SRAM ROAM 40

[NicoBoshoff]

So in November a friend asked whether I'd be keen to spend some time on a set of SRAM's Roam 40's for my Stumpy 29'er. My initial answer was "Well, aren't they kind of narrow and XC orientated?" to which he replied "Yup, which is why I'm not putting them on my Enduro..." But hey, I reckoned free is free, even if I had to return them eventually (and at least I could claim I'm a sponsored rider for two months ) so I accepted the kind offer and took delivery of a brand new set of Roam 40 wheels.

 

The instruction upon delivery was "I was told to tell you to try and destroy them". What could possibly go wrong?? Well, turns out, not much actually, but I digress.

 

My usual setup is a set of the notoriously reliable Stan's Flow Ex rims laced to some Novatec hubs. So although not a disciple of the latest "A small adult can use the rim for a slide" trend, I was still a bit hesitant about how well rims with 21mm internal width would perform when pushed a bit.

 

Perhaps now would then be a good time to get the boring technical aspects out of the way. The following is copied from SRAM's own website, because frankly I can't be arsed by these types of details:

• Lightweight aluminum rim with asymmetrical TAPER CORE™ profile—with a welded joint
• UST tubeless
• User-friendly SOLO SPOKE™ technology
• Durable, precision-machined SPEEDBALL™ bearings
• Strong, fast engagement with DOUBLE TIME™ hubs
• Available in all three wheel sizes
• BOOST 12x148 and 15x110 options available for 27.5” and 29”
• Convertible to any axle type
• Available in XD™ or 10-speed driver body
• Color: Black/Silver

Internal width stats aren't placed on the SRAM site, but I measured them at 21mm and some change.

 

The one technical aspect that did however really tickle my fancy was the freehub body on the Double Time Hubs. In a matter of seconds and without any tools you can remove the freehub body by simply pulling it off, exposing the internals, which can then be inspected, cleaned and re-greased. Pretty nifty if you ask me.

 

Right, now that the boring stuff is dealt with, let's get to the stuff that matters: looks.

 

Well, I suppose looks are a matter of debate, beauty being in some weird demon called The Beholder's eye, but I am a big fan of simplicity and understated aesthetics. So the Roams are exactly the type of wheel I'd want on my bike, if looks were all that mattered. Here, see for yourself:

 

 

 

 

I reckon SRAM nailed the balance between stealth and a little bit of flash with the decals on the rims. They make your bike look fast and confirm that you're not at the trailhead for a cup of tea and a chat. Judging by other brands that I've recently come across (Easton and Roval) it seems that understated grey and black is the latest #idontevenknowwhatanymore.

 

The nice thing about this approach of course is that your rims don't age and will suit any bike you slap them on regardless of how lumo and colourcoded the rest of you and your bike are.

 

As for the ride. Well, perhaps I should start with my conclusion.

 

These wheels are in my opinion the type of wheel that a majority of riders in South Africa should be on. Most riders in South Africa enjoy getting on their bike every weekend and hitting their favorite local trail, but also want to be able to do base training for their particular choice stage race.

 

I covered roughly (sorry I don't Strava) 700km on these wheels. My initial set up was aimed at compensating for the narrower rim width so I slapped on a Specialized Purgatory (Control casing, 2.3" wide) on the front and a (if you're not sitting down, now is a good time all you tyre bigots) Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 on the rear.

 

Now look, I know the Crossmark is basically a heavy road tyre and yes, it corners like a drunk Giraffe, but I had one spare in the garage and I figured I'd at least give the rims a bit of a headstart by putting on the narrowest rubber I had. This plan lasted all of a single ride when the Crossmark nearly killed me on my local trails. Yip, they're pretty junk.

 

I went out and purchased some new rubber to put on - a Slaughter (Grid Casing) 2.3" for the rear and a Purgatory (Grid casing) 2.3" for the other end (I SWEAR this isn't a subliminal Specialized marketing blurb!), which I would continue riding once I returned the wheels in any event.

 

The tyres at 2.3" presented a bit rounder on the rim than the Crossmark (obviously), so I expected especially the rear tyre to roll quite a bit on the rim face. Well that didn't happen, or at least I didn't notice it whereas some riders far more capable or reckless than I would notice it, I'm sure.

