Ascent Polaris wheels

Wheels, Tires, Tubes, Tubeless, Tubs, Spokes, Hookless, Hubs, and more!

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The spirit of this board is to compile and organize wheels and tires related discussions.

If a new wheel tech is released, (say for example, TPU tubes, a brand new tire, or a new rim standard), feel free to start the discussion in the popular "Road". Your topic will eventually be moved here!
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TLN
Posts: 630
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2017 4:50 pm

by TLN

Those are hooked wheels?
His: Orbea Orca OMX
Hers: Cannondale Synapse HM Disc

BigBoyND
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Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 1:51 am
Location: Berlin, DE

by BigBoyND

AscentBikes wrote:
Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:22 am
The rim withstood 7 impacts with energies from 43J (exceeding UCI standard of 40J) to 66J, before finally failing at the 7th impact at 71.3J
The rim exceeds the UCI requirement of 40J.
Thanks for sharing. Exceeding the UCI requirement by nearly 2x is quite good.

How do the UCI requirements compare to ISO 4210-7?

by Weenie


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AscentBikes
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by AscentBikes

TLN wrote:
Fri Oct 21, 2022 5:33 am
Those are hooked wheels?
Yes, they are 23mm width hooked.
You should be able to run almost any ≥25mm tire on them, though I would recommend a 28mm tire.

@BigBoyND

Rim:
UCI uses bare rim
ISO 4210-7 uses a rim with tire mounted and inflated to minimum rated pressure. It is applicable to MTB wheels

Impactor:
UCI uses a flat steel impactor with a silicone pad
ISO 4210-7 uses a wedge-shaped steel impactor.

Both have a 40J requirement but the test methods are quite different.

Regards
QX

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AscentBikes
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by AscentBikes

Hello all!

As per request, I have added a rim purchase option for Polaris 42mm and 69mm rims.
You can find them here, or in the main Polaris product page: https://www.ascent-bikes.com/product-page/polaris-rims

They are (in Singapore Dollars):
42mm: S$700 (standard black) / S$850 (raw finish)
69mm: S$800 (standard black) / S$950 (raw finish)

Only about 10% of the rims we make qualify for the raw finish - they are the lightest and best looking rims we have, so if you're looking to do the lightest or most visually striking builds, the raw finish rims will give you a head start. Here is an illustration of the standard (left) vs raw (right) finish.

Image

Thanks for the support once again. I can't wait to see what you'll build with them.
In the meantime, here's a pic of my personal bike :)
Hand-brushed frame with 3 different color-shifting pigments
Ultegra Di2 R8100
Polaris 42/DT240 (standard finish rims - reserving the raw ones for you guys)
Vittoria Corsa Next 28mm
7.3kg with pedals

Image

Regards
QX

RDY
Posts: 2354
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:31 pm

by RDY

AscentBikes wrote:
Tue Oct 25, 2022 3:32 pm
Hello all!

As per request, I have added a rim purchase option for Polaris 42mm and 69mm rims.
You can find them here, or in the main Polaris product page: https://www.ascent-bikes.com/product-page/polaris-rims

They are (in Singapore Dollars):
42mm: S$700 (standard black) / S$850 (raw finish)
69mm: S$800 (standard black) / S$950 (raw finish)

Only about 10% of the rims we make qualify for the raw finish - they are the lightest and best looking rims we have, so if you're looking to do the lightest or most visually striking builds, the raw finish rims will give you a head start. Here is an illustration of the standard (left) vs raw (right) finish.

Image
Nearly 700€ per rim for the 69mm paintless - which is a no cost option virtually everywhere else. That's pretty ridiculous.

Significantly more than Beast, MCFK or Munich Composites (if you order direct) or about the same as Schmolke (Munich Composites). All made in Germany to probably much higher standards.

And almost double the price of Duke, which is much more comparable - made in China (Light Bicycle) with minor alterations to the original.

But then Enve have been crap for years (albeit made in US) and get away with charging up to 50% more again ... so in light of that it doesn't seem too bad.

If you're really convinced that 23ID/35OD vs 25ID/32.4OD and 69mm vs 65mm is that much better, then I guess get the Polaris rims at $700 vs LB WR65 at $250 (also lighter) ...
Last edited by RDY on Wed Oct 26, 2022 11:45 am, edited 2 times in total.

TobinHatesYou
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

That’s Singapore dollars, dude.

RDY
Posts: 2354
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:31 pm

by RDY

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:45 am
That’s Singapore dollars, dude.
No ... They're €693.58 or SGD950. It's ~$700 for Polaris 69mm paintless rims and currently $271 for LB WR65 flyweight (but 10% Black Friday code = $244).

TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

RDY wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:49 am
TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:45 am
That’s Singapore dollars, dude.
No ... They're €693.58 or SGD950.

My bad, but also QX is including a lifetime warranty and lifetime free crash replacement. The WR65 rim offers neither. It looks like the WR65 can be built about 50g lighter with the flyweight option, but it’s also shallower and narrower. At 25mm internal, you are also stuck with 28mm tires minimum whereas the Polaris can use 25mm tires.

When pricing out my Ascent Polaris, the price was in the ballpark of a similar Light Bicycle Falcon Pro build. The LB we’re about $300 cheaper, but the Polaris had pretty much the exact specs I was looking for— Super wide, hooked, 23mm internal and very deep. I kept going back to Light Bicycle’s website, but they really weren’t in the running. The only other wheels under serious consideration were the Aeolus RSL 51 and 62.

RDY
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Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:31 pm

by RDY

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:53 am
RDY wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:49 am
TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:45 am
That’s Singapore dollars, dude.
No ... They're €693.58 or SGD950.

My bad, but also QX is including a lifetime warranty and lifetime free crash replacement. The WR65 rim offers neither. It looks like the WR65 can be built about 50g lighter with the flyweight option, but it’s also shallower and narrower. At 25mm internal, you are also stuck with 28mm tires minimum whereas the Polaris can use 25mm tires.

When pricing out my Ascent Polaris, the price was in the ballpark of a similar Light Bicycle Falcon Pro build. The LB we’re about $300 cheaper, but the Polaris had pretty much the exact specs I was looking for— Super wide, hooked, 23mm internal and very deep. I kept going back to Light Bicycle’s website, but they really weren’t in the running. The only other wheels under serious consideration were the Aeolus RSL 51 and 62.
LB is 5 years warranty, and you can buy nearly 3 rims vs 1. Who wants to run a 25mm tire on 35mm OD? Surely both rims are made for minimum 28mm.

I would agree that the wheelset makes more sense ... the rims make absolutely none unless you're dead set on them.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12455
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

RDY wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 11:02 am
TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:53 am
RDY wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:49 am
TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 10:45 am
That’s Singapore dollars, dude.
No ... They're €693.58 or SGD950.

My bad, but also QX is including a lifetime warranty and lifetime free crash replacement. The WR65 rim offers neither. It looks like the WR65 can be built about 50g lighter with the flyweight option, but it’s also shallower and narrower. At 25mm internal, you are also stuck with 28mm tires minimum whereas the Polaris can use 25mm tires.
LB is 5 years warranty, and you can buy nearly 3 rims vs 1. Who wants to run a 25mm tire on 35mm OD? Surely both rims are made for minimum 28mm.

25mm GP5K S TR come up about 29.4mm and the edge of the rim is 31mm. It’s a pretty close fit. I think QX has been amazingly accommodating here considering he never intended to sell the rims standalone.

Like I said, for a full build, my choice was either something like an AR56 Flyweight at ~1400g and at a cost of $1950 or the Polaris at $2235. The AR56 didn’t meet my requirements, nor did the WR65.

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AscentBikes
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by AscentBikes

Hey!
Well, selling the rims alone wasn't my original intention - this was based on a request from this forum. Our rims come with the same lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, and a parts crash replacement for the original owner. The price includes free shipping to most places in the world, and we set it based on what we believe can sustain us as a business while being able to promise the above. Our rims have specs and weights that are superior to most competing brands, and that is due to the materials and more intricate labor used to produce them. Our raw finish rims do cost more, but that is because they are rarer.

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of a Lynskey Helix built with a custom Polaris 42 Raw with Chris King R45D hubs. We custom painted the logo and 42 candy red to match the frame livery.

Cheers
QX

Image

Image

Maddie
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Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:44 am

by Maddie

They look great indeed. Great that you joined the forum, QX. Hope you stay

CustomMetal
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Location: UK

by CustomMetal

Lovely products! Can't wait to see what else you have olanned
Allegra- Steel Lugs TBC
Aurelia- Stainless All Road 8.5kg
Bertha- TT 9.8kg
Perdita- Ti Turbo bike 8kg
Serenity- Ti Gravel 9.5kg/8.9kg
Verity- Ti Aero 8.2kg
Alya- Ti Climbing TBC

All weights with pedals,cages & garmin mount

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MrCurrieinahurry
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Location: London

by MrCurrieinahurry

Jeeeez they look awesome with that little custom touch

Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk

Formerly known as Curryinahurry

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AscentBikes
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by AscentBikes

Thanks guys. We're happy to go the extra mile for our clients. This applies to the folks here too. Happy to add that little splash of color for those who want it!

QX

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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