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Stan's Alpha 340 rim experience/opinions/tips/build reco/fav tire combo, etc. sought. Considering purchase.

Thanks much!

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I had 3 sets of these last season and they were great.  I used one set on the road with Hutchinson Tubeless tires and was amazed.

For CX though, I ran into some issues.  They were finicky to set-up with anything BUT Hutchinson tires.  Unfortunately, the number of tires options for Tubeless ready 33mm or smaller tires is SLIM.  (that might not be a concern for you).

I used Michelin muds, Challenge Grifos, Panaracer Cross Blasters, and Michelin Jets all set-up tubeless.

For all of these tire options I would STRONGLY recommend:

1) Two layers of tape on the rim

2) Stans CX specific rim strips

3) Twice the recommended amount of sealant (especially for the Grifos)

With that set-up I didn't run into any problems and was able to run my tubeless tires as low as 20 PSI at a couple of VERY muddy races.  I weight 145ish.

Durability and reliability of the rim itself were great and I did not have any issues to speak of.

Keep in mind that a tubeless tire mounted on a tubeless rim will noticeably decrease the spoke tension.  Keep this in mind while building the wheels.

I had a mix of 28H and 32H rims, some radial and some 2x or 3x and all performed great.  Recommended, but do you're homework first.

I have been using the 32H w/o any issues laced to DT Swiss 240s, Double-butted spokes and brass nips.  I am a 200 pound rider, and I have been successful running them at different pressures between 30-50psi.  I use Hutchinson tubeless tires (both Piranhas and Bulldogs); initial setup is a breeze- make sure you soap the bead well, and the bead usually seats at about 50psi.  I use 2oz. of Stan's too.  After the initial bead setting, I remove valve core and use syringe to add Stan's (it's cleaner in my opinion).  They are so easy to setup that the use of a floor pump is possible/ that's how I do it.  I am a fan.  I hope this helps -Cory

These rims are really light. I've built up 1200 gram race ready 20/24h wheelsets for 160 lb. riders that hold up the entire season. If you are over 160, probalby go for 24/28 or 28/28....over 190 lbs, go for 32h.  If you are building them yourself, try to get the nipple washers, and add 1mm of spoke length.  Also, when you get them to tension, and mount a tire to it, usually the rim gets compressed and the tension goes away and you have to retension the wheel. After you retention it, its good to go.  http://volkerbikes.blogspot.com/2012/02/1200-grams-500.html

I have a set of 340s, 32h, laced to Ultegra hubs, and running Hutchinson Bulldogs. I weigh 165lbs and usually run ~26-28psi. 

I didn't know about the need to retention after mounting the tires. This was the result:

In addition to the rim being toast, the tire bead was damaged enough it would no longer seal up tubeless. The resulting crash also damaged the rear rim badly enough that it needed to be replaced as well. Add in the cost of some stitches and I ended up with a pretty expensive crash. 

I've got one race on the rebuilt wheels, and already the spoke tension has gotten pretty soft and the rear is significantly out of true. I'll be making sure to have the wheels retentioned with the tires mounted. 

Thanks guys, appreciate the good tips.

Just got a set a few weeks ago and running them on the road tubless.  I have the 32h cross disc wheels. I'm 240lbs and run them on rail trails on my Conlago set up with BB7's and 25mm hutch's.  No problems with durabilty so far and I plan to get another set for race season.  I called stan's and made shure that they would handle the abuse with me being so tall/big 6'2" 240 hit plenty of potholes and junk no issues so far, and I run only 75-80 psi to boot!

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