Krampgrease or Instigatgrease - new rim choice for my Carbon Beargrease



Carbon Beargrease with 29+er wheel build

Since buying my Salsa Carbon Beargrease i have been toying with the idea of some new rims. The bike comes with Surly Rolling Darryl's as standard which have performed without fault but are heavier than my old Surly Marge Lites. I want to shave some weight off and make the wheels spin upto speed quicker. I looked at the Marge Lite again but then found some Northpaw-s 26" x 47mm rims - SPEC -  

Designed for fatbike riders who ride year ’round, Schlick Cycles developed the 47mm Northpaw-S rim to address a lack of avalability of a similar sized rim in our market.

European fatbike riders have known about the benefits of narrower rims for all-season fatbiking for several years and now that advantage is available to the US market.
Our first rim offering is made specifically for Symmetrical Fatbikes using the 170mm rear and 135mm front standards. With an offset spoke pattern these make incredibly strong wheels.
The Northpaw 47mm rim is 120g per rim lighter than the most popular light-weight 65mm rims available and works great with the new, lighter-weight fatbike tires like the 45Nrth Husker Du, Larry Lite and Nate Lite as well as the Black Floyd for an excellent urban assault ride. (Not recommended for BFLs)
Rim Specs:
• Hub Drilling: 32
• Wheel Size: 26″
• Tire Type: Fat Clincher
• Color: Black Anodized
• Brake Compatibility: Disc Only
• Width: 47 mm
• Rim Material: Alloy
• Valve: Presta
• ISO Diameter: 559 / 26″ mtn
• ERD 547
• Weight: 550.0 g

Then i toyed with the idea of Surly Rabbit Hole 29+" rims but it meant buying new tyres, tubes, cassette etc as im going to keep my standard wheels and not strip them down.
When looking at the Rabbit hole i noticed that they also come in a 26+ x 50mm option - SPEC

A 26˝ version of our 50mm Rabbit Hole rim. Run tires as small as 2.3 or 2.4˝, or as large as 4˝ to get yourself more traction, simple suspension and float than you can get with standard width rims. Our semi-single wall design maintains rim strength and rigidity without adding significant weight. All our rims use a dual-row spoke hole design, allowing one rim to be built on-center or offset, depending on the type frame you’ll use.

Hub Compatibility: 32h hubs
ETRTO*: 559mm
Weight: 600g
Color: Black anodized or polished silver
*Tire bead seat diameter

That would make a 520g saving for a pair of rims ! This would also open up the width of tyre choice from a 2.75" dirt wizard right upto my 4" 45NRTH's. Surly are also going to release a Knard 26" x 3" tyre soon. I will keep my existing wheels set up as i want to run a Bud on the front at some point.

Onto the rim strips - one choice really - Surly Rim Strips - SPEC -

We also produce PVC rimstrips for our Marge Lite, Rolling Darryl, Clown Shoe and Rabbit Hole rims. Choose from red, white, blue, orange and good old black. All are sold singly.
Fits Width 38mm 50mm rim

Hubs - another pair of Hope Fatsno as they come in bolt through option now and Sram XD freewheel as well - SPEC -
Fatsno Front hub Tech Specs >

• Sealed Stainless Steel cartridge bearings throughout
• Machined from forged 2014 T6 aluminium billet
• Available in 28, 32 and 36 hole drillings
• Conversions available for QR, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm axles
• Standard 6 bolt disc mount
• 135 and 142mm axle length
• FDS and RDS (Front and rear disc spacing) available
• Colour Black, Silver, Red, Blue, Gunsmoke and Purple
• Weight: 255g

Fatsno Rear hub Tech Specs >
• Sealed Stainless Steel cartridge bearings throughout
• Aluminium cassette body
• 4 Pawl Ratchet mechanism
• 40 point engagement (9 deg)
• Machined from forged 2014 T6 aluminium billet
• Available in 28, 32 and 36 hole drillings
• Conversions available for QR, 10mm bolt in, 10mm and 12mm axles
• Two hub widths available 170/177 and 190mm
• Available to suit 10sp Shimano or Sram XD cassettes
• Standard 6 bolt disc mount
• Colour Black, Silver, Red, Blue, Gunsmoke and Purple
• Weight: 170mm - 367g

Westbrook Cycles are building them up and have my rims and tapes but waiting for the hubs from Hope. When they are built i will do a follow up blog.