 

The trails I rode with these rims covered Rhebokskloof, Welvanpas (Black and Yellow routes), Jonkershoek, Steilte and Paarl. So most of the trails were fast and flowy trails, with some banked corners, some jumps, nice and fat rock gardens, roots and then, in the case of Steilte some fast, steep and loose corners, drop-offs, gap jumps and the odd huck to flat.

 

When riding I didn't change anything to compensate for the wheels. My instructions were to try and destroy them after all. So I hit the same jumps at the same speeds, bulldozed through the same rocks, and cased the same doubles I would otherwise do on my wider, burlier rims. In fact I purposefully tried to see if I could roll the tyres or burp them on a small, but poppy little hip on a local Paarl trail by landing as skew as possible, but the wheels produced no worrying "Whoa f*k" momoents. A pity, really. I live for those.

 

 

Going through roots, rocks and the brakebump hell that is Jonkershoek's newest additions, I felt happy that the wheels would stick to the line I aimed them at. Are they as stiff as carbon wheels? I wouldn't know, I haven't spent noteworthy time on carbon hoops to make a claim either way, but they certainly didn't flex or warp or ping around when pushed into precarious situations. Good enough for me.

 

I also did a bit of flat tar road riding in order to get to and from some of the trails and did a few longer rides incoporating Paarlberg Reserve's dirt roads to see how they felt when just turning the pedals and I must say they were a peasure to ride. I actually did notice the weight difference quite quickly as the Roams just felt more sprightly. With a claimed weight of 1695g for the set versus the Stan's at around 2kg this shouldn't have been a surprise.

 

One weird thing I did notice was on my weekly traverse along Paarl's Main Road en route to our trails. In the summer afternoons one usually has a bit of a crosswind. This never really bothered me, but with the Roams I actually got blown around a bit, which I have never noticed before. Now maybe I'm just not attentive, but could it be that the flat straight-pull spokes that the Roams use (same as with some of Mavic's wheelsets) rendered the wheels more vulnerable to crosswinds? Comments would be appreciated.

 

Overall, I enjoyed my time on the Roams, and it is with a sad heart that I am returning them this weekend (shortest sponsorship deal ever, hey...). They felt like a nice "get on your bike and go ride" option to spec your bike with, whereas I sometimes feel my Flow's are a bit beefy for some of the longer training rides I do.

 

As for durability, after all the riding done, the only damage to report is some cosmetic scratches picked up in rock gardens. The rims are still true as the day I got them and the hub is still buzzing along with a nice Chris King lite noise. I really did try to hurt them, but did not succeed.

 

Obviously, my priority in life is trail riding. I don't race, I just participate. I don't send massive 10m doubles or big road gaps. If those are the types of things you expect from your trail / AM bike, then I don't think these are the wheels for you. There is only so much they can handle and whilst I am confident they won't break, I am equally certain that they will frustrate you as they engage with your tyres' deforming under big hits and g-outs.

 

However, if you are like me and enjoy some challenging trails, but also don't mind sitting next to your friends on dirt roads, training for the Sani2C etc. then I honestly believe these wheels offer a high quality, strong, easy to maintain Jack of All Trades alternative to the more expensive carbon options in the market. I suppose in performance diversity they compare with something like the Stan's Arch Ex's of the world, but, having ridden, and broken, a set of Arch Ex's I rate the ROAM's as a better quality and better looking option.

 

At a RRP of $322 (unfortunately I haven't received an answer from SRAM as to what the ZAR RRP is at present) they are more expensive than e.g. a set of Stan's, but then again these wheels punch way above their weight and width and offer a genuine all round option to the rider that can only afford one wheelset (i.e. riders like me), whereas I believe with other offerings in the market you often have to compromise somewhere, whether it be weight, strenght or build quality.

 

Add to that the reputable local back up of SRAM and you can't really go wrong with the ROAMS.

 

As I said, I'm not proclaiming that these wheels will suit the Erik Kleinhans's AND the Andreu Lacondeguy's of the world at the same time, but I am coformtable to claim that they will provide many worry-free miles to the Nico Boshoff's out there.

 

Hope you enjoyed the review as much as I enjoyed being a sponsored rider for 6 weeks. Please comment, and debate. I'm sure some of you are screaming at your screens in disbelief "WIDER IS BEEEEETTEEEER!"

 

Happy trails!

[LazyTrailRider]

I really like the decals and general styling of these hoops, plus that freehub sound!

[droenn]

Notice the ROAMS in different sizes are shipping on the Canyons (hopefully my next bike). I hadn't read anything yet on them, so cheers for this insight!