ENVE AM30 Review

Enve has been producing carbon wheels in the United States for the past 13 years and has some unique technology on their side. From the layup of the carbon itself to the shape of the bead, Enve has engineered technology that makes a difference in ride quality and durability. The AM30 is more affordable than earlier ENVE wheels and was designed to be the one wheelset to do it all, recommended for 110mm to 180mm travel bikes, and available in 27.5" and 29" sizes. The bead of the AM30 rim is amongst the most substantial we've ever tested and Enve claims it has some serious performance advantages, read on for our thoughts.

Performance Comparison

Product Specifications

The Enve AM30 is built with a specially made carbon rim with molded spoke holes and asymmetrical offset for more balanced spoke tension. Most manufacturers build their carbon rims and then drill them for the appropriate number of spokes, Enve molds their spoke holes into the rim so the carbon weave and strength aren't interrupted, giving them enough strength that Enve has no upper weight limit for their use. Unlike previous iterations of Enve rims, the spoke holes are slightly larger allowing for external nipples to be used on these wheels. That's a handy feature if you ever need to true your wheels, you won't need to remove your tires and rim tape.

The unique bead shape that Enve calls Wide Hookless Bead is said to dissipate energy from impacts while the rounded bead itself is far less likely to cut the sidewall of a tire in a pinch situation. The rims are manufactured in Ogden, Utah at Enve's own high-tech facility. Like other wheels in this test, the internal width is 30mm but externally they're a whopping 39mm. This is due to the shape and thickness of the bead wall itself and Enve claims it allows riders to use a greater variety of tires and casings with lighter sidewalls and differing pressures. Tire recommendations are still in the 2.3 to 2.6 width range.

As experts on carbon rims, Enve leaned on Asheville, North Carolina wheel makers Industry Nine for a sensible, high-performance hub. The 1/1 hubs that I9 provides are reliable and they're offered with HG, Sram XD, and Micro Spline freehub bodies in boost or super boost spacing. The freehub features a dual-phase pawl mechanism that offers 4-degree engagement from its 90 points of engagement. I9 calls the hubs no-nonsense and endorses them for e-bike use but notably, this wheelset is not approved by Enve for e-bike use. We find them durable and sensible but not incredibly impressive from an engagement standpoint.

The wheels are built with 28 Sapim race double-butted spokes, nipples are a double square polyax that can be trued from the inside or outside. Center lock and 6-bolt rotor configurations are available and the wheels come with tubeless tape and valve stems that you install yourself.

Ride Quality

The AM30 wheels have a crisp and stiff feel that accelerates very quickly. Laterally, these wheels are stiffer than anything we've ridden except for maybe Enve's M-series wheels. They offer unshakeable line accuracy but also some unforgiving feedback. When your line is perfect and you're nailing all the transitions, these wheels feel like magic, if you get sloppy, you can feel it. Their handling always felt precise and at times telepathic, sink into a fast berm and there's no flex, all exit speed. Land that jump into the rough stuff and it could be a bit more panic-inducing. The lateral deflection of these wheels was a defining characteristic, they sometimes felt harsh and jarring. While we found these wheels wildly fast, much like the Stans Flow MK4, the lack of compliance sometimes affected traction and passed on a fair bit of trail chatter to the rider.

The Industry Nine hubs are everything they claim to be, confident, capable, no-nonsense, and durable. You feel very little drag, they do not require adjustments and are fairly well sealed.

Freehub Engagement

The 1/1 hubs use a 45-tooth drive ring and a dual-phase pawl mechanism to achieve 90 points of engagement or a maximum of 4 degrees of free motion before locking into place. While the hubs feel quick and friction-free, the 4-degree engagement felt lackluster on a wheelset of this price and pedigree. There was never any chain drag and they caught up to our pedal strokes faster than the Hunt Trail Wide, but we feel a little spoiled from riding some of the quicker hubs on the market these days. In contrast, the Industry Nine Hydra Enduro S achieved .52 degrees of engagement, giving the rider instantaneous acceleration which feels especially beneficial in tight technical climbs.

While we've come to love the feeling of fast engagement and use it as a performance metric, not every rider is going to be wowed by the decrease in free play between coasting and acceleration. In many ways, the Enve wheels feel faster out of the corners than the Zipp 3Zeromoto with a much faster freehub. This is likely due to their weight, stiffness, and rim profile. In short, freehub engagement doesn't tell the whole story but we would have appreciated a faster hub in the center of the AM30 rear wheel.

Weight

The Enve AM30 wheels tipped our scales at 1889 grams once we installed the tape and valves. Not quite as light as some of the carbon wheelsets we've tested, they accelerate efficiently and feel lively. Even if weight is your primary metric for deciding on new wheels, we'd urge you to consider these. Weighing 20 grams more than the Hunt Trail Wide, these wheels feel noticeably faster on the bike.

Durability

We ended up being particularly hard on this wheelset, it endured all of our testing and about a dozen extra rides just due to logistics. They endured the primitive, “not really a trail yet” areas of the Eastern Sierra, blown-out conditions on all of the H trails in Sedona, and rowdy jump lines with the boys in Tahoe. We certainly didn't ride them like we'd be keeping them or fuss with them at all.

Front and rear were mounted with Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR Tires at 23 and 25 psi, respectively. The pressure was ideal for traction and fast corners but low enough that the rims bottomed out on trail features on more than several occasions. At the end of the test, we pulled the tires and put them in the truing stand to find that they had survived unscathed. The wheels are still true, bead surface is unfazed but the rims got a bit scratched up, as did the stickers. Spoke tension is almost identical to our readings before mounting tires and while they certainly look used, they're structurally perfect.

The I9 hubs fared well through our testing, there was no intrusion of dirt or grime beyond the end caps or freehub body. The bearings all feel smooth and the end caps still fit snugly with no obvious axle wear. These wheels have a 5-year factory warranty and come with what Enve calls “Lifetime Incident Protection”, it covers everything including running over your bike with your truck but it's not exactly replacement coverage. It functions to give the original owner a percent discount on replacement wheels and the discount wanes over time.

Value

These American-made wheels are priced competitively compared to similar carbon models. We feel like the rims themselves are incredibly robust and hi-tech but the hubs feel like a bit of a sacrifice to make the set affordable. These wheels offer crisp handling, rapid acceleration, and a set-and-forget simplicity. While we'd like to see a faster response from the freehub, 90 points of engagement won't leave most riders disappointed. Other Enve mountain wheel sets with faster-engaging hubs and slightly different rims start at $2550 so if you're only shopping Enve, these are an attractive value.

Conclusion

The Enve AM30 is a versatile, high-quality wheelset that will please a multitude of riders of different disciplines. Understanding what makes the ride quality unique can help you understand if these might be appropriate for you. If you value crisp handling, precise steering, and stiffness over compliance and comfort, these might be ideal. We found nothing wrong with these wheels but they're not our top choice for non-competitive riding.