Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Niobium 30 rim opinions?

Has anyone daily ridden one? I'm trying to decide between a DT Swiss RR 1.2 and the Niobium 30's for my next build. I'm 170ish and ride on rough streets daily though I don't jump off curbs, and I'm good at unweighting the wheel as it hits a pothole.

i've got a couple thousand miles on a set on my geared roadie...20/24 aerolite spokes & 240s hubs. I'm a bit heavier than you and it sounds like I ride smoother roads. Absolutely flawless so far, even with the low spoke count.

Nb30 is about the lightest 30mm clincher out there, but still plenty stiff & strong. I recommend them. The DT rim is similarly stiff/strong, but heavier.

I have heard anecdotal reports of rapid braking surface wear on the Nb30s, but haven't seen it myself. I still have the machining marks on mine, though I use rim-friendly Kool Stop salmon pads.

$0.02.

I built up a rear 32 spoke Niobium 30 (IRD Cadence Aero actually, but they're the exact same thing) with Sapim Laser spokes and alloy nipples. It's been absolutely solid like no other wheel I've owned; I went the Niobium route on the hype/advice of mihlbach. I was really surprised after racing an alleycat, an event where I usually modify my riding style to be way more aggressive and typically do a lot more curb hopping, inadvertent pothole hitting and riding over rough train tracks, and the wheel didn't budge at all. It's probably half a mm out of true (just enough to barely see but impossible to feel) since building it in June but has been world's better than my old Fusion rim.

I weigh 165lb and typically try to avoid potholes and hop curbs only if it's extremely necessary, but have lately been riding a little more aggressively because this rim is solid.

One nice thing about IRD/Niobium is that they are actually honest about their weights too, unlike Velocity. I weighed my rim out to 455g on a hanger scale, IRD claims 460g a rim. Good deal. Only 40g heavier than an Open Pro.

Oh and I had it deanodized/polished so it's mirror finish, sexy.

Oh and I had it deanodized/polished so it's mirror finish, sexy.

i believe they make a silver version now...not polished, but not black either. also a 27mm, which is lighter still.

I'm riding them on my road bike. They are built up with only 16 spokes front 20 rear. 165lbs and they are fine so far (about 6 months). If I were to do it over again, I'd go with more spokes though.

Very light and stiff. No flex at all.

i believe they make a silver version now...not polished, but not black either. also a 27mm, which is lighter still.

Tell me more about this... where do I find it?

Tell me more about this... where do I find it?
Tell me more about the polish finish, I think that would look good with the light grey on the Samson

Word. My KHS is the dark grey one, I always liked the look out silver rims on a grey frame...

do you think they would handle curb hopping and general jackassery as well as a deep V?

Never owned a Deep V, only Fusions, but from what I can tell firsthand: yes, as long as you get them handbuilt by someone who knows what they're doing and build up using good double butted spokes. That's from my own experience thus far.

OK, now that I'm back from my month long absence..I'll say it again...Niobium 30s rule. I'm around 205 and I've been pounding the hell out of a 24/28 spoke pair of 30s on my road bike with cxray spokes for thousands of miles. Like andre says...its all about the quality of the build. Either do it right yourself, or make sure they are built by someone who is good.
I've been talking about this for a while, but I finally built a pair of fixed gear road wheels using...
Niobium 30 rims
Sapim cxray spokes (24 in front, 28 in back)
Formula rear track hub
Speedcific Perception front road hub (also made by Formula)
alloy nips in front with brass in back

Total cost was about $320 and weight is just barely over 1.5 kg. I've put a lot of thought into this and this is about the most cost effective high performance fg-road wheelset you can put together. If you want good wheels for a reasonable cost, forget about expensive hubs..they are pointless. Invest your money where it counts...in the spokes, rims, and in a light front road hub. This wheelset is much lighter, stiffer, and snappier feeling than my old cxp33/surly wheelset. I haven't put a lot of miles on them yet, but based on my experience with Niobium 30s on my road wheels, they should hold out for a long time.

Edit: To reiterate andres remarks about weight....Kinlin (and people who slap their brand on Kinlin rims, including Niobium 30s) are honest about weight. The four Niobium 30 rims I own are either right at 460, or just a few grams under.

They need to come out with Niobium 42s!

Hey I'm just wondering, how are the niobiums holding up for you guys that are riding on them? They seem like a great pick up based on all said so far. Also, they can be had directly through the IRD website now.

Both my wheelsets with Niobium 30s are still holding up with no problems. I've never had to true them. The pair on my fixed gear (described above) survived an impact with a car earlier this year without any apparent damage or loss of trueness. Unfortunately I can't say the same for my body, which is pretty beat up.

~5k on them on a geared roadie...still perfect.

braking surfaces are reputed to be a little soft. not an issue for the brakeless and not for me as i'm running rim-friendly kool stop salmons, but perhaps worth mentioning.

last word? the rim is only as good as the quality of the build. don't expect to use these on the first set you've ever built yourself and have the same results as a set built by an experienced professional.

...
alloy nips in front with brass in back
...

Can you explain why you did this? thx

Can you explain why you did this? thx

on a geared wheel it's done because of the higher tensions required by the dish...at least on the drive-side. many of my geared wheels use brass, drive-side rear only.

on an evenly dished fixed wheel, i'm not sure that there would be similar benefits.

Thanks, I was gonna have them built from odds and endos like Mihlbach suggested, he seems pretty confident in the builder. It's really cool to see that these rims are holding up superbly.

Thanks, I was gonna have them built from odds and endos like Mihlbach suggested, he seems pretty confident in the builder. It's really cool to see that these rims are holding up superbly.

I just order parts from Mike (oddsandendos). He has a good reputation as a builder, but I build my own.

Can you explain why you did this? thx

weight savings in front, durability on the more stressed (weight, tension) rear wheel.