Thoughts on Dentist Wheels

So I've decided to treat myself to some dentist wheels. Would appreciate some thoughts from the collective. Priorities are super high engagement, with not an overly stiff build. I ride a lot of tight EC singletrack, with lots of start stop flow, some more modern "enduro" ish trails at Bras du Nord, and Sentier du Moulin trail centres, and a bit of park. These will go on my 2018 Slayer which does everything for me.

I'm waffling back and forth between the I9 enduros (aluminum), and the new tr37 from Nobl with Onyx vespers.

Price wise in Canadian monopoly money the previous gen Enduro S with Hydra come in around 1400. The new Enduro V3 wheelset is around 1800. The tr 37s also about 1800 shipped.

I'm not at all craving carbon, however it seems like there is a lot of nice tech packed into the new Nobl wheels, (tuned front and back, similar to the Crankbrothers) and the lifetime crash replacement seems like a sweet bonus. Love the quiet of the Onyx, although it seems you can quiet down the Hydras quite a bit with some grease.

The i9s come in at about 100g lighter, but hard to imagine noticing that, and a two year warranty. As far as I can tell the new V3 rims have a little bit shallower profile, and are apparently better at reducing pinch flats, (something I've never done) and 28 vs 32 spoke count.


Thoughts, other directions? JONG away.

I'm a big fan of standard, non-propriatory parts, that any shop, anywhere, on any road trip, will have.

Regular J bend spokes (not stright, not some mavic only nipple, not pretty color/size of I9)

hub that is easy to work on, or almost never has to be worked on (DT swiss, king) Most of them are avail in higher engagement versions

Hub that is changeable to what ever the new dentist "standard" is in a few more years. (DT, stans good fro this)

Rim that is 32H, and built up by hand, at your local shop, and get a few extra spokes, nipples, etc.






or just get the red ones, that look fucking cool

Seems like there’s two schools of thought on this one. Depends on whether you are a sole practitioner or go in for the high volume type of action.

The sole practitioner seem to gravitate towards the upscale motorhome style of business... private, discreet and definitely mobile.

Attachment 329433

on the other hand, if you’re using the high volume model of dentistry , then you definitely want to go with the 18 wheeler type trailer. You can move the meat in and out quick and dirty whilst charging the max that their shitty dental plan will allow... you be banking that cash before those suckers even hit the car. If you’re looking to rake in profits, this is definitely the preferred business model.

Attachment 329434


Either way this is a sure fire winning business plan at this point. With the general masses scared shitless to leave their house, mobile on the demand delivery of dental services will be a growing market.

This is a smart investment move and I applaud your business savvy for exploring this avenue of possible profits.

AKA built in redundancy ^^ and its why I have 3 of the same AT binding

kind of boring but in a good way

edit: I hit enter and how did that get there ??

Not withstanding what mnt lion said, which are all good points.

I’m on my third set of i9 aluminums, two enduro 305 one backcountry 360, two with torch hubs now one with hydra. They’ve been flawless. Never trued them once, did a bearing kit on one set of the torch purely out of compulsion not sure they even really needed them.

Just great. YMMV.

I absolutely hated I9 hubs. They had a ton of resistance and where slow rolling. I’ve been running DTSwiss 240 hubs with the 54tooth ratchet upgrade and can’t be happier. High engagement, and very fast rolling with minimal maintenance.

Industry Nine Hydra hubs laced to DT Swiss XM 481 rims with DT Competition spokes (j-bend) and alloy nips. 28 hole. Hub sound can be tuned with grease (quieter) vs oil (louder). $1100 USD, 1820g.

Personally, I'd lace them up with Revolution spokes and brass nipples.

Serviceable by any shop, anywhere. Easily replaceable spokes. 30mm internal rim width. Bomber with Competition spokes, a little bit of give and take with the Revolutions.

I bought my first pair of carbon wheels a few weeks ago. I snagged a lightly used set and it’s made a huge difference from my DT aluminum rims in how ‘snappy’ the bike feels. Being in Canada I would be really tempted by We Are One’s with a hub of your choice.

