About Speed Dream, Dave's Wheels and custom wheel expert Dave Thomas

Stan's Bicycle Wheel Rims

Dave Says

"The Stan's Standard" Stan Koziatek has been an innovator of bicycle rims ever since his first plans to produce a sub-300 gram mountain bike rim. It was nearly impossible at the time, but has since become a reality with the "Podium". It has taken a lot of innovation along the way…a lot of retooled experimental manufacturing dies (at $4000 a pop).

The latest standard of bead-hook technology belonging to the Crest, Arch EX, and Flow EX originally came from the 7000 series Race rim. The maximally compact sidewall was designed to grip the tire from the very hard portion of the bead, allowing the tire to flex throughout the entire fabric. This gives the tire more floatation and stability over uneven rocky terrain…more flex that becomes stable due to the greater internal width made possible by the ultra low and narrow bead hooks.

The new standard fits all the tires except those specifically designed for the old standard. UST rims require UST tires to get a tight enough fit to seal properly, and so they will not fit the Stan's standard. Most tube type tires can be used as tubeless (check notubes.com for the list), and they are lighter by a few ounces. The "tubeless-ready" tires by Bontrager, Schwalbe, and Specialized are a more universal fit and can be used with Notubes rims, the Geax TnT and WTB tires cannot.

The sidewall is 3 mm lower than most other rims, allowing tube users to run lower pressures without pinch-flatting. This can give a tubeless feel without the messy hassle of tubeless tires.

Another significant aspect to the carefully designed Stan's rims is the strength to weight ratio evident in all of the Notubes line, even back to the first Olympic and 355 models. Daves Wheels warranty is two years, double the length of the manufacturer's, and we have had few complications, making these among the very most reliable rims despite their light weight. It goes without saying that lightweight possibilities are strengthened by a skilled and principled builder — your results may vary elsewhere.