The list goes on for wheel manufacturers entering the market or updating their XC wheel offerings. Nobl created quite a stir by updating its Signature Series and adding the Ethos, the “lightest 30mm XC wheelset in the world.”
Reserve was perhaps the most recent to do so, announcing the 30XC earlier this week. The new wheels are a bit wider than their 28XC, a trend we are seeing many companies follow. Why? To meet the demands of modern XC tracks.
But not ENVE. Rather than adopting the wider rim, they’ve stuck with what seemed to be the XC standard for a while now. Instead, ENVE has found other ways to beef up their XC28 wheels, enough so that they can even handle the torque of an eMTB.
ENVE XC28
Inspired by what they learned from M Series and the durability of the AM30 wheels, ENVE took its time developing the XC28 wheels. The overall goal was to create a high-performing wheel that meets the needs of XC and trail riders today, at a more affordable price.
The wheels feature a 28mm inner width and a shallower 21mm rim depth for the compliance they desired. Adding to the overall width and strength of the rim is a 3.8mm sidewall thickness. This is ENVE’s patent-pending Wide Hookless Bead, with claims of reducing pinch flats by over 50%. Essentially, the leading edge of the bead is, well, wider, helping dissipate impact energy much better than a traditional bead design.
Also helping with strength are 28 spokes (front and rear) and molded spoke holes. Rather than drilling the spoke holes, which cuts through and compromises the carbon, the spoke and valve stem holes are molded. This maintains continuous fibers in the carbon, adding strength while cutting weight.
ENVE laces these rims to their Innerdrive hub using a beefy 42mm ratchet system. The hubs come standard with 80 POE, with the option to upgrade to 100 POE.
All of this results in a 1,516g wheelset for XC and trail applications that can also handle up to 75Nm of torque from an e-bike. Now, that certainly isn’t a lot, especially when drive units like the new Avinox are putting out 150Nm. But, for SL eMTBs and mid-power e-bikes, these could be a good option.
XC28 Details
- Wheelset weight: 1,516g (including tape, valves, and HG freehub)
- Wheel size: 29”
- Inner width: 28mm
- Rim depth: 21mm
- Tire size: 2.25-2.4 (2.4 optimized)
- Hub: Innerdrive 80 POE (100 POE option)
- Spokes: Sapim XC-Ray J-Bend
- Hole count: 28 (F / R)
- Hub spacing: Boost (148) & Superboost (157)
- Price: $1,400
enve.com
