First Look: DT Swiss Introduces New FR 541 Rim
From ten paces away you might not see the differences between DT Swiss' new FR 541 rim and a lot of the other ones in the brand's line up, or from other brands for that matter. Once you have them in your hands, it's still somewhat tricky to pick them out. It's black and round, right? So it may be easy to pass off all this fanfare for a new rim as marketing and angrily scroll down to the comments.
But the thing is, DT Swiss has a reputation as being the go-to company for all things wheel related. So when they release a new product, it's usually good to sit up and take note.
But the thing is, DT Swiss has a reputation as being the go-to company for all things wheel related. So when they release a new product, it's usually good to sit up and take note.
FR 541 Details
• Aluminium
• 29" & 27.5" diameters
• 28 or 32 hole
• Welded rim construction
• For use with PHR washers and nipples
• 30mm internal width
• 569g in 27.5", 606g in 29"
• €89.90, $150.90 US
• dtswiss.com
• Aluminium
• 29" & 27.5" diameters
• 28 or 32 hole
• Welded rim construction
• For use with PHR washers and nipples
• 30mm internal width
• 569g in 27.5", 606g in 29"
• €89.90, $150.90 US
• dtswiss.com
The new FR 541 takes DT Swiss' EX rim range as a base for the profile and adds material in some key areas, like the flange hook taper.
It also removes some material from other rim areas, like the rim well.
Zooming further in, their existing downhill rim, the FR 560, is a damn good rim that still sees its fair share of action at the World Cups. But DT Swiss saw room for improvement in it.
However, for a very long time now, downhill racers have been using the company's EX 471 and especially EX 511 rims. The EX series of rims uses a slightly different rim profile to the FR 560, which allowed racers to play around with tire profile and support. It was also a lighter option than the FR 560, saving precious grams from a pretty important extremity on the bike. Rotational and unsprung mass are two areas that can have a profound effect on changing the way a bike rides.
But not everyone is a World Cup racer, and many a hobby rider who looked to the professionals to inform their buying decisions also took the EX 471 and 511 as their rim of choice for use on downhill bikes.
Strictly speaking though, the EX 471 and 511 aren't downhill rims. They're even listed under the Enduro section of the brand's website and many people looked past this in order to run the same components as Loic Bruni, Troy Brosnon and Vali Holl, perhaps ignoring the context that a World Cup team might have a few more spares on hand for when a rim gets damaged...
The EX 471 and 511 rims have been around for almost a decade now, and this has given DT Swiss a solid amount of experience to build on for the new rim development, with the new FR 541 using the EX 511's rim profile and PHR system as a base to build from, but with some small but important changes to improve in the three main areas of impact resistance, pinch flat resistance and weight.
While the main dimensions of the rim are the same between the FR 541, FR 560 and EX 511, when you zoom in to the small details, the shape of the profiles are quite different.
IMPACT RESISTANCE
Rim denting is often the main cause for needing a new rim. Aluminum rims are great for bending rather than detonating under impact. But past a certain point it might compromise the tubeless seal with the tire, incur a pretty hefty flat spot or bend, or, even worse, crack.
Significant amounts of material, in the context of a rim, were added to the flange hook giving it a taper at the top. This angle, coming from the taper in the case of the FR 541, isn't a new concept, but it does align the rim shape better with the impacts coming into it. It also simply gives the rim more material to resist impacts in the first place.
More material was added to the belly of the profile, where the spokes exert their force. More material here bolsters the strength of the rim when the spokes are pulling hard during big energy impacts.
A section view of the FR 541, in black, compared to the FR 560, in grey, shows the differences in rim profile as well as really highlights the flange hook design.
PINCH FLAT RESISTANCE
That flaring out of the rim's flange hooks also increases the contact patch between the rim and tire. When the tire is bottomed out on the rim, more area drops the risk of the tire pinch flatting, something that DT Swiss tested in collaboration with a leading tire brand. The result is a 17% increase in pinch flat resistance compared to the FR 560 rim.
The rim inner width follows the EX 511 at 30mm and sits right where rim widths have stabilised in recent years in conjunction with tire profile design.
Side by side the EX 511, left, FR 560, centre, and FR 541, right.
The FR 560, left, has a much more rounded belly compared to the FR 541, right, which takes its more pointed profile from the EX series of rims.
