Ill throw in my 2 cents.
Flow rims are great for a lot of people, but their new rim profile on the MK3 goes against everything. They made it flatter, more rectangular instead of triangulated and they simply dont hold up to heavy smash biking (Your new 5.5 will love smashing through rocks) I was buckling and flat spotting rims before getting any major rim dents. The seam pulls apart easy too.
I had been on Flows since they came out. Probably 8 wheelsets over the years with hope hubs. Always great and never had any big dents or rim failures. Then the MK3's came out and I went through 5 rims in a summer. Did my riding progress? Yes, but that is too many rims.
Im running I9 on everything now. Enduro's on my SS and Gravity's on the trail bike. Im extremely hard on things and havent even put a mark in the rear rim on the I9 Gravity rim.
I also run Cush Core tire inserts front and rear and its the bees knees. I highly recommend at least a rear insert if you are riding any high speed rocky stuff or resort riding. Last year I went through 20+ tires racing, and after running Cush Core, Im actually taking off tires because they are worn out, not because of gaping holes.
PS, That Yeti with all the Hope parts is my buddy Tom's. He takes care of his stuff and I know that bike was barely ever ridden. He's moving to New Zealand for a bit, so he's just getting rid of extra bikes. Probably wouldnt sell it otherwise.
. And admittedly given a choice I'd consider a set of turquoise hubs to match my Yeti paint. But its definitely not going to dictate my hub choice. Black is fine. But I'm sure to bring some bling to the nipples. There's a quote for someone
