For roughly 2.5 months I’ve been throwing all that I can at the Stans ZTR 355 that came to my door step for a review. Check out my Out of the Box article for the spec and weight of these wheels.  As a wheelset they have always had a NeoMoto in the front and a QuasiMoto in the back mounted up.  They have spent most their time on my single speed machine, that was then turned into a 1×9 geared rig.  There hasn’t been too much carnage and in all these wheels/rims have treated me very well to date.

The Ride:
As the wheels were built up for a racey feel, they are stiff and light.  It is how I prefer my every day wheels.  I would rather have something burly for longer or mountainous that I can easily put on, and something quick/stiff for my local beatings.  It is what I find more comfortable under me and what suits my riding style.  This might not be your bag, but its mine.    This set is tuned perfectly for what I had asked for.  The guys at Stans make a living out of their rims and wheels.  Knowing how to build suitable wheels per rider is part of what they do really well.

Going Tubeless:
After the first month I turned the tires that were mounted up (NeoMoto in the front, QuasiMoto in the rear) tubeless with some help from the Stans sealant.  The rims hooked the tires that are NOT UST approved wonderfully.  I rarely have an issue turning tires tubeless with the Stans system and this wasn’t anything new.   Pour in sealant, inflate with compressor, make sure bead is seated, inflate to close to max PSI of tire, spin wheel in truing stand or bike for a few minutes, and wah-lah sealed and ready to rock.  Only once did I get a flat that the sealant couldn’t clog up and this was due to the large gash in the side wall that I could barely boot with a gel pack.  Going tubeless with a lighter weight rim like this (compared to an all mountain) sometimes is like rolling the dice.  I run my pressure super low.  Between 22-18 lbs often.   Yes, I have burped a tire here and there but in race situations I’ll add a bit more air for when I’m pushing it through the corners.  Running this low of pressure also means you can smack your rim pretty hard.  Instead of the air pressure taking some of the beating, your rims are now physically hitting things.  It isn’t too often this happens, maybe once every 5-6 rides.  Thankfully I am a light rider, around 140lbs (I won’t lie, I SHOULD be at 140 lbs) and I don’t “plow” into things too often.  Only twice have I thought “Oh S&^t”  and only once has it left physically damage to the rim.  Yes, the rim has a slight bend in it but it has not affected the tire sealing with the rim and bead.

Changes:
So far, the only changes I would of made to this set up is:

• Maybe a different hub set.  This is a lightweight hub which is good, but the lightweight freehub body is taking a licking.  I don’t torque out a lot of watts and there already is a few good cuts in the body.
• A wider version of this rim.  This isn’t directly pointed to this wheelset but instead towards Stans to come out with a more all mountain rim for bikes like the Ventana El Bastardo. If I could be running tubeless, safetly, on that bike I would be delighted.

Other notes:
The wheelset has now been taken off the Fast Boy due to the frame needing to go back to the builder for some TLC and now they are on a Yipsan touring/road bike that will be featured here soon.  They are doing wonderfully on the road/cyclocross arena and I think the light weightness has been a huge help.  Also, 41.5mm Fatty Rumpkins mount up wonderfully on them!