LIGHTER WEIGHT
While adding weight helped the strength, DT Swiss also managed to shave 30g out of the rim profile when comparing it to the FR 560. Making the rim well ever so slightly thinner. Imagine, fractions of millimetres on a section drawing translate to quite a few grams once you sweep that profile 360 degrees.
Joining the extrusion profile together is done by welding, which DT Swiss say is the most resistant process for aluminum wheels. And on all DT Swiss welded rims, it's nigh on impossible to spot the join if you don't know where to look.
Weight was also saved compared to the FR 560 by ditching the eyelets and moving over to the brand's PHR system in the nipples and washers that is already commonplace on the EX 511.
PHR WASHERS, NIPPLES & WHEEL BUILDING
Pro Head Reinforcement is a combination of rim, washer and nipple shape that increases the load bearing surface of the nipples, reduces localised stresses and acts as a ball joint to automatically align the nipples with the spoke, reducing the risk of spoke failure or the rim cracking.
In the way that the PHR system is a meeting of individual parts, the rim is only one part in the bigger system of the wheel. Quality wheel building is something that DT Swiss put a lot of emphasis on, with their focus on spoke tension. For DT Swiss, the key to a well built wheel that lasts is on building it as close as possible to the maximum given spoke tension, something that is even printed on the rim stickers, while keeping the deviation of tensions to a minimum.
The ability to tune the wheel characteristics then falls on things like the spoke geometry and lacing pattern rather than the spoke tension. Thinner spokes, for example, can give more flex in the system while still allowing the wheel to be built to a high tension, ensuring a good lifetime of the wheel.
Spoke tension is a can of worms sure to be opened in the comments, and hopefully something that we might dive deeper into in the not too distant future, if we can line up the lab time.
Small details like the rim stickers mean that the FR 541 has options for customization and keeping the rims looking fresh for their lifetime. The rims come with red decals out of the box, with gold, chrome and black options also available. That ability to take the rim stickers off might also come in handy for some of the competitor sponsored racers at World Cups who were spied running DT Swiss rims.
The new FR 541 is available immediately and is priced at €89.90 or $150.90 US.
In the way that the EX 511 has been the go-to rim for many a racer and hobby rider alike, the new FR 541 does have some big shoes to fill. But it might just be the one able to fill them.
We picked up a set of FR 541s laced to 240 hubs with slightly thinner Competition Race spokes at the World Championships in Les Gets. DT Swiss wheels out of the box are built extremely well and so it was only suitable that their wheel building wizard Sven built them to the same high standard that anyone buying a DT Swiss wheelset would get.
With Champery open well into fall and plenty more steep leaf surfing options open after that, we'll report back in a few months with a full review on the new FR 541 rim.
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Fanatik when they tested the new FR541:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSo4w3Kjyos
Then they send the split one in and rebuild the spare and have the warrantied rim as a back up and act like that's a valid answer to a problem. You can just as easily have 5 DT 511 rims as back ups and still spend less than a guy running the warranty gamut with carbon rims.
I'm lucky to have a guy build my rear recently that really knows heavy hitters and it makes all the difference if you listen to a legit pro wheel builder and build them up with the components he KNOWS work.
That being said, this new rim, if it has improved on the flairing of rims on impact, I'm all for it. Especially if it's coming in at a similar price to the 511.
My carbon rims are as heavy as comparable aluminum rims, so it's not about weight savings, but they are more durable than aluminum and that's a win.
For my weight and rising style, carbon gives me way more support and I don't suffer from the harshness or stiffness that smaller riders do
I'm genuinely curious, because despite this being a DT Swiss rim article, I haven't read once "carbon rim > DT al rim". I probably would consider a brand like WAO, if only I ever broke my DT Swiss.
Sorry yes, kind of a DT fanboy... I broke a cheap E1900 rim (non welded E532 I think), invested 70€ for a ex471 with same ERD, laced it myself (quite poorly I'm sure), and haven't even checked spoke tension after 80 park days in the Alps (rear wheel, I'm 95kg).
In my books, that's a miracle
Four people downvoted me, so really, it can't be about the comment, must be about the person.
This ^ is why the upvote/downvote system doesn't work, people just vote based on who's posting.
STOOPID!
