Mountain bikers are spoilt for choice when it comes to carbon wheels with different rim widths, profiles, compliance levels, hub options and most importantly price tags.
Our team are no strangers to Reserve wheels, having tested the Reserve 30 AL SL wheels on Colin’s Norco Optic, and the Reserve 30 Carbon SL wheels on Mick’s Santa Cruz Tallboy. Recently we’ve gotten our hands on a heavier hitter in the wheelset lineup, the Reserve 30HD carbon wheelset.
Our experiences have been overall very positive with Reserve wheels at Flow HQ, we’re yet to have any issues and were eager to see if the burlier 30HD wheelset would hold up to a few months worth of abuse. Laced to a set of DT350 hubs in a mullet configuration, these seemed well suited to my new Norco Sight MX for testing.
The 30HD rims feature the same dimensions of the Reserve 30 Carbon SL rims, with a heavier carbon fibre layup. The beefed-up layup is claimed to add around 50g for both the 27.5 and 29″ versions. The 30HD rim has a 30mm internal width, which has become the defacto standard for trail and enduro wheelsets, and is suitable for any tyres 2.3-2.6″ wide.
Laced up using J-Bend spokes, we’re a little disappointed to see aluminium nipples. For a wheelset of this price tag, and for the sake of longevity, we’d have liked to have seen brass nipples used here to improve the overall durability and would happily paid the cost of adding a few grams.
Reserve 30HD wheelset price & specs
- Use | Trail Riding & Enduro Racing
- Wheel Size | 27.5in & 29in
- Rim Type | Asymmetric Carbon Fibre, hookless, tubeless
- Internal Rim Width | 30mm
- Rim Depth | 20mm front and rear
- Hubs | DT Swiss 350
- Freehub | 36t Star-ratchet XD
- Brake Mount | 6-Bolt
- Spokes | 28 x Sapim J-Bend
- Nipples | Sapim Secure Lock Alloy
- Warranty | Lifetime
- Claimed Weight | 1,788g (MX)
- Actual Weight | 1,798g (MX)
- Price | $2,299 AUD
Reserve 30HD Carbon Models
These wheels are aimed at bikes between the 120-150mm bikes in what’s commonly termed the all-mountain or light enduro — or light-duro if you will. Reserve offers the 30HD in three hub options, with choices for your preferred freehub and rotor mount.
We’ve opted for DT Swiss 350 hubs as they’re a known quantity for our team, with plenty of previous experience on them. If you’re after more engagement from your hubs, the 30HD wheels are also available with Industry Nine Hydra hubs. These have a slight weight penalty of around 40-50g and a beefed-up price tag of almost a thousand dollars more than the DT 350 equivalent. That’s a lot of dollars per additional point of engagement, if you ask us.
Also available laced to the Reserve 30HD rims is the more budget-friendly Industry Nine 1/1 hubset. While we’ve not had any experience with these hubs yet at Flow, it’s hard to go past the DT Swiss 350 hub option with its weight and price tag.
Reserve 30HD Wheelset Weight
In the mullet configuration, our test wheelset tipped the scales at 1792g, a measly 4g more than the claimed weight by Reserve. This is reasonable poundage considering their intended application. Not quite as light as the Race Face Era wheelset coming in closer to 1700g for the MX configuration, but a whole lot lighter than the Zipp 3Zero Moto wheels weighing just over 2kg.
If weight isn’t a concern to you, or you’re on a tighter budget, Reserve also has the 30HD alloy wheelset. This adds on around 260g and shaves a good chunk off the price tag.
Warranty Support
Reserve is one of a few brands now offering lifetime warranties covering crash damage for it’s wheels — along with a growing list including Crankbothers, We Are One, and Race Face.
We can actually speak to this warranty support, as Colin put a pretty good dent in the Alloy Reserve rim, causing the paint to chip. After submitting a claim through the Rider Support section of the Reserve website, less than a week later, a new rim arrived in the mail.
