Berd Spokes and Ebikes

[B Rabbit]

Hey team,
Starting to plan out a wheel build for my Teewing Flux, been interested in Berd Spokes since I've heard about them.
These wheels will also do double duties on my non ebike enduro when (if) i get one of those again.
Going to use Wingman carbon rims (similar to WAO convergence, have a $99aud rebuild if you break one), 480g front, 520g rear with E13 Sidekick 2.0 hubs. I really want to go the straight pulls, but they only come in 28 holes and concerned the rear should be 32h. I weigh 80kgs.
Estimated weight is 1700-1800g, cost about $2000-2300aud.

Pros-
Vibration damping
Lighter
Side Kick 2.0 Silent coasting (really keen on that)

Cons-
Stretch a bit and require more attention
Maybe more wheel flex?

I see a few people on the Crestline thread are running them, any feedback?
Or do I just save my money and keep running my 7 year old LB Charbon rims on 350 hubs? They have served me well and will weigh about the same but im sure they are pretty harsh in comparison, these rims were around before compliance was a thing.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Roaming50]

Side Kick 2.0 Silent coasting (really keen on that)

Are you sure you want Side Kick 2.0?

I have these (they came on my bike) and the drag free and silent coasting is incredible, but every time you go from coasting to pedaling they clunk - rather annoyingly - with a LOUD sound as the ratchet re-engages.

It's loud enough that I would get rid of the wheels if I found a cost effective alternative that was similar weight and rolling efficient.

 

[Suns_PSD]

I have a set of well used Berd 29ers that I used on my SJ Evo for about 2.5 years with P321 hubs I'd let got for $400 + fees in the USA as they have been sitting for some time now.

I put a lot of thought into the build when I did it.

It's an AM front wheel 33mm ID 28 spoke & a DH rear wheel 29mm ID 32 spoke, XD driver. The rims are Carbon Fans. As I recall they weigh about 1650 grams fully built.

I loved them at the time. The rims are dead straight but our rocks have scuffed them up a lot. I'd also re-tension them just because it hasn't been done. The spokes were blackened with a sharpie but that's pretty faded at this point.

I have another set of Berds on my Smuggler trail bike that I'd not let go, really like them.

 

[Brawwp]

Are you sure you want Side Kick 2.0?

I have these (they came on my bike) and the drag free and silent coasting is incredible, but every time you go from coasting to pedaling they clunk - rather annoyingly - with a LOUD sound as the ratchet re-engages.

It's loud enough that I would get rid of the wheels if I found a cost effective alternative that was similar weight and rolling efficient.

What bike came with the sidekick 2s?

I have the first sidekicks and I occasionally get a clunk, but it’s not all the time. IMO they are well worth it. Coming off the i9 hydra 2 hubs these feel way way better to me. Suspension feels free, I’m not repositioning my feet as much, seems to coast better (although I’m also on different tires so hard to compare that). The silence is the best part and free suspension feeling. I’ll only do silent hubs from now on. I’ve been a huge fan of the sidekicks so far.

My downsides are the first gen I have are heavier than i9s. With silence comes you noticing any other little noise on the bike and other people don’t hear you coming. The clunk hasn’t really bothered me coming off constantly loud i9s lol.

 

[Ou812]

My mate is a Berd dealer in the US, he runs them on all his bikes including his Yeti LTe. He seems to really like them and recommended the Hawk 30X if I weren’t going with a custom build.