Stan's No Tubes Flow EX3 Front Wheel [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

A quality wheelset can transform the way your bike rides, and is one of the best upgrades you can make to your mountain bike. Stan's has been around for a couple of decades now so they know a thing or two about making a solid wheel. Daniel recently upgraded to the Flow wheelset and has been loving it. Read on for more!

Daniel's Review

Due to online classes, I have had a lot more time to ride my bike and I decided to upgrade the abysmal stock wheelset that came with my bike. After a lot of internet research, I settled on the Stan's EX3 wheelset for the added strength and wider inner width. I bought a built-up front wheel from Worldwide Cyclery and a rim for the rear wheel from another shop due to supply issues that I got built by my local bike shop paired with a Race Face Vault hub for snappy engagement. Shipping was quick from WWC and setting up the wheel tubeless out of the box was absurdly easy with nothing more than a floor pump. I swear Stan's rims plus Maxxis tires equals the easiest tubeless set up on the market. I didn’t even have to push the bead out of the inner channel, just popped the valve core out and pumped until I heard that magical popping sound of the bead snapping into place.

On the trail, my new wheelset blew me out of the water. I paired them with a 2.5 Assegai up front and a 2.5 High Roller II in the back. After riding on my old i23 rims that were practically stealing traction from me I was thrilled to be able to run lower tire pressures and corner much harder and feel much more secure on those loose flat-out turns with the cornering knobs actually in the right spot. One of the big reasons I decided on the EX3s was the extra strength that the tie beam tech adds to the rim as I have absolutely destroyed rear wheels in the past by coming up short on a double with a sharp rock on the transition. The long hike that I had to take and the hefty bill after that incident made me apprehensive to go full send into rough terrain, but these new wheels have completely removed that apprehension.

I am riding faster and more confidently and just all around having more fun on the trails which is what it is all about after all.

The EX3s are not a light wheelset by any stretch of the imagination but I am already pushing around a very heavy alloy extra-large frame, so weight wasn’t much of a concern to me, I did notice I was exerting myself a little more on that first climb up the mountain, but I quickly got used to the extra weight and don’t notice at all anymore. My main want for my new wheelset was durability. I wanted a bulletproof set of hoops and the Stan's deliver, I have heard hit them a few times on rocks and it made me wince until I realized that there was no damage to the wheel and my tubeless setup was still holding air with no issues whatsoever.

Conclusion

I am incredibly satisfied with my purchase and if you are in the market for a no-frills bulletproof wheelset within your budget, I cannot recommend the Stan's EX3’s enough.