Zero Reasons Not to Stick With Light Bicycle (II)

Info : 130lbs, 5'5"
Local Club: Chico Velo.
I average about 6000 miles per year, about 75% of which is on the road. My specialty is climbing, and I love centuries and double centuries. My off-road riding ranges from rough-and-slow to flowy-and-fast. The past few years have included several longer gravel rides. 2022 will begin my 35th year of cycling.

Specifications

MTB 1

Frameset : Ibis HD3

Fork : RockShox Pike

Groupset : Sram X01 Eagle

Dropper Post : BikeYoke

Rims : Light Bicycle AM727 Recon Pro 32H

Hubs : American Classic

Spokes : DT Swiss Comp 14/15G

Nipples : DT Swiss Aluminum

Tires : Schwalbe Nobby Nic 2.6”

MTB 2

Frameset : Ibis Ripmo

Fork : Fox 36

Groupset : Sram X01 Eagle

Dropper Post : BikeYoke

Rims : Light Bicycle AM927 Recon Pro 28H

Hubs : Bitex Hubs

Spokes : Sapim Race 14/15G

Nipples : DT Swiss Aluminum

Tires : Specialized Butcher 2.6” (F) Eliminator 2.3” (R)

Road Bike (coming soon)

Frameset : Cruzbike V20

Rims : Light Bicycle AR465 Disc Tubeless

Hubs : Bitex Hubs

Spokes : Sapim CX Ray

Nipples : DT Swiss Aluminum

Tires : Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless 25c

Here was the next test for Light Bicycle: customer service.

My confidence with Light Bicycle has become such that when a friend of mine bought an Ibis Ripmo and wanted to replace her beat-up aluminum wheels with carbon, I did not hesitate to send her a few Light Bicycle rim options, even though I knew she was a bruiser on a bike. We built up a pair of Recon Pro AM930’s, 28-hole, laced to Industry 9 hubs. So nice! Easy to build, light weight, strong, and pretty. Still, she did crack her rear rim on a square-edged landing at the bottom of a two-foot, low-speed drop. While she was able to ride home, the rim was done.

Here was the next test for Light Bicycle: customer service. Would they warranty the rim? Yes. Would they be responsive, or drag their feet? Responsive. Would they try to blame her for doing something wrong? No. The customer service rep asked her a few straightforward questions, requested a couple of pictures, and within a week a new replacement rim arrived. All my friend had to pay was the shipping fee. We rebuilt the wheel the next day, and she has been ripping along on her Ripmo ever since (maybe with a little more tire pressure in back).

Two things made me appreciate Light Bicycle even more in building my own Ibis Ripmo.

My latest project, just recently finished, was to build my own Ibis Ripmo, meaning a move from 27.5 to 29-inch wheels. I went with the Recon Pro AM927, which is the 29-inch equivalent to the AM727’s I’ve been riding. So far they have performed as well as their faultless 27.5” cousins. Strong, fast, and light, with a few rock scars that say “Welcome to Bidwell Park”.

Here are two aspects about building these wheels that have helped me appreciate Light Bicycle even more. First, customers can choose from a range of options. Not just rim width and spoke count, but even whether or not you want holes drilled in the rim bed for spokes! I don’t hate rim tape, but I don’t love it either. Light Bicycle will make a fresh pair of rims for me without holes in the rim bed? No need for tape? After a bit of research on YouTube to determine how difficult building wheels without rim bed holes would be (answer: not that hard), I ordered my rims. I knew that these rims would not be arriving from the North American warehouse in a week, that these would have to be made in the China facility and then shipped—a five-to-six-week wait, which was fine with me because I knew that I would have exactly the rims I wanted.

But the second thing that I appreciated happened during this wait time, shortly after I placed my order. Nicole, from the sales team, emailed me to let me know that their wheel builder didn’t recommend solid rim beds for rims under a 25mm height. My rims were 24mm. She told me that there isn’t much room inside the rim to maneuver the spoke nipple to be able to pull it through the spoke hole. She asked if I wanted to change my order. In my reply, I asked her if what she described made the wheel “difficult but still possible” to build, or flat-out “impossible”. She let me know that it would be most likely possible but potentially difficult, and that I should use 12mm nipples, rather than 14 or 16mm. I took the chance and told her to stick with the original order, but I truly appreciated knowing that there was someone out there looking over incoming orders, willing and able to offer advice along the way. Customer service came through again, even when I didn’t know I might need it.

So, how did the build go with these rims? Not a hitch. Each 12mm nipple slid effortlessly through the rim and out the spoke hole. No more rim tape losing its grip and shifting around; no more sealant slipping past the tape, into the rim cavity. The tires popped right on, then I added sealant and pumped the tires up to pressure. It rained off and on for the next four days, and over that time, as the wheels sat idle in the garage, the tires lost no air. Wow!

My next project is a new pair of AR465 wheels to replace the NOX set.

My next project is a new pair of road wheels that will replace the NOX set (mentioned earlier) because it is time to switch from rim brakes to disc brakes. I had actually set out to order just these road rims so many weeks back, when I added the AM927 rims to the order on a lark, for a frame that I didn’t own yet. So both pairs of rims arrived at the same time, in the same box, nice and snug. Merry Christmas to me! These road rims are the Falcon Pro AR465 disc rims, in the lighter “flyweight” build (another nice customization option for select rims). Like the AM927’s, I ordered these without rim bed holes. The slight wavy pattern looks great and makes sense in terms of improving aerodynamics. And on a recumbent, aero is key. I’m super stoked to get going on these.

Up against my many reasons to stick with Light Bicycle are zero reasons not to.

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January 14th, 2022 | Light Bicycle

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