The Heists are touted as being ideal for aggressive riders and bikes with up to 160mm (6.3in) of travel. They’re certainly stiff in the turns, and the wide rim bed (30mm internal) gives tyres a squarer profile with a good edge. The wheels are tubeless ready, with factory-fitted rim tape covering the nipple holes in the rim bed.
We tried the rear wheel with two tyres – a 2.25in Maxxis CrossMark TR EXO Protection and 2.3in Specialized Butcher Control 2Bliss Ready – and managed to burp both when pushing really hard through corners. Increasing pressure to 35psi stopped the problem, but meant we lost the grip benefits of going tubeless, and we could still feel the tyre squirming on the rim when riding aggressively.
Up front, the rim width really complemented the shape of the 2.35in Schwalbe Magic Mary, resulting in a great, grippy front end. When really pushing the limits we could feel the tyre rolling on the rim, but this is a fairly common problem with tubeless setups unless you run a heavy DH-casing tyre.
The Heist 30s aren’t the lightest, at 1,800g (with valve stems), but they’re reasonably priced. They haven’t buckled or loosened during testing, and haven’t required any maintenance even after a multitude of sloppy rides.
