ENVE M640 29 Chris King Wheelset

ENVE M640 29 CHRIS KING WHEELSET
The ENVE M640 is widest of the Utah-based company’s 6 series wheels. The 40 refers to the 40mm interior width of the rim. The 6 series refers to rides that tilt a bit more toward fun on the descents rather than an even balance of climbing and descending. Think 60% down, 40% up. If you’re the kind of rider who is on the aggressive trail side of the mountain bike spectrum, then this is the wheel for you. You can choose between a 27.5” or 29” diameter wheel, in either Boost or standard hub choices from DT Swiss or Chris King, with Centerlock or six-bolt mounting.

The 60/40 split is to explain that this wheel is light, but bulked up a bit for more audacious descending. This rim is the wide child of the 6 series, allowing for the widest tires and greatest air cushion. ENVE optimized the width for 2.7” to 3.2” tires and 100-160mm of travel.

The molded carbon rim has a rounded shape to maximize strength and durability while minimizing weight. It is 25mm deep, shallower than the other 6 series rims, but the internal width goes up to 40mm. The internal width is what dictates the tire shape. The outer width is 49mm, which demonstrates the extra material they put at the rim end, 4.5mm wide rim walls at either end.

As always, spoke holes are molded and designed for spoke nipples to sit inside the rim for greater strength. The rim’s internal channel is designed hookless to keep the rim strong, hold the tire beads in place, and to minimize pinching, which can even happen on tubeless tires. There’s a central trough in which tie tire sits before air is pumped in, then the air lifts the tire and moves it against the rim walls. There’s actually a slope that helps push the beads against the rim walls, a plus for those times when you’re running low pressure.

Rim weight is 450g for the 27.5”, and 485g for the 29”.

The wheels are built up with 28 spokes, front and rear. Spokes are Sapim’s CX-Ray. These spokes are light, aero, and incredibly strong. For those three reasons, it didn’t make sense not to go with aero spokes for this application.

There are two hub options, DT Swiss 240 and Chris King.

DT Swiss, the 240 model, a light, super-reliable design that runs on smooth, durable bearings. Both Centerlock and Six-Bolt rotor mounting is available. As mentioned, there are two hub options, standard and Boost. For the standard, it comes with a 100x15mm front thru-axle and a 142x12mm rear thru-axle. The cassette body is either a Shimano/SRAM-compatible design or a SRAM XD Driver body. DT Swiss hubs are easily adaptable via pressed-in endcaps, so long as you’re going with standard hubs. For those hubs, you can get an adapter for 12mm front thru-axle or front quick release and rear quick release.

Chris King is available in their ISO hub, Six-Bolt Mounting only. As with DT Swiss, you can choose standard or Boost hubs. For the standard hubs, the front thru-axle is 100x15mm only, the rear 142x12mm only. Chris King rear hubs come with either a Shimano/SRAM-compatible cassette body design or a SRAM XD Driver body.

Complete wheel weights for Boost wheels are as light as 1543g for the DT Swiss Centerlock in 27.5” and 1629g for 29”. Standard hubs yield lighter wheels still. That includes the weight of the rim strip, which is included. Also included with the wheels are tubeless valves.

The ENVE M640 Wheelset allows for massive tires, extending the range of your trail riding into the steepest terrain and most demanding routes you can find.