Carbon fiber wheels for mountain bikes have gotten more prevalent and more affordable than before, but there are alloy wheelsets that give excellent performance at a far better price. We reviewed new premium wheel sets from Atomik and FSA that deliver top performance at a price that still allows you to pay your mortgage.
Atomik AL345
High-end carbon-fiber wheel manufacturer Atomik Carbon released the Atomic AL345, its first aluminum wheel set, earlier in 2020. The AL345 is a premium aluminum mountain rim available in 27.5 and 29-inch options built around Industry Nine 1/1 hubs with Sapim race spokes.
The AL345 was designed to handle the abuse of modern trail, all-mountain and enduro riding, and it did not disappoint over a spring and summer of riding Ohio’s rooty and rocky trails. Crafted from 6069 series aluminum for an optimal strength-to-weight ratio, the AL345 took anything that we threw at it, delivering bombproof performance and reliability without the uphill penalty.
The AL345 features a low profile cross section that is engineered to blend precise handling with a compliant ride. Both 27.5 and 29-inch versions feature a 34.5-millimeter outer diameter, and a 30-millimeter inner diameter to provide an optimum profile and footprint on tires up to a 2.8-inch width. We ran the 29×2.3 Hutchinson Kraken, a new XC and trail-focused tire that was released in May.
Atomik’s co-owner and founder Wayne Lee said that their goal was to make the performance of Atomik’s carbon rims and wheelsets available to more riders by offering an affordable, premium aluminum option. Pairing the AL345 with Industry Nine’s 1/1 hub for a complete wheelset offered unparalleled performance and value without any compromises. The complete 29″ wheelset tips the scales at 1,900 grams.
The AL345s came tubeless ready, and it was easy to seat the Krakens and get them to seat with Muc-Off’s new tubeless sealant. I mounted them to my All-City Electric Queen for testing and rode them throughout the summer, including taking on the trails of Bentonville in August.
These wheels will ring up at your local shop for $699, more that $600 less than Atomik’s similarly designed carbon offering. The wheels include a two year limited warranty.
FSA Afterburner WideR Wheelset
We caught up with FSA at 2020’s virtual Sea Otter and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were making some new moves in the off road arena. One thing that stood out is their Afterburner WideR Wheelset. Priced at just $660, the Afterburner WideR is a step up from most alloy wheelsets and are just 1830 grams in 29″. The wheels are also built up completely by hand, which is saying something in a $660 wheelset.
In contrast to the Atomiks, the FSA wheels offer wider compatibility with older bikes, with standard and boost widths and the capability to run a QR if desired (they come out of the box with 15mm front and 12mm rear thru-axles). While I had to apply rim tape and install valves myself, the FSAs aired up easily with a minimum amount of sealant. The hookless bead technology made installation easy and made everything feel secure.
With the onset of fall and the curse of Daylight Savings Time, we had less time on these wheels before they had to go back to the manufacturer, but still was impressed by their stability and fast spin-up to speed. They took anything that we could throw at them and asked for more. If you want to go with wider rubber than the 2.3s that I was running, these might not be the best choice, but I didn’t have issues with that. Needless to say, when we took them off to send them back, they were as true as day one.
Again, these wheels come in $600-750 less than their carbon equivalents from the same manufacturer at a weight penalty of only a couple of hundred grams.
Save Your Money
Leave the carbon wheels for the folks that spend more money on their bike than they do on their car (yes, I used to be that guy). Unless you’re racing every weekend and are at the peak of fitness, save your money. Get those braces for the kids. Get that first nice mountain bike for your daughter. Put aside some money for the family vacation (take the kids mountain biking!)
Ron is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.
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Current Bike Quiver:
Bird Bikes Zero 29 29″ hardtail mountain bike
Commencal Absolut 26″ Dirt Jump/Pump Track bike
Commencal Tempo 29″ full suspension mountain bike
Felt ZA 700c race bike
Kona Kilauea vintage 26″ mountain bike
Niner RLT9 700c road/gravel bike
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