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IB15: Reynolds and Borealis Team Up For Made In the USA Carbon Fat Bike Rim

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borealis reynolds made in us carbon fat bike rims wheels-2

If you want to drop some weight on your fat bike, wheels and tires are a good place to start. Because of the massive size of fat bike rims and tires, there’s often a good amount of weight savings to be found. When it comes to rims, that often means looking into carbon fiber, though designing a carbon fiber fat bike isn’t the easiest thing to do. After issues with their Carbondale rims, Borealis has stuck to aluminum or carbon rims from other manufacturers.

Rather than giving up on their desire to create their own carbon rim though, Borealis instead is teaming up with Reynolds Cycling to make it happen. By combining Reynolds’ experience with carbon with Borealis’ knowledge of fat bike rims, the team has put together a carbon rim that will be made in the USA and looks to check off a lot of boxes when it comes to fat bikes…

borealis reynolds made in us carbon fat bike rims wheels

When designing the new rim, weight was a big concern but durability was just as, if not more important. The Borealis Elite carbon rim is designed first and foremost to be an all-terrain wheel rather than just a snow wheel. That means being able to withstand aggressive riding on the most punishing terrain. On top of that, the wheel had to be easy to set up tubeless, and be able to hold the tire well at extremely low pressures. These are all the areas of the design that Borealis offered their expertise, while Reynolds made it happen with their carbon magic.

borealis reynolds made in us carbon fat bike rims wheels-3

borealis reynolds made in us carbon fat bike rims wheels-4

Using a double wall, full carbon construction, the 32h Elite rim is also a hookless design that is meant to make Setting up tubeless tires a breeze. Measuring in at 85 mm wide and 80 mm internally, the rim will be available exclusively through Borealis and will be made in Salt Lake City.

borealis reynolds made in us carbon fat bike rims wheels-7 borealis reynolds made in us carbon fat bike rims wheels-6

Elites will be available in rim only, or in complete builds with either Borealis or I9 hubs. Pricing starts at $1000 per rim which may sound a little steep, but Borealis and Reynolds are comparing this rim to something like an Enve rim which has a similar price tag and a lot less material. Complete wheel builds will start at $2300 with Borealis hubs.

Weight is claimed to be 610 g per rim which works out to an actual weight of 2,210g for a wheelset with Borealis hubs as measured above.

Wheels and rims will be available the first week of October through Borealis and their dealer network.

reynoldscycling.com

fatbike.com

 

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bikeduder
bikeduder
8 years ago

Ive always wanted a 5lb 2000$ wheelset… 🙁

IHW
IHW
8 years ago

These are performance wheels, a hefty price tag is to be expected. And you cant expect a 1400 gram wheelset for a fat bike

GrindMyGears
GrindMyGears
8 years ago

No you can’t IHW, but I would prefer to shave a bunch of grams and buy the HED wheels for the same price. With brand name hubs even! Or go the Whisky 70w route for a affordable carbon trail rim…

Oh wait, you are paying a inflated price for Made in the US.
Shit, HED is also made in the US.

Now what?

BikePacker
BikePacker
8 years ago

“After issues with their Carbondale rims, Borealis has stuck to aluminum or carbon rims from other manufacturers.”

They have had massive issues with their frames and forks failing too. Makes me question the quality control from this company. Frames, forks, and wheels with issues….

El Rob
El Rob
8 years ago

The HED and this rim aren’t apples to apples. The HED is lighter but it’s single walled and sold as snow specific. The Reynolds is double walled, meant for all terrain. Also if you base it on the amount of material used to make a single wall vs a double wall the HED is more expensive.
Putting the Whiskey against either the HED or the Reynolds isn’t even an argument.
As for the HuBS in pretty sure Borealis will build either Reynolds or HED on their hub or an I9.

fatbiker
fatbiker
8 years ago

The HED rims have performed great in all terrain for me. I do not use them as snow only wheels and I have never had a problem getting rad on rocks and roots. Very light and made in the USA.

Seffi
Seffi
8 years ago

You could buy dt almost the same weight for less

haromania
haromania
8 years ago

Hed rims being snow specific has never been true, no matter how much the people who don’t own them want you to believe.

Paochow
Paochow
8 years ago

So for double the price, you save 20gr over a set of DT Swiss Big Ride wheels?

Ol' Shel'
Ol' Shel'
8 years ago

The sport has jumped the carbon shark.

Grammarnazi
Grammarnazi
8 years ago

“Borealis’ knowledge of fat bike rims”

What knowledge? Borealis has just rebadged rims for years.

Lancelotlink
Lancelotlink
8 years ago

(deleted)

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