Setting up the Wheels
The wheelset itself came taped up ready to be bolted straight in, including a fresh set of Filmore Valves. The valves allow for greater airflow, making tubeless setup just that little bit easier — it may sound like marketing but the difference is immediately noticeable when you try to seat the tyre. We haven’t experienced any issues of clogging with dried out sealant either.
After pulling the wheels out of the box, we set the wheels up with what is becoming our ol’ faithful, the Continental Xynotal and Kryptotal enduro combination. These tyres have a notoriously tight fit, fortunately I’m now well-versed in this duel and wrestled them on with minimal swearing or bloodshed.
On a previous Reserve wheelset, we noted that some of the factory-applied tape had bubbled and lifted before we’d even begun testing. This wasn’t the case with the 30HD wheels. The tape was stuck down in securely in place, eliminating the risk of any premature air leaks.
Once the tyres were in place on the rims, we filled them up with Champion’s Choice sealant, and we reached for the floor pump to see how easy they’d be to seat. With the combo of the tight fit and high-flow valves, the tyres snapped quickly into place and we could breathe a sigh of relief.
Riding the Reserve 30HD Wheelset
After seeing in Race Face’s wheel testing for their new Era wheelset that the 30HD’s were some of the stiffest in the category, we were unsure as to how this would translate in the real world. This isn’t always a bad thing, with stiffer rims often providing a more direct and predictable feel, particularly through hardpack/high speed berms.
Prior to testing the 30HD wheels, I had previously been riding a set of Zipp 3Zero Motos. This wheelset sits at the opposite end of the lateral stiffness chart. Although they provide outstanding grip and an absurd ground-hugging feel, the amount lateral compliance becomes concerning in hardpack corners with a vagueness that becomes hard to predict, particularly at higher speeds.
The responsiveness and the pop of 30HD’s was a welcome change to the Zipp’s, especially coming out of corners. They didn’t hug the ground quite as much, particularly through skatey turns, but still provided ample grip and alert feel, resulting in a more predictable ride.
Coming into winter, and as grip has faded on some of Melbourne’s greasier trails (I’m looking at you, Silvan), I’ve had to drop pressures slightly more to combat the high degree of lateral stiffness. I weigh in at around 80kg, so I set tyre pressures to around 20psi in the front and 23psi in the rear to improve traction. The Continental enduro casing handles these lower pressures well without squirming too much, but this did increase the frequency of rim impacts. To manage this, I decided to throw in some basic Huck Norris inserts to reduce the risk of damaging the rims.
With this setup, I was able to run pressures low enough to provide an ample amount of grip in the wet while still having some cushion (air or otherwise) from rock or root strikes.
After seeing the above chart shared by Race Face showing the 30HD wheels as one of the stiffer ones on the market, I was a little worried this would result in a harsh or unforgiving ride. Thankfully those numbers haven’t rang true with my own experience on the trails, the bike feels incredible lively while still offering plenty of cornering grip. Overall, the 30HD wheels have offered ample grip and a predictable ride quality.
Throughout testing we’ve been checking spoke tensions to see if these have dropped off. In about 300km so far of rough enduro-style trails and chunky rock gardens there is nothing to report.
The DT Swiss 350 hubs have been faultless throughout testing, and this is consistent with our previous experiences. The simple star-ratchet design might not offer bucketloads of engagement, at the same time, I can’t say I found myself needing any more. There’s a reason these hubs have been one of the most widely used by rim manufacturers around the world, they’re reliable, reasonably lightweight and affordable.
Flow’s Verdict
The carbon wheel market has an absurd span of price tags and claims made by brands, with most sets ranging anywhere from $1000 all the way up to $4000 and above. The Reserve’s seem to fit nicely in the middle ground, delivering a reliable construction with quality parts, without the lofty price tags of brands like Chris King and Zipp.
After initial concerns of excessive lateral stiffness out on the trail, this hasn’t been our experience. With correctly set tyre pressures and an insert added to the rear tyre, we’ve found a setup the tracks predictably with the ground without feeling vague or unpredictable due to flex.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER - Jono Wade
Melbourne