Ask the experts

[volklpowdermaniac]

So, I’m gonna ask. Were yours the first gen XTR 9100/9120 that had some mysterious ‘problem’ that caused them to be temporarily halted?
Or is there something else wrong with them?

I don’t know, maybe? I got mine fairly early, it’s just always perplexed me.... when I first installed it, it fell off about 3 rides in (the left arm), it was never truly set properly on the axle, despite fairly decent research and instructions. LBS got it set properly, then needed to service BB recently and now think I’m back at the same spot I was originally without any confidence that how I have it set is right. That and the XT (strangely?) uses the old/classic shimano attachment method.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

XT/XT rear der and shifter with SRAM Eagle or other 12sp cassettes?

Have heard of others going this route without issue. Do you still get the supposed mind boggling shift under load that the new XT/XTR drivetrains apparently deliver?

I have an XD driver wheel and do not plan on new wheels with micro peen or micro spline or whatever new standard they are forcing on us.

[rideit]

However, the vastly superior shifting under power with the new Shimano 12 speed stuff is all in the chain and cassette meshing together.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

However, the vastly superior shifting under power with the new Shimano 12 speed stuff is all in the chain and cassette meshing together.

Ahhh, that's what I wondered. Makes sense.

Any newer SRAM stuff even close? After running all SRAM forever I would make the switch if it wasn't for the micro spline crap.

[rideit]

I guess the AXS is a *bit* closer. But shimano recently said they would introduce electric shifting when it was a marked improvement over what they did with the new 12, and they aren’t there yet.
It’s that good, IMO.

[bennymac]

looking at getting new rims - wondering what the experts would recommend - feel free to punt me to mtbr if that's more appropriate - I used to ride a lot of mavic crossmax wheelsets when I was single and had $ but no knowledge of what I was buying...

Me - 190lbs on an XL Transition Patrol - ride mainly rough, rocky, steep terrain without much style, finesse, or skill except for the ability to ride faster than I should given said lack of skill. I tend to be hard on wheels and bikes.

The Transition build came with Stans Flow S1 which are their cheaper, softer rims. I'll keep the hubs and spokes - just need to upgrade the rims (already dinged the rear rim to the point it needs a tube)

My priorities would be in this order

32 hole J bend spokes (to go with the hubs I already have)
durability / dependability
30mm internal width give or take (tend to ride 2.4 -2.5 tires)

I'm not overly concerned with wheel weight - this bike is my daily driver

Cost is also not the main concern but paying $1500 for carbon wheels seems excessive for my needs for this particular bike. Looking at alloy

The raceface ARC 30 HD (heavy duty) seems to be an option but I've had mixed experience with raceface quality over the years - anyone running these raceface offset wheels? Does the "offset" style of wheel come with any increased maintenance issues? I don't want some fancy feature that works great when dialed in but requires more attention to achieve this. I'm very much a set it and forget it type of guy when it comes to bike setup.

Or do I stick with DT Swiss XM481 or Stans EX3 - again I'm valuing durability over weight or cost - I'd rather ride a heavy rim up the climb than have my wheel in the shop

Thanks for your input

[radam]

looking at getting new rims - wondering what the experts would recommend - feel free to punt me to mtbr if that's more appropriate - I used to ride a lot of mavic crossmax wheelsets when I was single and had $ but no knowledge of what I was buying...

Me - 190lbs on an XL Transition Patrol - ride mainly rough, rocky, steep terrain without much style, finesse, or skill except for the ability to ride faster than I should given said lack of skill. I tend to be hard on wheels and bikes.

The Transition build came with Stans Flow S1 which are their cheaper, softer rims. I'll keep the hubs and spokes - just need to upgrade the rims (already dinged the rear rim to the point it needs a tube)

My priorities would be in this order

32 hole J bend spokes (to go with the hubs I already have)
durability / dependability
30mm internal width give or take (tend to ride 2.4 -2.5 tires)

I'm not overly concerned with wheel weight - this bike is my daily driver

Cost is also not the main concern but paying $1500 for carbon wheels seems excessive for my needs for this particular bike. Looking at alloy

The raceface ARC 30 HD (heavy duty) seems to be an option but I've had mixed experience with raceface quality over the years - anyone running these raceface offset wheels? Does the "offset" style of wheel come with any increased maintenance issues? I don't want some fancy feature that works great when dialed in but requires more attention to achieve this. I'm very much a set it and forget it type of guy when it comes to bike setup.

