Bike Perfect Verdict
The Reserve 30 SL's lively-yet-super-controlled ride feel, robust build quality and lifetime warranty make them a dependable trail wheel upgrade
Pros
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Lively yet controlled ride feel
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Excellent accuracy and feedback
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Seriously impressive damping
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Lifetime warranty
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Instant hub engagement
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First stroke tubeless inflation
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DT 350 hub option for bigger gaps
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Hand-finished quality
Cons
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One side of the rim is a serious tire fight
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Not as light as suggested
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Reserve has totally changed its rim design, making it shallower and easier to set up. It’s the amazing balance of lively speed and damped, traction-boosted control that makes these some of the best mountain bike wheels we’ve ever used... As long as you can get your tires off.
- Best mountain bike tires: your connection to the trail
- Best tubeless tire sealant for mountain bike, gravel and road
Reserve 30 SL specifications and build
Reserve already has a 30mm internal ’30’ rim and the new SL shares the same asymmetrical design (offset is 0.4mm less) and reinforced eyelet blocks for the 28 spokes. The new SL is 3mm shallower at 19mm, 50g lighter at 440g and slightly wider externally, too. The internal shape also has a shallower center well with two distinct troughs for the tires to pop into.
That makes initial set-up - a previous problem with Reserve rims and some tires - far easier with instant catch and growth as the tire eases out of the center trough and over into the bead seats. You do need to put plenty of pressure in to fully lock the beads into the thick hookless sidewalls. You can expect some sealant spurt as they bang into place.
Not as light as the SL moniker suggests
At 1,670g the SL’s aren’t actually Superlight (DT Swiss and Roval have 30mm trail wheels under 1,500g) but they are lighter than both the existing Reserve 27 (1,790g) and 30 (1,830g) wheels. They’ve got an immediately lively, responsive feel multiplied by the rear instant engagement of the Industry Nine Hydra hubs to make them seriously quick up to speed or to snap out of corners. If you want more lag for freer suspension movement or a lower cost you can get the same wheels on DT Swiss 350 hubs for £1,599.
Performance and trail ride quality
Lateral stiffness, hand-checked tension and final build make them accurate too so placement is pin-sharp and feedback great for gauging tire slip. The reduced unsprung weight meant we actually added a click of rebound both ends to our suspension to stop them feeling too lively over loose, chatter sections. Start hitting bigger rocks, water bars, slabs and drops, and the shallower depth noticeably softens, shrugs and sustains speed and control. The faster and harder we rode them the more impressed we were with how they preserved arms and control. There are still no signs of damage to the broad sidewalls despite regularly slamming hard enough into trail geology.
While Santa Cruz uses the same rim and spokes front and rear (unlike Crankbrothers and Hunt) the asymmetric rims are reversed in orientation. That’s important to know because the wider offset side (disc-side front, drive-side rear) has an excessively tight tire fit. That gives maximum security even when schralping on sub 20psi (we only ever saw slight sealant bleed from the other shorter offset side) and as the other side pops off easily it’s easy to fit a tube if you can’t plug a puncture.
Trying to switch tires is a serious fight though and we snapped two levers before we eventually unseated the second bead. Tightness does vary depending on tire fit but we found using Schwalbe’s tire fit lubricant beforehand meant we could get the tire unseated and off the rim. No plastic-shimmed woodworking chisels were necessary!
Verdict
The SLs don’t look that special on raw data but on the trail they’re our favorite trail wheels to date. They're lively and sprung in feel on climbs and less stressful on singletrack, but unerringly accurate regardless of the situation and speed you might be carrying. They come in workhorse or racehorse hub options with XD or MicroSpline (Centerlock and six-bolt versions) as well as a rim-only option (£599). Factor in the reassurance of a true lifetime warranty on rims that are proving seriously strong and there's a lot to like. It’s only the single-sided tire release issues that stop these short of a perfect score for aggressive trail use.
Tech Specs: Reserve 30 SL wheels
- Price: $1,899 / £1,899
- Weight: 760g front, 910g rear = 1670g with valves
- Width: 30mm (internal)
- Depth: 19mm
- Sizes: 29in (Boost only)