Agree, CC is pretty great but not fool proof. I cracked new carbon rim (30/35mm) with CC and 2-ply tire with 29 psi on a backcountry summer riding zone that I pretty much have ridden it about the same way over the years. So CC not rim crack resistant for sure
If you go fast and ride hard,a DT EX511 would crack in some cases really fast.
1 year ago I build a new custom wheelset and they recommend me DT FR560 just cos the rim has eyelets and more material around the spokes. The owner of the business is a very honest guy and I had to argue with him to get EX 511 cos I was good to ride my bike 1 year later of ACL surgery and would not ride 100% for 2 years at least.
When I’ve ruined an aluminum rim; averaging once a year, it’s almost always away from home, and it’s rarely rideable afterwards.
In two seasons of hard riding I have not had a wheel failure with We Are One Unions. That’s two years without a failed rim, typically I’d have ruined at least two rims.
So I’m questioning your logic.
OR...you bought a 2nd carbon rim as a backup and are using it....OR...you spent even more money on a backup alloy wheel (and are basically the Tesla driver in the group).
Everything I've got currently has Gorilla Tape. The only rim I did with only rim tape...shocker. A lovely perfect circle got popped right through it by a spoke.
If you don't have Gorilla Tape, I was advised you can double wrap rim tape. But that can get expensive quick.
How do you even do this ?
I've still got my yellow deemax wheels from 2018 on my v10...
And according to strava I don't ride that slow (Not even on local trails but also on well known and ridden ones like many portes du soleil trails)
OK I destroyed an OEM rim from commençal, but riding lourdes WC with a trailbike isn't a fair comparison
Even if you don't huck on this kind of terrain, you drop your heels and open the brakes through loose rock gardens and sometimes a rim dies.
Ride harder/faster on rockier terrain and you'll join the club........
I weight 64 kg and had a good record of broken rims and loose spokes. Now with tire inserts and much better tires is not an issue any more.
Last day in the bikepark was like war for tires and rims,people walking flat bikes left&right,so good tire choice is still key to me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSo4w3Kjyos
Not the case for me. My rear never sees south of 28psi. 28-30psi being the go to dependent upon tire and CuShCore or not. Have cracked about 6 carbon rims or varying widths and weights. Many dented Alu rims, even cracked Alu rim at nipple interface. Mostly a trail rider here. Not always the low tire pressure case as I high pressures have always been my jam as long as tire isn’t bouncing off everything or slipping out too easily. Psi is easy escape goat
It typically results in the dirt washing off the leading edge of their rock pile so you get to curb stomp your rim upon entry.
And at some point in their rock armour, there is at least one shifted rock that stands up like the blade of an axe pointing right at your rim. So you get to curb stomp your rim on entry and then bunny hop it right into an axe blade as maneuver #2.
More air??? I always wonder why ppl run such low psi, then get wheel damage. I’m 160lbs and run 32-34psi in the rear on DH casings, my wheel damage is typically eyelets cracking and pulling through.
There are some obvious answers..... weight, riding style, and bike type.
Last year I tossed on a brand new EX511 on a 350 hub, DHR2 2.4 DH casing with Cushcore, running 30psi. first day at the park....destroyed it. Hit a square edge rock at probbaly 45kph with the heels down...160mm rear travel not enough to soak it up. at 95kg geared up... I'm not sure there is a rim that can survive that.
Just like in the Spank video where the two guys run around on a bare rim for 30 minutes "slammin' curbs & roots" but then give it to a non 150lb guy and he splits it to the hub first attempt.
But I think Kyle Strait has been rocking the Stans Flow rim for several years. I haven’t seen a catastrophic failure for him. And are aesthetically pleasing.
My friend is currently on the DT Swiss FR560, and he has killed two carbon reserve wheels, and a carbon DT swiss rim as well in the last couple years. Real curious to see how these hold up under him, so far so good.
Bonus kudos for DT sticking to the same ERD. For those of us who have to replace a wheel every year or two that makes life waaaay easier.
Wish other component makers worked that way as well.
I’ve been running HX531 on the dh bike with good success. It’s basically between the new FR and the ex511. Thicker spoke bed to allow for higher overall wheel load capacity or “strength”. Love the idea of the new rim. Still wish they’d go to slightly asym on the spokes though. A little offset goes a long way in getting even spoke tension on either side of the wheel, which I personally believe leads to a wheel holding consistent tension longer, so less touch ups needed. Assym lacing only balances it so much. And on the front wheel at least, there’s more benefit to running symmetrical lacing than not imo.
