Someone had to do it, and we’re glad DT Swiss is the one leading the way. The DT XRC330 is a carbon fiber MTB rim; having a company that slaves over the details is who we want introducing ultra-light stuff into the market. They’re not a company with vaporware and an elusive rep built on the praise of magazine editors. They’re a company that only introduces products they know will work.

As everyone should know by now, carbon fiber is plenty strong if built properly. Strong enough for daily cross-country riding by just about anyone. The key is the lay-up. While we can’t see the molding and curing processes going on, we’ve put their hubs, spokes, and rims through countless paces and our research indicates that the stuff is, if anything, over-engineered. They’re stronger than DT aluminum rims -- because they just don’t bend like aluminum does, they need to be stronger.

Regardless of the research that goes into a product, what matters is what happens when the rubber meets the trail. The lighter the rim, the easier the acceleration, which is great any time you come out of a corner, or face a steep pitch or a long false flat. Even turning the bars is easier because there’s less moving mass at the tire end of the wheel. And while it’s nice to say that you can use less effort riding light wheels, the truth is when you’re in the granny, you’re never going to use less effort, you’re just going to move faster.

While DT is currently researching converting these to tubeless, they’re not recommending it at the moment because tubeless means lower pressure and lower pressure could mean the rim walls impacting on the ground -- not a good thing for carbon fiber.

The DT Swiss XRC330 Carbon MTB Rim is a 26” clincher rim. It is disc brake compatible only. Because of disc brakes, the rim is available in 28 or 32 hole versions only. DT recommends 2 or 3 cross spoke patterns. They do not recommend the rim for riders weighing over 200lbs. A rim strip is necessary and pretty much any brand will work. The rim weight is 330g +/- 5%.