Thread: tell me about wheels please

my new bike (08 575 sexy time) has the shittiest Mavic Crossland wheelset. These wheels are getting whacked out of true every few rides. sometimes (like tonight) they don't even last the whole ride before getting wonked. the riding i prefer is pretty rocky and steep and ledgy and I want a set of wheels that can stand abuse. I do have a tendency to break things.

So, I'm looking for a new wheelset...and I'd like them to come in around $500...big time bonus if it's less than that. A friend and LBS owner told me for him to build up a nice (hope bulbs to dt 5.1) it would be quite a bit more than that.

Also, right now i have a qr fork (vanilla) but I'd like to bump up to a 20 (or 15mm) TA. So, i know some front hubs are convertible from qr to TA (hope bulb II and some DT swiss)? Any others?

So the wheels I want to buy are:
1. convertible from qr to TA
2. $500ish or less
3. UST would be sweet.
4. stronger is better than lighter.

does such a wheel exist?

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...eelset+08.aspx
?

Hope pro 2 hubs built up to 5.1 rims are great and have treated me well. Incredible tough a.m. wheelset and should be able to be built up for less than $500 with straight spokes. Your local guy should be able to swing something close to that.

Hopes and 819's sound like they'd fit the bill. You could use now with your qr and then change out with their adaptor kit to a 15 or 20mm when you upgraded your fork. I just put 819's on my '08 575 - mounted up tubeless in about 30 seconds and have performed flawlessly on the trails so far this year. Check chainreactioncycles.com

hopes are a great option (durable, adjustable, etc) , speedgoat had some on sale a while ago too.

a mavic, or stans rim, and it is hard to go wrong.

look around online, get some prices, and see if the LBS will come close to that price.

Crossmax XLs. Buy it now on ebay for $309. Not my auction.

I'm pretty sure the set of Bulbs I got built with DT 5.1s about 4 years ago ran me right around $500. I did have to have a new rear built last year because I managed to strip most the ratchet teeth off so the pawls wouldn't engage anymore. Hope actually gave me a free replacement even though it was a couple years out of warranty. I don't believe they make the bulb anymore though so you're probably looking at the Pro II if you go that route. I would think you could get them built for $500 without much issue. If they local guy can't do it I'd call Chad at Red Barn or Larry at Mountain High, both build great wheels at equally great prices.

www.chainreactioncycles.com

hope/5.1's for like $400

could also do xm819s (ust) for about the same price.

go with the xm819s (ust). I've had mine with King hubs now for about 5 years and haven't had a single problem with them coming out of true

some of the mavic Xmax freehubs get gummed up fast, plus the spokes are hard to find, etc

That hope/819 setup is great (what I have) and for $400 is a steal

Question - doesn't chainreactioncycles say on their site that they can't / won't sell Mavic's outside of Europe? But everyone on here seems to suggest the Mavic's, so I guess this isn't true.

I just recently (2 months ago) had CRC build me a set of Hopes laced to Mavic XM819s for under $400. They're working great, they were a screaming deal and they shipped to the US for free (free shipping on orders over $250).

Do it.

i would go with the 819s. my dt5.1s perform great but are very hard to mount tires and ive ended up chipping a lot of paint off the rim, broken 9 plastic tire levers and 2 metal cored levers

my maxis rims from past bikes were never that difficult

If you are knocking Crosslands out of true with regularity, the 5.1's should fare worse. They really are a very soft rim. Their hubs use the same soft aluminum, but on hubs it doesn't really matter.

As someone else suggested, maybe look at a Stan's offering in that width. Or WTB if you don't want another Mavic.

If you are worried about strength, go with the 823. $.02

I have Stan's ZTR Flow's on my DH bike - so far so good - and they are nice and light. And sealed up tubeless better than any other rims I've used so far (with non-UST tires and no ghetto tube). That also saves some weight.

And I have 5.1's on my Syren. They do bend easier than some, but that's on purpose to my understanding - they bend instead of cracking from a hard impact. You can definitely find heavier duty rims though if weight isn't that much of a concern.

hey altagirl--so you are rockin ZTR Flows on a DH bike? I don't know anyone with ZTR's, so I can't get first hand reports, but those rims are just getting hated on at MTBR. I am really thinking all those people are just retarded though, is that the case? Your ZTRs work fine tubeless and don't burp? Thanks.

so chainreactioncycles is out of the XM819 disc rim. they have the XM819 rim that is ok for rim brakes, but it's a bit more heavy, and I don't really need it.

What other rims should I be looking at? they have tons of "spank" brand rims. are DT's 5.1 UST?

should I just get the XM819 for rim brakes? (with Hope Pro II's)

ordering today, finally!

thanks

No DT's are not UST. You'd have to go ghetto conversion.

Seriously, I do not recommend DT rims, especially if you are concerned about banging them out of true as they are basically what appears to be margarine formed into the shape of a rim and then spoked. To put it bluntly: they are fucking super soft.

I do like the 819's and run them myself on one of my bikes and would buy them again. I have dented the rear up pretty good and completely buggered up the front (had to bend it back by standing on it after a get off so it would not rub my fork leg) but they still run tubeless with zero sealant fine...just need a little air every couple of days. If you want a good, strong (not running a bike park or full on downhill), true UST rim, I would try and get on a set of these.

Stans are cool and UST, but you must run the rim strip.

Originally Posted by Johnny Sizzler

Seriously, I do not recommend DT rims, especially if you are concerned about banging them out of true as they are basically what appears to be margarine formed into the shape of a rim and then spoked. To put it bluntly: they are fucking super soft.

I second this analysis, at least for the 6.1's. On the upside, its really hard to get a pinch flat with them - the rim folds before the tube pinches.

FWIW I've had little issue with my 5.1Ds. I'm big and only have one bike thus they get ridden hard. I just built a new rear wheel up and went 5.1D by choice. The old rear 5.1D had one small dent after two years of use. Not too shabby IMO.

I have 819's with hope pro II's, while strong, I ride like a dickhead on my 575 and have wonked mine pretty good over the last 3 seasons, they are on their last leg for sure. I would suggest 823 for strength and lack of worry. The ZTR's look pimp and strong, but over your budget, I do believe.

Originally Posted by PeachesN'Cream

FWIW I've had little issue with my 5.1Ds. I'm big and only have one bike thus they get ridden hard. I just built a new rear wheel up and went 5.1D by choice. The old rear 5.1D had one small dent after two years of use. Not too shabby IMO.

You need to caveat that with the fact that you ride in the land of tacky and loam.

I hardly ever had issues with my rims while out in Seattle. Now that I'm back in the Wasatch it's a different story. I've beaten the bejesus out of my 823s on the DH bike and 721s on the AM bike and it's starting to show. My pimplites are holding up great though.....for now.

I've been running a set of Hope Pro IIs with 5.1s on my 6" bike for a year now. I built them myself, I ride in the FR of CO so they take plenty or rock hits.

I have Hopes with 823s on my DH bike though. I've seen 6.1s dented like crazy. But in defense of the 6.1 it was somehow still holding a bead.

I have 819s right now and they're great....for tires under 2.4". They're a little narrow and I've had so-so luck running wider tires on them. They tend to peel off of the rim in hard cornering situations. I'm running 2.35 single ply DHf on them now, with some sealant, and they're working great.

If you're thinking about wider tires, I'd go ahead and eat the extra weight of the 823s. That's probably what I'll do on my next wheelset.

--Ben