Over a decade ago, ENVE (then EDGE) released the AM, a first-of-its-kind hand-built carbon mountain bike rim, strong enough to be ridden every day, on any trail. The AM30 pays tribute to the past, while ushering in a new era of carbon rim performance developed on the back of 13 years crafting carbon for the demands of the modern all-mountain rider. With a modern rim shape, compliant-yet-snappy carbon laminate, tubeless optimization, anti-pinch flat technology, a 30mm internal width, lifetime guarantee, and a balanced all-mountain ride-tune, the AM30 is ready for anything you can throw at it.

Balanced All-Mountain Ride Tune

For those of us, who when asked what kind of riding we do, say, “I just like to ride my mountain bike” — the ride tune of the AM30 is for us. It’s designed to hold true (pun intended) to the quick and snappy feel inherent in ENVE’s DNA, while adding compliance and vibration absorption. This translates into a wheel that accelerates out of corners in the ENVE way, but subdues the chunk in the “faster” lines we all “unintentionally” find ourselves blasting down. With lateral rigidity close to a full-out race wheel, the AM30 retains a playful and fun-loving personality that’s not just here for a fast-time – it’s here for a good-time.

As a one-wheelset quiver for park laps, lunch laps, and backcountry epics, the Foundation Collection’s AM30 makes it the perfect fit for your 110mm to 180mm travel 29” or 27.5” all-mountain ride.

Toughness and Durability

With more World Cup Downhill podiums than any other carbon wheel manufacturer, and as regular competitors at Red Bull Rampage, ENVE knows how to build a strong and reliable wheel. (Check out Brendog’s 2019 canyon gap to see what we mean.) But we have more than just anecdotes to prove it, we have over a decades worth of test data and efforts directed at continuous improvement to make the world’s strongest, most reliable carbon mountain bike wheel.

Testing

ENVE wheels are designed to thrive in conditions where wheel failures typically occur. All ENVE wheels are rigorously tested in our lab and on-location in some of the harshest environments known to mountain bikers. The AM30 was created no differently, passing all of ENVE’s testing criteria for strength and impact resistance, while still being one of the lighter wheels in its class. One particular weekend of testing the AM30 included more than 120 combined laps of the notoriously unforgiving trails at Bootleg Canyon in Las Vegas, Nevada. The testing went off without a hitch – no broken, cracked, chipped or otherwise damaged rims. Competitors at any price point, and some wheels priced well upmarket didn’t fare so well.

Inner Rim Width Optimized for Modern Tires

We created the AM30 with a 30mm inner width to pair nicely with modern all-mountain tires ranging from 2.3 – 2.6 inches in width. The 30mm inner width assures tires put their entire width to the ground and don’t fold over as easily in corners. In summary, 30mm is the “just-right” inner rim width for the modern mountain biker and the tires we like to ride.

Wide Hookless Bead Pinch Flat Protection System

As a dull knife makes it hard to slice a tomato, so also our patent pending Wide Hookless Bead technology makes it hard to slice a tire. Destroying an expensive tire on a weekly basis is not only unaffordable, it’s a complete interruption of flow, and utter buzzkill. Hard impacts to rims with our Wide Hookless Bead are far less likely (over 50% less likely to be specific) to cut and destroy tires and ruin rides.

This technology is the result of more than 2 years worth of carbon mountain bike rim development, which netted out at a rim shape that features a wider leading edge of the hookless bead. This broad surface spreads the energy from an impact across a greater surface area and creates a more forgiving platform on which the tire can bottom out, proving extremely effective in reducing the likelihood of “pinch” or “snake-bite” style flat tires. Additionally, this means heavy and difficult-to-install inserts aren’t necessary to keep your wheels and tires protected and you can pick the tires, casings, and pressures you want to run, instead of letting the fear of flats dictate these important decisions for you.


ENVE Wide Hookless Bead (Patent Pending) delivers:

• 50% improvement in pinch flat resistance over other hookless rims
• Protection without the need for inserts
• Ability to run lower tire pressure and improve traction and rolling resistance
• The option to run lighter weight tires if desired
• Greater impact resistance

Molded Spoke Holes and External Nipples

ENVE products are built first and foremost to necessitate the least amount of maintenance possible, as we see ride time as more important than wrench time. ENVE has long used a patented process for molding spoke holes into our rims to create the strongest and lightest rim possible. By using molded spoke holes we play to carbon’s unprecedented tensile strength and run uninterrupted fibers throughout the entire rim and eliminate the need to drill holes in our rims for spoke holes. This means a stronger wheel and better strength-to-weight ratio than a drilled rim, because we aren’t required to reinforce the spoke holes where drilling can compromise the spoke hole’s strength.

Additionally, a dedicated pocket or conical seat houses each spoke nipple allowing the spoke/nipple to exit the rim in a straight line while also ensuring even pressure distribution around the molded spoke hole – further enhancing the wheels reliability.

With the AM30, we’ve opted to stick it to censorship and free the nipple. External spoke nipples give peace of mind to many home mechanics and privateers looking to do last-minute trues before a race. Although using external nipples does not allow for the same strength-to-weight ratio as our internal nipple designs, the AM30 still passes ENVE’s stringent strength and reliability testing.