heavy bikes

[MTBBEN]

i’m recently new to mtb allthough i’ve been riding for a fewyears
i want to shift some weight off my bike
so would changing it into a singlespeed help?
if so what are the advantages?

[flamdrag8]

Changing to singlespeed will offer minimal weight reduction. However, the few ounces reduced, are unlikely to be felt by the rider as they are not reduced from the rolling resistance of the bike. The better area to look for when reducing weight is at the wheels. A tubeless conversion may be a good and inexpensive change, you can feel. If you got the dough, look at a lighter wheelset. 😀

[MTBBEN]

Can You Advise a Wheelset?
26’s

[aabiking ✓ supporter]

Welcome To Singletracks guys.

[flamdrag8]

Mavic crossmax series are fantastic wheels if you got some coin (about $900 USD). If you don’t have that much money, the Mavic crossland is also a great XC wheelset (about $250 USD). Check out http://www.pricepoint.com.

[erictw83]

My first wheel set upgrade was to Mavic Crossrides ~($200), their entry level mtb wheel. I measured a ~10% increase in speed vs my crap stock set coasting down a frequented hill. Great value for the money. Got ~600 XC miles so far and haven’t needed truing yet.

[Bombardier]

"MTBBEN" wrote

Can You Advise a Wheelset?
26’s

You rang?? 😼

The guys are right; reducing overall weight helps, but not as much as reducing rolling resistance & rotating mass.

But how light do you want to go?

There’s an engineering maxim that’s very appropriate when applied to mountainbikes; "Light, Strong, Cheap; pick any two".

The highest quality, lightest, and strongest wheelsets on the market right now are brought to you by DTSwiss, Industry-Nine, American Classic, and Mavic. I9 is the most expensive, with DT, AmClass, and Mavic right behind. The latter three make wheelsets and components that run the gamut from entry-level to top-end; and even the cheaper offerings are still very good.

Then there’s Cane Creek, WTB, SunRace, Velocity, and CrankBrothers. CrankBrothers just stepped into the wheel market, and their wheelsets are posed to take on I9 and DTSwiss for being the most sought-after hoops in mountainbike’dom. The others are good quality wheels, and they’re often cheaper than the top-dogs; however, you also get wheels that weigh a bit more as well.

Those are the independant contractors…. Trek/Gary Fisher, Specialized, and now Ellsworth have their own parts-brands; Bontrager, Roval, & Ellsworth. All make excellent components which range from cheap-as-dirt OEM beginner-bike stuff, to World Cup-worthy racing components. Each wheelset from them has their own merits, and I could go on for hours.
Another thing to consider is the tubeless option. Going tubeless requires either tubeless-only wheels, tubeless-convertable wheels, or tubeless conversion kits. Again, each has it’s own advantages/disadvantages; mainly that dedicated tubeless wheels are a bit more expensive & tougher to mount tires on, convertible wheels tend to be a tad heavy, and conversion kits are messy and don’t always work well. However, losing the tubes means you lose rotational mass and the risk of pinch-flatting. Without tubes, you risk wheel damage if the tire PSI is too low and you bottom-out on a hard landing; that extra little bit of rubber does help protect the rim somewhat.

Important too are tires. That engineering maxim also applies in a fashion to tires. Show me one that has low rolling-resistance, light-weight, high traction, durability, and is cheap; and I’ll show you oceanfront property in Arizona.

But there are tires which fill the all-’round role well without making too many compromises. My three favorites are (in order of preferrence); Schwalbe Albert series, the Continental Gravity, & the Scwalbe Smart Sam.
The Albert series exhibit excellent traction, average rolling-resistance, average weight, and very good durability.
The Continental Gravity has average traction (excellent on loamy, moist dirt, rocks & roots, poor on dry, gravelly/sandy trails), outstandingly low rolling-resistance, average weight, and excellent durability (I’ve abused these hard for two years now; they still have 95% tread left!).
Finally, the Smart Sam has average/good in traction, low rolling-resistance, average weight, and have excellent durability.
All these tires are available in wire or folding-bead versions, as well as tubeless and added protection versions (SnakeSkin for Schwalbe, ProTection for Continental). Base-model tires start around $40 at most LBS’s.

[GoldenGoose]

I was looking to do a relatively cheap wheelset upgrade on my hardtail and have been looking into those crosslands for a while now but I was wondering if they would be a match for my riding style. I mainly ride "XC" and "trail bike" conditions and I like to get 2-3 feet of air everynow and then. Since I am on a hardtail I think my line choice on rocky trails would lean towards the smoothest thing I can find but I don’t like having to true my wheelset after every ride either. I want something that will hold up better than a strictly XC wheelset, I think. Think the crosslands are a match for me or do you have any other suggestions? BTW, I run V-brakes on the hardtail to keep it light so I would need the rims to be compatible. The hubs I have on there now are 7 years old and stock from Trek so almost anything would be an upgrade.

[flamdrag8]

Shimano XT M760 Wheelset w/ Mavic 717 Rims would probably be a good choice in your situation.

[Bombardier]

A set of Cane Creek Terros wheels would fill your requirements (they’re v-brake compatible as well) and not break the bank either. Their odd looking straight-pull spoke and flanged hub arrangement isn’t a gimmick either. I tested a SantaCruz Superlight with the Cane Creek Cronos-hub wheels, and it was noticably faster to accelerate and easier to steer at speed due to the decreased centrifical inertia.

Check the Terros out HERE
And this is a page detailing the how-what-why of Cane Creek Wheel Technology.

[Juan_Gear]

Read some place, one ounce off rotational weight is equal to four ounces of the bike in performance.
next is weight off of the top of the bike, it will feel faster with less weight on top. As you rock or manuver the bike less effort is needed.

Of course,,, ALL,,, this should all be done on a Single speed 😆

[Bombardier]

"Juan_Gear" wrote

Of course,,, ALL,,, this should all be done on a Single speed 😆

Hey, don’t be polluting the new guys with your heretical singlespeed propaganda!

GEARS ARE GOOD! 😼

[Author]

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