Onyx : the coolest and most interesting. Weight is noticeable actually...

i9 : likely the ‘best’ out there.

DT Swiss : most durable, easiest to service. The 350 is a good way of saving a few dollars if the price of carbon is tough.

I’ve talked to 1/2 dozen i9 riders pushing their bikes because the free hub blew up on the first couple rides. It’s enough that I won’t be going there.


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Pretty sure "dentist" wheels have to be carbon. Since you're considering I9, Reynolds is currently offering $500 off a bunch of wheelsets with Blacklabel rims on Torch hubs.

https://hayesbicycle.com/collections...activity_trail

https://hayesbicycle.com/collections...ctivity_enduro

Thanks for the feedback all, certainly been reading about the benefits of a hand build over factory, so will continue to look into that direction as well. I haven't had a lot (or actually any) opportunity to ride really nice wheels with high engagement hubs. Most of the demo bikes I've had a chance to ride have all had pretty uninspiring wheels as well. Certainly a noticeable step up from the base Sun rims and sram hubs on my bike now but nothing special as far as I could tell.

FWIW I’ve had great success with my Enve rims. The factory build lasted 5 years and then I had them custom rebuilt by a local wheel builder that I trust. The rebuild has been significantly better. If you buy Enve or any other carbon rim make sure it’s got external nipples. Internal nipples are the worst idea ever. A good wheel set is expensive but it’s cheaper then replacing “cheap” wheels regularly.

If I was in the market for a new wheel set I’d have Skiver build one:


https://cascaderacingdesigns.com

He’s by far one of the best wheel builders around and is a great source of knowledge. Tell him what / how you like to ride and he can help you fine tune your build.

This thread isn't very dentist. Everybody knows their wheels require:
- Enve rims
- CX-Ray or the equivalent DT spokes
- Chris King/I9 hubs
- carbon DT wheels probably fall in there too

A nice set of carbon wheels?
- WeAreOne Union or Faction rims...depending on how endurobro you are
- I'm going to try Project 321 hubs this season (the 'cores' only rock Onyx and feel it necessary to tell everyone how great they are)
- If you really want street cred then you have to mount CushCore inserts as well
- WeAreOne handlebars and stem to match

My most relevant thought is that the Vespers are having problems with the smaller sprag clutches slipping under high torque scenarios. If you're regularly climbing steep stuff in your granny gear I'd avoid those till they get the bugs worked out.

I'm building some nice wheels right now and was set on Vespers until I read about the problems. Some people don't seem to have issues but they also don't seem totally isolated. I ended up saying damn the weight and ordering their legacy hubs. These wheels are going on a hardtail so the unsprung weight won't be a problem. They are fucking heavy though, I'd certainly think twice about putting them on a full suspension bike. Hopefully they get the issues with the Vesper worked out before I build my next one.

I was really considering slightly used wheelset with Onyx hubs but I ended up with a set of We are One with some I9 Hydras. I installed the grease and they are nearly silent for about 2 rides then slowly get louder. The free hub is super easy to remove. Just pull the cassette and the whole freehub comes out. It would be nice if they remained silent longer but it is so easy to put some new grease in that it is not a big deal. So far I really like the Hydras but there is some drag that is noticeable spinning in the stand.

Only have one friend with Hydras and they're not nearly as loud as my Torches. He hasn't blown them up yet either, which is a plus.

Based on my experience denting every version of aluminum rim I've touched, I'd be hesitant to spend money on aluminum wheels that have anything proprietary that makes replacing a rim problematic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

Pretty sure "dentist" wheels have to be carbon.

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What he said.
I beat the shit out of my wheels in enduro comps and general rough riding and I've used I9 wheels on my last few builds. I was originally concerned with aluminum spokes in loose rocky terrain (live in northern NM) but those fears have proven unfounded. Lots on rock hits have made me cringe while riding but left no damage (other than visual). I've actually had great results with their 24 Spoke Carbon Enduro models. I9s have more lateral stiffness than any wheel I've ever used and the low spoke count provides just enough vertical compliance to be comfortable.