First Look: 2014 ENVE M-Series Carbon Wheels 12

ardor

4/8/2014 1:55am

ENVE Composites have been producing high quality carbon cycling parts since 2007. Just a few years ago the Santa Cruz Syndicate, including Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, and Josh Bryceland, began using ENVE's carbon hoops exclusively on their World Cup Downhill race bikes. Rumor has it the Syndicate rode just one wheelset for the entire year of racing! This is incredible, because as anyone that has been to a World Cup can attest, wheels are constantly trashed run in and run out, being replaced often throughout the day or weekend.

Since then, ENVE produced an impressive DH rim for consumers, adding to their collection of XC and AM rims in all applicable wheel sizes. As with any progressive company though, they didn't rest there. The team based out of Ogden, Utah has been developing a new line of rims that aim to push the envelope again, creating a new benchmark in carbon wheel technology and increasing their product's already great ride quality, strength and durability.

Those with a keen eye may have noticed a wheel that was a little different in the recent Santa Cruz Nomad launch, and for those that did you can rest assured that you were onto something.

Introducing ENVE's new M-Series wheels. The collection features various widths and flex qualities while covering more wheel sizes in more disciplines than ever before, enabling riders to get the most dialed wheel possible for their riding preference. There's also some interesting new technology to discuss.

M90 Ten Downhill Rim

26-inch and 27.5-inch (650b) wheel sizes
Rim weight: 26-inch: 487g // 27.5-inch: 509g
Internal width: 25mm
External width: 34mm
Rim height: 34mm
Available in 32 hole only
Full wheel built on DT240 hubs: 1,707g (26-inch)

M70 Thirty Aggressive Enduro/Big Mountain Rim

26-inch, 27.5-inch (650b) and 29-inch wheel sizes
Rim weight: 26-inch: 433g // 27.5-inch: 453g // 29-inch: 481g
Internal width: 25mm
External width: 32mm
Rim height: 34mm
Available in 32 and 28 hole configurations
Full wheel built on DT240 hubs: 1,560g (26-inch)

M60 Forty Trail/Enduro Rim

27.5-inch (650b) and 29-inch wheel sizes
Rim weight: 27.5-inch: 374g // 29-inch: 397g
Internal width: 23mm
External width: 29mm
Rim height: 32mm
Available in 32 and 28 hole configurations
Full wheel built on DT240 (CL) hubs: 1,433g (27.5-inch)

M50 Fifty XC Race Rim

29-inch wheel size
Rim weight: 330g
Internal width: 21mm
External width: 27mm
Rim height: 28mm
Available in 28 hole
Full wheel built on DT240 (CL) hubs: 1,361g (29-inch)

Rim Profiles

Technology and Construction

ENVE's M-Series hoops incorporate a number of new technologies that have enabled their engineers to really go to town. One such feature is "Hookless" tire retention.

Recent advances in tubeless tire technology have made it possible to remove the need for the bead hook on the rim, enabling the engineers at ENVE to design a rim that is stronger in this area. Moving away from the bead hook removes restrictions in the layup, which are often produced when taking the bead hook into account, thus sacrificing the strength that could be found without it. In addition to the strength gains found when removing the bead hook, ENVE worked to further increase the impact strength of their hoops.

An updated rim layup incorporates a unique proprietary shape and construction to each rim within the range, with it differing based on the attributes desired for each discipline. Aside from stiffness, strength, weight, and durability, ENVE have taken into account the tire widths and pressures ridden in each discipline. They have also tuned the rim to feel a particular way depending on the intents of the design. A large component of this is vertical compliance.

ENVE point out that just as tire pressures are important for certain trail conditions and riding disciplines, so is the vertical movement afforded by the wheel. With this in mind, ENVE's new M-Series wheels are designed to optimize vertical compliance, matching that of the tire and the terrain of the intended application. Vertical compliance is aimed to improve traction and bike control in rough terrain while improving efficiency and minimizing rider fatigue. Essentially, M-Series wheels will go further to improve the dampening qualities often found with carbon, while retaining lateral rigidity for line hold and snappy characteristics out of corners and when on the gas.

Choosing The Right Wheel

The M-Series wheels change the way ENVE categorize riders. Gone are the hard and fast XC, AM, and DH wheel categories of old, and in are a series of wheels that are "Ride Tuned" to suit the specific needs of a riders preferred application. Using the amount of descending generally done within each application, there are four new configurations: the M90 Ten targeted at the gravity fed adrenaline junky, the M70 Thirty targeted at big mountain and aggressive enduro riders, the M60 Forty for trail and enduro, and the M50 Fifty for the XC racer.

The M90 is built for those that "spend 90% of their time descending and 10% climbing" (or should we say, hiking back up?), hence the M90 Ten name. They are targeted to those that will run tires between 2.4 and 2.7-inches on a bike with 195–250mm of travel. It's the widest, tallest profile and the stiffest, strongest rim in the range, and has been designed to take the abuse of World Cup downhill racing or Red Bull Rampage hucking. ENVE has also bumped the only DH specific carbon rim on the market up to the tubeless standard. They also have you covered if you decide to jump all in on the mid-size wheel that is becoming evermore present on downhill bikes. The M90 is also one of a few DH rims currently available in the 27.5-inch size.

The M70 is developed for those that "descend 70% and climb 30%." Aggressive enduro and big mountain need to climb to get the goods, and a wheel capable of taking some serious abuse on the way back down is required. Dimensions are similar to that of the M90. With many bikes of different wheel sizes catering to this style of riding, ENVE has covered all bases with the M70. They are purpose built for those that run between 2.3 and 2.4-inch tires on bikes with 150–190mm of travel.

The other two rims in the new range are the M60 and the M50, both built equally stout, but taking into account their purposes in the process. We see the M60 being a very popular rim choice for the general trail riding crowd, targeted to riders on 2.1 to 2.4-inch tires on bikes with 105–150mm of travel. The M50 is designed with XC racing in mind, or for the XC rider that seeks a no compromise, lightweight and strong wheelset. Those with skinny tires up to 2.25-inches wide and bikes up to 100mm of travel have the ultimate steed to mount a set of the M50 wheels to.

Each wheel is available in six readily stocked color options (in addition to the stock white decal), with a custom option for riders who desire two toned color decals with custom colors. This is a great option for those that really want to go full pimp status on their new wheels! Depending on the wheel that suits your needs and desires, hubs are available from a range of Chris King and DT Swiss iterations, with the more descent oriented crowd (M90 and M70) having a pick from the appropriate configured Chris King or DT Swiss 240 series hubs. In addition to being available as an aftermarket upgrade for your current bike, the M-Series ENVE wheels will be available on select OEM partners builds, including Santa Cruz, Cannondale, Turner and Intense.