off-road.cc

The Ryde Edge 30 OS Enduro wheelset goes a long way to prove that you really needn't pay the earth on a wheelset to get great performance. If you’ve got a few hundred quid to spend on a new wheelset, you could do far worse than ta set of Ryde Edge 30s. They’ve been genuinely faultless and have left me thoroughly impressed.

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You'd be forgiven if you hadn't heard of Ryde before, but this new aluminium 30mm (internal) width enduro focused wheels has punched well above what the price tag might suggest.

The rims utilise an offset spoke design which is said to allow more even spoke tension, reduce fatigue and increase strength and durability. They use lightweight Sapim spokes and whilst I’m not a huge fan of alloy nipples from a long term durability point of view, they do keep the weight down.

The wheels are built on to Bitex hubs, which have a very quick six-pawl engagement system and a clever anti-bite system which uses small steel inserts on to the alloy freehub body to prevent the cassette from biting into the aluminium. Its a clever inclusion which does a good job at prolonging freehub body life whilst keeping weight down over using a complete steel unit. They are, of course, tubeless compatible and came pre-taped with valves installed.

Our wheels were 27.5" and had Boost spacing and we got them bolted on to a suitably aggressive bike. The Maxxis tyres seated up tubeless using only a track pump and no dramas were experienced during install.

The wheels weigh in at 1,897g without tyres which for a wheel with ‘enduro’ intentions, is a very reasonable number, especially considering they’re just under £300 and use a full count of 32 spokes front and rear.

On their first ride in typical British slop, I was immediately aware and pleasantly surprised by the quick engagement of the Bitex hubs - not something I was expecting for the budget wheelset. They also felt convincingly stiff but with enough compliance to aid grip, as you’d expect from a set of well built aluminium hoops.

The nice ‘n’ wide 30mm internal rim width gives a great stance to the newer breed of 2.5" or 2.6" tyres and allows lower pressures to be run without the resultant tyre roll, often found on narrower rims. I settled for circa 20psi in the front and around 24psi in the rear.

Months and numerous miles of slop, rock and hucks later and the Rydes are still going strong, albeit with the inevitable few scuffs and dings to show for their work through the winter. To say I’ve been impressed would be an understatement, they genuinely haven’t missed a beat with them remaining dead true and the bearings still smooth, despite my intentional lack of maintenance and indiscriminate line choices.  

• www.chickencycles.co.uk
• www.ryde.nl

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