Ibis Cycles and Stan’s Launch New S-Wheels and Rims Collaboration

I’ve been running Ibis 942 Carbon Wheels with I9 hubs on the Salsa Timberjack for a while. They’ve seen a thousands of miles of rugged, rocky terrain in the Georgian and Armenian Caucasus, the Rockies, and the Appalachians. I’ve been quite impressed with their durability and weight. Now Ibis just launched its redesigned wheel line to be even stronger and lighter. According to Ibis, in order to make them even better they had to reduce the height of the beadwalls. This would improve vertical compliance, leading to improved impact resistance, ride quality, and reduced weight. To do so, they teamed up with Stan’s NoTubes and integrated their patented Bead Socket Technology (BST). BST rims have shorter sidewall which helps make tire setup easy, and according to Stan’s, improves tubeless performance. Watch the infomercial below and find specs farther down…

Ibis claims the new carbon wheels are 9% better at resisting impacts than the former wheels. To make that happen, Ibis used Toughened Hybrid Carbon, a proprietary toughened resin, in the beadwall. This allows it to flex and shrug off impacts while keeping the tire in place. And, like the 942, they employed an asymmetric rim design. Instead of the spoke holes being drilled through the center of the rim, they’re slightly offset. Doing this improves the bracing angle of the spokes and enabled Ibis to tension both sides of the wheels nearly equally, which results in a stronger and more durable wheelset.

Ibis’ previous wheels used the external width measurement to name and identify them. To simplify things, Ibis now uses the internal rim width to differentiate between just two models. The S28 has a 28mm (technically 28.6mm) internal rim width, while the S35 has a 35mm internal rim width. The new S35 wheels are available now on complete bikes. S28 rims and wheels will be shipping later this summer. Both S35 and S28 wheels and rims will be available aftermarket later this year.

The carbon wheels are available in two different versions: I9 and Logo. The I9 wheels are built with Industry Nine’s new Hydra Hubs and bladed Sapim CX-Ray spokes. They retail aftermarket for $1,799. They’re also available as an upgrade to any build kit Ibis offers for $1,300. The Logo wheels utilize a hub Ibis designed in house. It spins on Enduro bearings and is laced with double butted Sapim D-Light spokes. They retail aftermarket for $1,299 and are available as an upgrade on any Ibis build kit for $899. Both are 27.5” and 29” and have a seven year warranty. Learn more over at IbisCycles.com.

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