Before someone says it, yes, I'm aware Newmen makes similar rims and use offset. DT is way easier for me to get personally.
Curious to know, what spokes/wheels have been unreliable in your experience?
Risk of breaking a spoke is tenfold when some of them are not tensioned enough, can become un strained at times, loosen up, then let some of the neighbors do additional work...
Dt Swiss seems to keep the tension so well that even on 28s nothing moves
Rare but inconvenient problem? Yes.
And most wheels are poorly built, with no real pre-stress/stress-relief routine.
Also, lower tension is an absolutely terrible way to achieve a softer ride feel. "Tight-enough" and over tensioned is a pretty narrow window, and if you are inside of it, difference in tension makes practically no difference to the feel of a wheel. If you want softer wheel feel, then play with spoke gauge/thickness and number of spokes.
Enough fatigue cycling plus some rim hits plus the odd object flicking into a wheel does it.
It’s not common-it takes some miles or a few solid rim hits, but it does still happen even on the best built wheels.
I expect factory wheelsets to break more spokes, by orders of magnitude, as they are usually poorly tensioned and not stress relieved, as mentioned previously.
I also see some breakage from some carbon rim manufacturers rounding spokes down and leaving too many threads not engaged in a double square.nipple.
I haven’t had a spoke break in a while on a wheel that didn’t have some dents in the rim-but plenty of folks ride their dented rims until they won’t seal tubeless anymore.
That’s when I relace a wheel with a fresh rim.
If anything I was more impressed than I was dismayed...
I suppose the answer could be because shipping and having to have storage and inventory management and distribution overseas is very expensive these days.
At first I thought they made a mistake and used the same image for each profile. However, if I squint real hard I can maybe see a small difference in the profile. But it is a pretty subtle change to a steeper, less round profile, not the obvious difference the article refers to.
Seems like they are improving this now, that's good
Your following comments were all downvoted because you whined about it.
Be warned, the PB comments section is not a safespace
see a shrink ffs, you haters gonna ruin the entire world, it is already visible in the headlines in case you have your head so far up your ass.
1) You made an incorrect statement and got neg propped for it.
2) You flew into some sort of weird self indulgent rage over it, that no one cares about but you.
3) I tried to explain to you what was causing the neg props, but you decided to believe it was because everyone on the internet hates you (In the nicest possible way...no one on the internet knows or cares who you are, trust me)
4) You are now just shouting angry meaningless nonsense into the void. You can type as much bile as you like but it makes no measurable difference to my life (or anyone else that has commented here). Your anger is affecting no one but yourself. I'd think about that if I were you. Think long and hard. Do you enjoy being angry? Is it helping you in any way? If not, I suggest you get over it...
Logical coordination of these individual profile areas with one another (always taking into account the respective application area of the rim) is essential. No area should be too large. An exaggerated layup of the rim body does not help durability if the rim flanges are not designed for the same purpose. What’s the use of a super-stiff rim if the rim flange breaks the first time you get a pinch puncture? You also don’t need to design a road bike rim so that you can ride it on trails. That’s what gravel rims are for.
In short, designing and manufacturing a rim requires a holistic, systematic approach. about carbon rim design.
your aim are not the facts but to put down someone you feel is better than you (and i'm not, that's your delusion) and this is all you trolls do online all day long, the internet is full of it. you even gang up on people, proven by more than one neg prop on my comment. and you don't care that you're deluding the younger and dumber into bad choices which are sometimes even potentially fatal, all you know is to hate everyone around you.
soon enough, everyone's gonna wise up to you soyboy trolls and what are you planning for then? play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Lol.
Yes I do think I know better than the marketing dept of some random small fry rim manufacturer. Marketing depts are absolutely notorius for talking total nonsense that fools the average punter, but anyone who understands what they are looking at tends to see through it easily.
No I absolutely do not think you are better than me. I feel sorry for you and am trying to explain the world in simple enough terms for you to understand. Because you are clearly struggling.
Dude, you are coming across as extremely fragile. No one cares about your feelings. toughen up a little man, it'll do you good.
I remember when the 17 in a Sun CR17 was approximately the cost in USD (as well as the width). And an expensive Mavic 217 was 30-something and 50-something for the crazy expensive ceramic version [old man proceeds to yell at cloud]
I guess suspension forks have also 3x in cost for top of the line stuff in that timeframe, but there’s air more tech in those. Some $120+ rims don’t even have eyelets!
