Biennial 26" Rim Selection thread - 2017 Edition

[Damian Sanders]

I'm going to build up a 26" Hadley (hubs, for all you noobs) wheelset pretty soon, will use a mix DT Comp and Rev spokes with alloy nipple. Currently on hope pro 2's with WTB KOM i25 (25mm internal, 430g), various maxxis 26x2.3 tires. Ride rocky, rolling terrain at a moderate pace, Yeti SB66 and Pike, 6'1' 220lb somewhat lean, not much jumping or big drops.

Looking at the following rims:

Stan's Arch MK3 - pretty much the same as what I have now, maybe a few grams lighter
Stan's Flow MK3 - a good 4mm wider than what I have now, likely to be much more durable and stiffer, about an ounce heavier per rim

Light Bicycle 38mm - probably the most proven Chinese carbon rim, wider 31.6mm internal, 420g claimed weight, doubt I need the HD version? $250 more than stans.

Nextie 35mm - 30mm internal, SD version 380g, HD version 410g, about $200 more than the stans
Nextie 40mm - 33mm internal, SD version 450g, about $250 more than the stans

EHHHH? I'm liking the flow's because the price is right and I could probably flog them the most with no worries, but I can deal with the price and like the weight/width of the 35mm Nextie and I don't think I'd wreck them. I ride pretty smooth.

The Nextie with a Tomahawk 3C (f) and Minion SS DC (r) (both in the 750g range) would probably be a nice fast rolling, very light setup for dry summer conditions around here.

[jm2e]

DT Swiss EX471
Spank Spike Race 33
Those are probably beefier than you want, but it's hard to build a wider alloy rim I recon.
Unless you go with an I9 wheelset, I don't think you'll be able to come close to the weight and stiffness of a "cheap" Chinese carbon build.

FWIW, my 120lb wife blew up a Nextie 35/30 a few months ago. Very soft case over a dirt covered well rounded tranny. Probably compromised during her countless prior heavy impacts, but with carbon it's always hiding until you least expect it. To their credit, Nextie did a very quick no questions asked replacement and I paid $40 shipping. They even let me change the hole count and make it a heavier layup for the replacement rim. I rebuilt that wheel with a DT XM481, but that don't come in a 26". Will relegate carbon to front wheels from now on.

[radam]

I just ordered a 26" wtb asym i35 rim to check it out.. Will report the weight when I have it in hand

[Damian Sanders]

DT Swiss EX471
Spank Spike Race 33
Those are probably beefier than you want, but it's hard to build a wider alloy rim I recon.
Unless you go with an I9 wheelset, I don't think you'll be able to come close to the weight and stiffness of a "cheap" Chinese carbon build.

FWIW, my 120lb wife blew up a Nextie 35/30 a few months ago. Very soft case over a dirt covered well rounded tranny. Probably compromised during her countless prior heavy impacts, but with carbon it's always hiding until you least expect it. To their credit, Nextie did a very quick no questions asked replacement and I paid $40 shipping. They even let me change the hole count and make it a heavier layup for the replacement rim. I rebuilt that wheel with a DT XM481, but that don't come in a 26". Will relegate carbon to front wheels from now on.

I see.....do you know the exact model rim your wife wrecked? Thanks! It looks like there's an older 35MM hooked bead version, an now two different hookless version - the new deep profile in 27.5 and 29, and a shallower profile (and very light) hookless 26".

I've already got the rear Hadley hub in hand, so I'm stuck with that.

[Damian Sanders]

I just ordered a 26" wtb asym i35 rim to check it out.. Will report the weight when I have it in hand

Saw those.....I think 35mm internal is a bit much and they are over 500g. Thanks!

[Chugachjed]

They still make 26" rims?

[jm2e]

Not very many .......... especially anything wider than 19mm internal.

[Damian Sanders]

Tons of Nextie pics here, on each rim's page:

http://www.premiummtb.com.au/product-category/mountain/

There's also the Nextie premium series 32mm and 36mm rims, very nice. Looks like all their newer designs have a thicker hookless lip - 3mm, 3.5mm, or a whopping 4.5mm on the DH models.

[Damian Sanders]

I did a bit more digging around and picked up on a few things. Bike season starts for me in mid March.

- The first generation of hookless carbon rims has sidewalls in the 2mm to 2.5mm range. Such as a 30mm inner / 35mm outer dimension. This has proven not be optimally durable against rim strikes. IBIS uses a 3mm sidewall on it's (Chinese) carbon rims. Most of Light-Bicycle's new, wider rims use a 3mm or slightly wider sidewall. NOX are all 3mm. Derby's appear to be 2.75mm. Nextie is offering a range of sidewall widths, some 2.5mm or 3mm, with many new designs in an AM 3.5mm or DH 4.5mm - I'm hesitant to get into anything with a sidewall under 3mm.

