Frequently Asked Questions
Please see our warranty page, which includes a form you can use if you need to make a warranty claim: Warranty
Yes! Boost hubs are wider flanged hubs (110mm in the front and 148mm in the rear) which have become a popular option frame and fork models. The advantage of Boost hubs is that the hub flanges are spaced wider apart, which increases the spoke bracing angle which in turn provides a “boost” in lateral stiffness and improves the chainline. While we understand new hub standards can be complicated and annoying, this new standard does provide real, tangible improvements in wheel stiffness as well as improving frame/fork stiffness and providing more clearance for wider tires.
From a wheel building perspective, Boost hubs provide an improvement in spoke tension equality but they still have “dish” or an imbalance in spoke tensions between the left and right side. Our asymmetric rims work to equalize this imbalance just as they do with other hubs standards. Note that Boost hubs change the spacing of the hub flanges and the location of the disc brake mounts. For those reasons you cannot generally use spacers/etc. with older hubs to adapt to the new Boost frames and forks. If you have an older wheelset and want to reuse your rims to build into a new Boost wheelset, we can help you with that. In some cases the spokes can be reused as well.
While rare, you may find certain tires which won’t work because the bead is too tight. Let us explain why: There is quite a bit of variation between the bead seat diameter of different tires. In some cases, tire manufacturers have made their beads smaller or less compliant in order to provide a more secure fit when ran tubeless on “standard” rims. However, at the same time, many rim manufacturers (especially those focused on tubeless applications) have increased the bead seat diameter a bit to help secure the bead of “standard” tires. So as rim designers it puts us in a tight spot. In the end, we decided that a secure bead is critical for initial inflation and to prevent burping. So, we’ve followed the trend of most other tubeless rim manufacturers, and designed our rims on the large side of the ISO standard. We’ve tested tubeless setups with most major tire manufacturers including Continental, Maxxis, Schwalbe, Specialized, Bontrager and others with no problems, however you may come across a tire that is on the small side of the ISO standard or which has a reinforced bead that prevents it from popping into the rim bead seat. If this happens, try soap and water to help lubricate things and the bead may slide in. If you still don’t have success, the only solution would be to use a different tire.
We don’t use them because of aerodynamics, we use them in order to minimize rotational wheel weight while keeping the wheel durable. Simply put, bladed spokes are more durable than a round butted spoke of the same weight. Bladed spokes go through an extra forging process, which makes them cost a bit more, but this process also gives them extra strength and durability. The CX-Ray is a very lightweight spoke but has proven durable enough for almost all mountain biking applications, including downhill racing! You can read more about spokes and other wheel building information in our Wheelbuilding section.
Our rims have a minor offset (~2.6mm) which does effect spoke length calculations. We have our own spoke calculator Excel spreadsheet you can use to ensure your spoke length calculations are as accurate as possible. The spoke length calculator is available online here: Spoke Calculator.
All custom wheelsets are generally built to order. The time to ship the wheels to you can vary quite a bit depending on rim availability, hub lead time and our build queue. We will do our best to keep you updated with accurate shipment estimates once you place your order. In general wheels ship in 2-3 weeks unless there are unusual lead times on a particular component. Rims will generally ship within 2 days of receipt of payment. Check the product page for updates about any rims that may be backordered.
House wheels generally ship in 1 week or less.
Any one you want! We try hard to keep our custom wheel builder configuration updated with the latest offering from each hub manufacturer. If you don’t see a color listed that you’d like, please contact us sales@noxcomposites.com and we will verify we can get that color.
Yes, there is a black brass nipple option for all custom wheel builds. Although the alloy nipples we use are very high quality and resistant to all types of corrosion. We do 95% of our builds with alloy and believe this is the best choice for most riders since it saves substantial rotational weight. Corrosion of alloy nipples with our rims has generally NOT been a problem. However if you ride your bike on a trainer (sweat exposure) or near salt water, you may want to consider brass.
Nox Composites is based in Knoxville, TN USA and all of our products are designed and tested here. We work closely with a contract manufacturer in Asia to produce rims using our molds, layup schedule and proprietary production techniques. The carbon for our rims is sourced from Toray in Japan and the layup and final finishing is done in China. Manufacturing and quality control is held to extremely high standards including regular destructive and nondestructive testing to ensure quality and safety. We build all of our wheelsets by hand in Knoxville including our custom and house builds.
Not unless specified in the product details. The Skyline, Zolder and Citico rims have a recommended weight limit of ~240 lb.
Yes!, Just select the hub option “BUILD WITH YOUR OWN HUB” while configuring a custom wheelset. After you place the order, you will be emailed an order confirmation including an order number. Then send your hubs to Nox Composites, 205A Perimeter Park Rd., ATTN: Your Order Number, Knoxville, TN 37922.
Reflective decals are a glossy clear decal which reflects direct light. In normal indoor/outdoor lighting the look is stealth and these decals are glossy/clear. In low light when a direct light source hits the decals (like car lights) they shine brightly, making it very easy for motorists to see you. Some people even prefer these on mountain bikes because of the stealth/clear look.