Bense
10 years ago

I agree with Skid – pricing does not match up… should be closer to $1500.

Jethro
Jethro
10 years ago

Those wheels are astonishingly ugly.

David
David
10 years ago

Why are they so friggin heavy? get a set of Enve AM 29ers and weigh them. Mine are 1460 grams with DT Swiss 240… 27.5s would be a bit less. Those wheels look cool and I like I9, but the weight is atrocious for $2,100.

Chasejj
Chasejj
10 years ago

bog- I just purchased 2 sets of CK hubs and the best deal (retail) I could find is $509/set.
$429 must be some Brobuddy deal.

pornitswhatlwouldratherbmaking
pornitswhatlwouldratherbmaking
10 years ago

They are pretty badass. they do seem rather expensive. l, like a lot of riders dont want the Flashy, in your face, Enve me look of Enve but want carbon rims and these work out nice. Im going to do some LB rims after this godawfull Christmas is over. Great work!

Bog
Bog
10 years ago

@Chasejj, all you had to do was ask. Take a look at Competitivecyclist.com for King hubs.

greg
greg
10 years ago

best thing about NOT going with Enve is external nipples. besides having to take off the tire, you have to remove the Gorilla tape/rim strip. just to true a wheel.

eric
eric
10 years ago

You guys are citing prices if you did it yourself. Once you factor in the LBS markup, you can get to around the price they cite. I was going to have I-9 build up a set of Light Bicycle rims and it was ~900 plus me providing the rims, so around 1400 with shipping. The derby’s are more expensive, so a bike shop charging 2100 for this setup makes sense. Not saying I’d pay that much….

SL
SL
10 years ago

I want some derby rims real bad set up with hadley SS hub! My wife wont let me buy anything.

bog
bog
10 years ago

@eric, my price includes labour for a shop build, spokes at retail, rims at full retail and a decent, but not crazy, deal on the hubs.

Eddie
Eddie
10 years ago

The I9 spoke setup is so crazy stiff that I9 wheels built with aluminum rims have a similar stiffness to an enve build with conventional spokes. I haven’t seen an I9/carbon build in real life yet, but I can only imagine that it’s in a league of it’s own ride-wise. As far as the pricing goes, I9 charges significantly more for unusual colors and for custom rim builds (I assume they have to cut custom spokes for rims they don’t stock).

Joe
Joe
10 years ago

Having a set built for my wife right now with the Torch hubs and DT Revolution spokes, and they’re in purple too! You beat me to it!

K11
K11
10 years ago

i didn’t realize that bike rumor articles were a spot for bike shops to do online retail.

Josh
Josh
10 years ago

I have seen these wheels in person. Wow is all I can say. While Frank is a great wheelbuilder in his own right, he had to send these to I9 to get them built.

Luke
Luke
10 years ago

Hey Joe,

What is the weight for the set your building for your wife? I am looking to pair the Derby’s w/ I9 hubs. Are yours or your wifes the heavy duty Derby’s or the standard?

Thanks,

LUke

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