- The general consensus is that a new sized 26x2.3 maxxis 58-559 ETRTO tire is optimized for a 21mm to 25mm inner rim, a square tread like the DHF will be too square on a 30mm or wider rim, if you corner hard on soil or ride flow/park trails. I've tried (just in a parking lot) a pair 27.5x2.3 DHF on ibis 741 (35mm internal), it felt like an old school gazzalodi on doublewides but lighter and sticker. I've ridden old 55/59-559 ETRTO 2.5" DHF on rims from 19mm to 28mm internal, they are definitely more monster truckish on the wide rims. I don't ride flow trails and there's really not that much hard cornering where I ride, there's certainly more time spent on technical rock going straight.

- I'm interested in the new 26" maxxis tomahawk, minion SS and aggressor and will try combinations of them, or with the DHF, this year - they are all 26x2.3 and all pretty square. The only normal size 26" WT (wide trail, wide rim specific) tire maxxis offers that I'm aware of is the 26x2.4 DHR2 WT.........I've got a 26x2.3 DHR2 that I found to be slow rolling, and it doesn't hit near it's claimed weight.

I've taken an interest in the following:

Stan's Flow or Arch Mk3 - Still the benchmark, proven, ~$150 per pair

Nextie 32mm Premium: 25mm internal, nice 3.5mm sidewalls, ~415g, they have some in stock and on sale, about $400 shipped for the set. Same width as my KOM i25's, but slightly lighter and I figure much stronger and impact resistant.
http://www.nextie.net/premium-mounta...32mm-NXT26XM32

Nextie 36mm Premium DH: 27mm internal, massive 4.5mm sidewalls, 500g. About $500 shipped per set. Probably nearly indestructible, but a bit too similar to the 28mm internal wheelset I already have, just a bit lighter and tubeless.
http://www.nextie.net/premium-mounta...36mm-NXT26XD36

Nextie 40mm AM: 33mm internal, nice 3.5mm sidewalls, 450g, about $400 shipped for the set. I found some reviews of people running these on 29'ers, said they felt very wide and stiff, overkill almost. Probably the most similar to the IBIS 742, but maybe heavier? Basicly a slightly wider and stronger light-bicycle 38mm
http://www.nextie.net/mountain-clincher-40mm-NXT26AM40

Light-Bicycle 38mm: Internal 31.6mm, very well known rim. 420g, $400 set.
https://www.lightbicycle.com/enduro-...strongest.html

Light-Bicycle 33mm: Internal 27mm, 385g, $400 set. There are reports of people riding pretty hard on this rim, and it is very light. Obviously I'm not going to go around bashing into rocks or throwing huge airs with this, but it should a bit stronger than my KOM i25's, lighter, and a bit wider.
https://www.lightbicycle.com/New-26e...ompatible.html

At the moment, I'm leaning pretty heavy towards the light-bicycle 33mm.

Hummmm...

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
Light-Bicycle 33mm: Internal 27mm, 385g, $400 set. There are reports of people riding pretty hard on this rim, and it is very light. Obviously I'm not going to go around bashing into rocks or throwing huge airs with this, but it should a bit stronger than my KOM i25's, and a bit wider.
https://www.lightbicycle.com/New-26e...ompatible.html

At the moment, I'm leaning pretty heavy towards the light-bicycle 33mm.

Hummmm...

I've got this on the rear of my 2010 Reign. It replaced a gen-1 LB 26" hooked rim which I cracked from a rim-strike. The new one (knock on crabon) so far has been good.

[Damian Sanders]

I've got this on the rear of my 2010 Reign. It replaced a gen-1 LB 26" hooked rim which I cracked from a rim-strike. The new one (knock on crabon) so far has been good.

Is yours the 385g AM layup? Or the DH layup? How much do you weigh? What do you have in the front? Thanks!!!

[skaredshtles]

Is yours the 385g AM layup? Or the DH layup? How much do you weigh? What do you have in the front? Thanks!!!

Yah - it's the AM layup. I'm 180#-ish geared up. Front is still a gen-1 LB hooked rim. Had that one since summer '13.

I'm fairly easy on front wheels... and fairly rough on rear wheels. I run a "dual-ply light" Michelin tire on the rear for the extra rock-protection.

[Damian Sanders]

Yah - it's the AM layup. I'm 180#-ish geared up. Front is still a gen-1 LB hooked rim. Had that one since summer '13.

I'm fairly easy on front wheels... and fairly rough on rear wheels. I run a "dual-ply light" Michelin tire on the rear for the extra rock-protection.

Nice, thanks for the info! They do look pretty beef, especially for the weight:

[toast2266]

If you're running Maxxis 2.3" tires, anything over ~27-28mm internal width is overkill in my opinion. Wider than that adds weight, makes your sidewalls more prone to slicing, makes your rims more prone to rocks strikes, and doesn't make an appreciable difference in tire sidewall stiffness.

[gravitylover]

I saw a set of the Spank Spoon 26" rims today and they looked pretty tough. I'd consider them LONG before anything Chinese carbon. I also saw a set of Nextie rims ~50mm or so wide and the spacing of the spoke holes was fkd up and uneven on one and the other they were offset so far to one side and there was no valve hole. I know you don't hear of too many problems with them but these were an absolute disgrace and now the guy has to deal with getting money back or shipping them back overseas to get replacements.