Or do I stick with DT Swiss XM481 or Stans EX3 - again I'm valuing durability over weight or cost - I'd rather ride a heavy rim up the climb than have my wheel in the shop

Thanks for your input

My XM481s have put some holes in tires and come away with just a scratch. I guess it's better than having to replace the rim since that's a pita but tires aren't cheap. My ARC rims got a comically bad dent one time and the tire was fine. I'm sure there's a middle ground somewhere...

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[nickwm21]

Interested in that rim question as well... also DT Swiss has the worst nomenclature for their rim models. Do the numbers mean anything?


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[Whiteroom_Guardian]

DT Swiss XRbunchofrandomnumbers = It's totally fucking burly as fuck yo.

[bennymac]

Yeah I had the same response when looking at their website. Do they teach this theory in marketing school that it’s good to confuse the fuck out of your customers?

Slap a Maxxis DHF 27.5 WT 2.4 EXO+ DD snakeskin TR 3C MaxTerrra onto a DT Swiss THX1138 rim and you’re golden.

[toast2266]

If you want a nice aluminum rim, it's dt swiss. They make a couple different levels of quality. Just buy the most expensive one that fits your width preferences.

[bennymac]

My XM481s have put some holes in tires and come away with just a scratch. I guess it's better than having to replace the rim since that's a pita but tires aren't cheap. My ARC rims got a comically bad dent one time and the tire was fine. I'm sure there's a middle ground somewhere...

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Thanks for the feedback - being the know nothing that I am I can put a fresh tire on easily but could not replace a rim myself - so your experience with the xm481 is a vote in their favor

I believe the older ARC rims were made of the softer aluminum and the new ones are now divided into AR (soft and cheaper) and ARC (harder and more $). We’re your arc wheels from sometime recent?

[bennymac]

If you want a nice aluminum rim, it's dt swiss. They make a couple different levels of quality. Just buy the most expensive one that fits your width preferences.

Yeah that’s what my gut instincts were telling me but I don’t have much experience to be trusting myself. Thanks for helping me!

[caulfield]

Sounds like you're having a shop build these, not DIY? Once you add the cost of the build, might be worth getting new hubs while you're at it. Those stans hubs have a lot of haters.

There's a guy/shop that sells wheels on pinkbike as sd-mtb. His dt builds with 350s are usually less than the price of the parts.

There was a recentish generation of raceface rims that creaked like hell from the joint. I assume they've fixed it, but wasn't a good look.

One thing to keep in mind when you're swapping rims but keeping spokes is that you need ERDs to be close. Pretty sure you're good with any of the options you've mentioned.

[HankScorpio]

I’ve got 2 sets of the Race Face ARC 30 rims on Hope hubs. Very solid rims, reasonably light and they’ve held up over a few seasons of daily use.

You’ll see the RF AR rims for short money but the ARCs are more durable and will prob run about $90 a rim.


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[Eluder]

looking at getting new rims - wondering what the experts would recommend - feel free to punt me to mtbr if that's more appropriate - I used to ride a lot of mavic crossmax wheelsets when I was single and had $ but no knowledge of what I was buying...

Me - 190lbs on an XL Transition Patrol - ride mainly rough, rocky, steep terrain without much style, finesse, or skill except for the ability to ride faster than I should given said lack of skill. I tend to be hard on wheels and bikes.