Then repeat.
The FR541 is basically the new version of EX511. Just marketing stuff.
Anyway, in my opinion, DT Swiss are the best value for the money rims you can buy.
Any reasons why such a high end rim would not want to include this feature?
The argument has been IIRC that the hook didn’t actually do much, and there was a position from some companies that just filling the area under the hook with material to create a thicker wall was more advantageous, and that the hook was so small it was prone to damage from strikes - likely even more so on carbon rims.
Often IDRC so happy for someone to correct me!
but the "bead hook" that I'm wondering about is the ridge on the base of the rim bed which a tire "snaps" over during inflation....the idea being to help reduce burping during hard cornering (spank has a very noticeable feature to this effect called "beadbite"). Just curious why some high end rims might choose not to employ this
I'd take my money if I were to sell this. I'm an engineer too.
Noone bought it.
www.pinkbike.com/news/enve-m-series-and-rim-strip-technology-first-ride.html
www.enve.com/product/m9
www.enve.com/product/m-series-rim-strip-kit
If you munch one even with a Cushcore and a beefy tire, $135 or so is a lot easier to swallow than a few hundred bucks for a carbon rim.
But yeah-it’s soooooo retro. Gonna throw it on the klunker for repack laps……….
The real problem is deciding what color of panaracer fire xc pro hooked tires you want to match your jorts. @jamespa seems to be onto it.
On Outside+ there was a preview of DT Swiss's new QR hub concept so you don't have to fiddle with a thru axle. Looks legit.
If you actually replace bikes every few years-maybe not. Even if you keep your fancy “forever” wheels the industry will change standards and then you’ll be stuck selling them for pennies on the dollar. See what a rim brake we hub carbon road wheelset sells for used these days. Or a fancy set of 26” wheels. Or non-boost 27.5”.
The cost of even a few good aluminum rims if you own a bike for, say, 3 years is still the cost of 1 good carbon rim.
So if you insist on bling-good on ya. Match your rim decals to your stem/crank/headset anodizing and blind us with your conspicuous consumption. But that’s all it is.
You're right, if you use several sets of aluminum wheels in a few seasons then something is definitely wrong.
My 27.5 mag wheels have been going strong for 5 seasons now. That's 5, 6, or even 7 aluminum rims with your math that I haven't had to replace or baby along to keep straight (after getting them out of the box). Man, I honestly hadn't even thought about it that way until you brought it up.
I haven't seen anodizing on carbon headsets but maybe you're on to something. Need to submit some of these ideas to PB, might get a free tshirt or decals.
Speaking of, have you bought much PB merch?
Carbon headset says it all-your bike looks hella dope in front of the coffee shop.
obviously a spoke tension gauge is a necessary addition to runout gauges, but if you are using sticks to your fork, gonna guess a $300 tension gauge is also not on your to-buy list.
I do one rotation around the wheel to see the range of run-out.
Tighten a quarter turn when ever the dial goes over 60, or what ever number is slightly less than the highest reading.
Adjust the number you aim for as you go, maybe after one lap you will tighten any that are over 40.
The actual number/measurement on the dial doesn't matter, you just want to watch where it swings to.
With this method you are usually adjusting about 4 to 12 spokes at once, so it's fast and even
This @conoat guy is just being a tool, thats the point of my post. Guys that build wheels better than me (and him) use the words "up,down" and "side to side" because its faster than saying "lateral runout".
Hope that's a typo or only a small delay. But there's still a fair share of market to target, that runs 26".
Please keep distributing products for all sizes. Because in a world slowly speaking of durability or frugalism, there are some that already acts by those words and do not change equipment every other months.
Soo... Same as 36 hole rims, you may have to look at their "hybrid " segment
The only reason anyone is arguing about alloy vs carbon is the price difference.
You know this is true, just check your baggage at the door.
Good carbon rims are tougher and more resilient than good aluminum rims, there’s no question.
Carbon shaming is really a front for progress shaming. Good buy rotary phones.
But everyone on here keeps saying weight saving is bad and that they want heavier stuff. Surely all those pros have got it wrong
i like the new rim design and i am the target market, but im down a pretty substantial amount of money on broken dt swiss rims from this season so im going to sit these ones out for now.