[Damian Sanders]

I saw a set of the Spank Spoon 26" rims today and they looked pretty tough. I'd consider them LONG before anything Chinese carbon. I also saw a set of Nextie rims ~50mm or so wide and the spacing of the spoke holes was fkd up and uneven on one and the other they were offset so far to one side and there was no valve hole. I know you don't hear of too many problems with them but these were an absolute disgrace and now the guy has to deal with getting money back or shipping them back overseas to get replacements.

Yeah I've heard various QA issues on the Chinese rims, but they may have gotten better. When did you see the messed up nextie rims?

Props to Spank for continuing to offer a good number of modern, tubeless, reasonable width 26" options. The Spoon 32 is 26.5mm internal, 625g, heavy DH and FR rim. The also have Race 28 and Race 33, DH race rims that are under 500g, and the Oozy Trail 295. Along with a few 26" wheelsets.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/u...536,4294967058
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/u...536,4294967058

[gravitylover]

Yeah I've heard various QA issues on the Chinese rims, but they may have gotten better. When did you see the messed up nextie rims?

Yesterday. They were received middle of last week so this is still a problem. If you would just go to 27.5 I could help you out...

[toast2266]

Yeah I've heard various QA issues on the Chinese rims, but they may have gotten better. When did you see the messed up nextie rims?

Props to Spank for continuing to offer a good number of modern, tubeless, reasonable width 26" options. The Spoon 32 is 26.5mm internal, 625g, heavy DH and FR rim. The also have Race 28 and Race 33, DH race rims that are under 500g, and the Oozy Trail 295. Along with a few 26" wheelsets.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/u...536,4294967058
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/u...536,4294967058

I have Spank Spoon 32's on my dirt jumper. They look pretty, but overall I'd call them a fairly low quality rim. Heavy, soft metal, and a sleeved (rather than welded) joint. Mine are an older version, but it doesn't look like they've changed much. They're also really tight (i.e. tires are hard to put on). But they're pretty cheap, so there's that.

[gravitylover]

That's the kind of stuff that's hard to tell from 15 feet away. Good info...

[Damian Sanders]

Thinking pretty hard about pulling the trigger on the 33mm light bicycle rim! Probably via ebay.

[Andeh]

I bought a pair of the 31.6mm LB rims a year and a half ago. I've had no issues with them, but I'm not hitting any huge hits. The lips are indeed stout.

My one bit of advice would be not to go with the 28h option to save weight like I did. Not because there's anything wrong with it in and of itself, but because it means that you're more limited in hub choices. I haven't had an issue with it yet (bought with DT 240 straight pull hubs, which are perfectly fine), but I could see it being an issue if I ever got an upgrade itch.

[Damian Sanders]

I bought a pair of the 31.6mm LB rims a year and a half ago. I've had no issues with them, but I'm not hitting any huge hits. The lips are indeed stout.

My one bit of advice would be not to go with the 28h option to save weight like I did. Not because there's anything wrong with it in and of itself, but because it means that you're more limited in hub choices. I haven't had an issue with it yet (bought with DT 240 straight pull hubs, which are perfectly fine), but I could see it being an issue if I ever got an upgrade itch.

LOL. I hear you. I built up a pair of 36H Hadley hubs in 2001, huge mistake. They are still going strong! Swapped out the rims in 2008ish, but the choices were very limiting. I'd be building them up with carbon rims but it never really made sense because they're still viable as is.

[Damian Sanders]

Found this note about the 26" 33mm Light-Bicycle rim:

How old is your 26" rim? We made new top plates for that mold a while back to lower the center channel slightly, and we also lowered the hookless lips to increase impact resistance. It is possible you have one of the rims before this revision.

http://forums.mtbr.com/wheels-tires/...l#post12754836

[jm2e]

I have Spank Spoon 32's on my dirt jumper. They look pretty, but overall I'd call them a fairly low quality rim. Heavy, soft metal, and a sleeved (rather than welded) joint. Mine are an older version, but it doesn't look like they've changed much. They're also really tight (i.e. tires are hard to put on). But they're pretty cheap, so there's that.

I just built up a Spike 33 set for wife's DH bike. Got to say I agree with Toast on this. Not impressed by QC on these things. The sleeved joint makes for a horrible dead spot during the build. The tape they slap over the joint to cover it up has to be cut off in order to use it with a truing stand, so seems entirely pointless. Using used hubs and got a good insider discount on the rims, so not terribly sad if they don't work out perfectly. Frankly though, it's hard to find a good option for 26" DH rims that aren't bricks and aren't super skinny.

[wkd-rdr]

I've got this on the rear of my 2010 Reign. It replaced a gen-1 LB 26" hooked rim which I cracked from a rim-strike. The new one (knock on crabon) so far has been good.

My replacement that was wider and "stronger" cracked on the 2nd ride.
Done with cheap carbonz.