Stans No Tubes ZTR Crest 29er Wheels
While 29er bikes are far from being a niche these days, it has to be said that options for wheels and tyres are still catching up to the popularity of the wagon-wheeled market. Fortunately, Stans have produced their excellent Crest rims in the 29er flavour to provide a lightweight and easy to setup tubeless option for those wanting to get rid of that sluggish feeling from their existing 29er wheels. Coming in at a scant 1575 grams, the 29er Crest wheelset gives most brands 26" wheels a run for their money, though it's all achieved via a traditionally laced wheel with no proprietary or obscenely weight weenie parts. Dropping a few hundred grams off a stocky 29er wheel makes a huge difference to the overall ride of the bike, aiding in acceleration, quick changes of direction and deceleration - all areas that most 29er wheels can suffer. With their wide-platform and tubeless BST system, the Crest hoops make an excellent option for XC racing and light trail riding, though if you're a bigger rider or tend to bash through wheels you may be better off with a set of Arches or Flows. For their intended purpose however, you'll be hard pressed to get anything else that's this good for under $1k.

NoTubes
Originally pioneering tubeless conversion kits and latex sealant to provide riders with the assurance they needed to experience tubeless technology, Stans NoTubes has continued to expand their product range into rims, complete wheels, tyres and wheel accessories, setting themselves apart from the rest with innovative design and new technology. With their main focus being tubeless technology, the ZTR wheels come ready to be setup with or without tubes depending on your preference, though the benefits of a tubeless setup are clear; lower rolling resistance, reduced punctures and the ability to run lower pressures for more traction. 

ZTR Crest RIms
A big reason as to the low overall wheel weight is the ZTR Crest rims. Coming in at just 380 grams (that's only 40gm more than the 26" version!) these are the lightest alloy 29er rims available. With the 5gm yellow tape and 23gm tubeless valves you have a ready-to-roll tubeless rim that you can use with UST, tubeless ready or non-tubeless tyres. The ZTR rims are manufactured from 6061 alloy to keep things stiff and light, and feature a substantially wider internal width than any other XC rim at 21mm. This allows for the beads of the tyre to sit further apart and provide a more stable profile to the casing that resists rolling and deformation when running low pressures. By widening the tyre profile there is also better protection of the rim under impacts, so you end up with a stronger and lighter rim.

BST Technology
One of the biggest innovations to come from NoTubes is the Bead Socket Technology used on their ZTR rims that changes the way the tyre interfaces with the rim surface. Built around a substantially lower sidewall height, the ZTR Crest rim eliminates the traditional bead hook that has featured on bicycle wheels for many years. The NoTubes designers were able to this as they created a much more secure interface for the tyres bead to lock into the rim, creating a tighter seal and the ability to run lower pressures with dramatically less chance of the tyre rolling under the bead hook. Aside from reducing rim weight, the BST technology makes for an excellent tubeless system and allows you to setup the ZTR rim with any tyre as a tubeless setup. In our experience, we have found UST and Tubeless Ready tyres to be the best pairing with NoTubes rims when setting them up without tubes, though some riders have had luck converting standard tyres to tubeless for a superlight rim/tyre combo.

The Build
All of the Stans NoTubes factory wheels come as a complete wheel that is handbuilt to the correct tension with DT Swiss spokes in a traditional 3-cross lacing pattern. The use of standard spokes allows for easy replacement and long term durability, as well as the ability for the wheels to be worked on by any competent mechanic. The Crest wheels get the lightweight DT Swiss Competition spokes that although slightly heavier than the Revolutions used on the 26" model, allow for more even spoke tension and a stiffer overall build. The rims are laced to a ZTR hubset that uses cartridge bearings front & rear for smooth rolling and ongoing durability even when used in crappy conditions. The freehub has 30 points of engagement and is super-simple to pull apart and service should you need to clean out any contaminants that have worked their way in. Just like the spokes, the hub internals are readily available and easy to replace should you have any troubles down the line.

The Stans Crest 29er Wheelset features:

• ZTR Crest 29" rims
• Rim material: 6061 Aluminum Alloy
• Internal rim width: 21mm
• External rim width: 24.4mm
• Rim depth: 15.8mm
• BST (Bead Socket Technology) for tubeless compatibility
• 3.30 Front hub with sealed cartridge bearings; 9mm quick release or QR15 option
• 3.30 Rear hub with 30pt engagement freehub and sealed cartridge bearings; 135mm QR
• Fits 8/9/10 speed cassettes
• 6-Bolt rotor mounting
• DT Swiss Competigion spokes; 2.0/1.7/2.0
• Silver Alloy spoke nipples
• 32 spokes per wheel with standard 3-cross lacing pattern
• Weight: 1575 grams
• Rider weight limit: 86kg (190lbs)
• Includes Yellow rim tape and Tubeless valves

Stans NoTubes are the original innovators when it comes to tubeless technology