The Transition build came with Stans Flow S1 which are their cheaper, softer rims. I'll keep the hubs and spokes - just need to upgrade the rims (already dinged the rear rim to the point it needs a tube)

My priorities would be in this order

32 hole J bend spokes (to go with the hubs I already have)
durability / dependability
30mm internal width give or take (tend to ride 2.4 -2.5 tires)

I'm not overly concerned with wheel weight - this bike is my daily driver

Cost is also not the main concern but paying $1500 for carbon wheels seems excessive for my needs for this particular bike. Looking at alloy

The raceface ARC 30 HD (heavy duty) seems to be an option but I've had mixed experience with raceface quality over the years - anyone running these raceface offset wheels? Does the "offset" style of wheel come with any increased maintenance issues? I don't want some fancy feature that works great when dialed in but requires more attention to achieve this. I'm very much a set it and forget it type of guy when it comes to bike setup.

Or do I stick with DT Swiss XM481 or Stans EX3 - again I'm valuing durability over weight or cost - I'd rather ride a heavy rim up the climb than have my wheel in the shop

Thanks for your input

You want the DT EX 511. Same profile as the 481 but beefier. Every Arc my buddies or I have ever had have needed to be replaced. I haven't used the new Stans.

[El Chupacabra]

Q for the Reverb experts : I've never worked on a Reverb. If I separate the remote and hose from the bottom of the post (internally routed hose), will I have to bleed the remote when I reinstall?

I have a bike with an internally routed and pushbutton remote Reverb, 125mm drop. It will easily fit a 150mm. Wondering if I can swap a 150 in place without having to bleed.

[John_B]

Q for the Reverb experts : I've never worked on a Reverb. If I separate the remote and hose from the bottom of the post (internally routed hose), will I have to bleed the remote when I reinstall?

I have a bike with an internally routed and pushbutton remote Reverb, 125mm drop. It will easily fit a 150mm. Wondering if I can swap a 150 in place without having to bleed.

In my experience you'll likely have to bleed it.

[XXX-er]

Interested in that rim question as well... also DT Swiss has the worst nomenclature for their rim models. Do the numbers mean anything?


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yes

I seen a vid or presentation about DT swiss in America it came at me online and all those numbers mean something i don't have it anymore, maybe google ?

[radam]

Thanks for the feedback - being the know nothing that I am I can put a fresh tire on easily but could not replace a rim myself - so your experience with the xm481 is a vote in their favor

I believe the older ARC rims were made of the softer aluminum and the new ones are now divided into AR (soft and cheaper) and ARC (harder and more $). We’re your arc wheels from sometime recent?

They were 2016/2017ish? Definitely not of the generation that added the heavy duty option

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[lifelinksplit]

You want the DT EX 511. Same profile as the 481 but beefier. Every Arc my buddies or I have ever had have needed to be replaced. I haven't used the new Stans.

I just had a shop build me an EX511 with a dt370 hub that came from an e13 rear wheel(e13 can suck a dick with shitty quality and almost non existent customer service). Shop guy said him and 3 other guys at the shop were all running them. I told them basically what you said regarding weight etc and that's what they recommended. Dont have any real feedback yet since I've got a couple rides on it.

[bennymac]

Thanks everyone for the helpful rim/wheel advice!

Looks like I can get complete wheelsets with EX511 and 350 hubs for not much more than it would cost to have a shop rebuild my wheels with new rims and my old stans hubs - I can likely sell my old wheels for a couple bucks to offset the price. Cheers!

[El Chupacabra]

In my experience you'll likely have to bleed it.

Thanks. Weighing whether it's worth the hassle of swapping currently functioning posts.

[rideit]

Q for the Reverb experts : I've never worked on a Reverb. If I separate the remote and hose from the bottom of the post (internally routed hose), will I have to bleed the remote when I reinstall?

I have a bike with an internally routed and pushbutton remote Reverb, 125mm drop. It will easily fit a 150mm. Wondering if I can swap a 150 in place without having to bleed.

It very much boils down to “well, do you feel lucky, punk?”

Sometimes it works a treat, and sometimes you have to bleed.

[XXX-er]

Interested in that rim question as well... also DT Swiss has the worst nomenclature for their rim models. Do the numbers mean anything?


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https://reviews.mtbr.com/understandi...-wheel-line-up

here ^^ is something but I'm not sure if that was the artical