Help. I need some suggestions carbon wheels

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    • #304624

      I bought a 2020 trek full stache 8 last month.  I love this bike but after putting  a little over 200 miles on it my rear spokes are breaking.  For full disclosure I’m a big guy.  6’4 265.  Which puts me at the top of the weight limit. Trek is recommending  I upgrade my wheels to their bontrager carbon at 1000.+ per wheel.  I paid almost 4G for this bike  and am a little hesitant  to spend another  2+.   Is it worth the expense upgrading to carbon?  Will that stop spokes breaking?  I don’t  do big jumps or big drops. (I’m  an old guy in my sixties  and don’t  heal like you youngers)  I do love to go off trail and hit rock and root gardens.  That’s where I’m getting the breaks.   I have Sram Gx, boost 148 rear 29×3.  Any recommendations  will help.  Thanks

    • #304626

      Call Colorado Cyclist @ 800-688-8600. Ask them what will work for your weight. They’ll build you whatever you want, your choice of hubs, spokes, etc.

      Not giving them advertising – they’re just a company I trust that builds up good wheelsets. I’m sure there are loads of other shops that’ll build you custom wheels at a fair price. But someone who will lace you up some nice rims oughta be able to tell you what spokes, nipples, rims, etc. will work best for you and your style of riding.

    • #304643

      This may not have anything to do with your weight.  I only weigh 165 lbs and I had to replace the rear wheel on my Full Stache after only 18 months and I’m an old fart that rides slow.  Trek should be sued for putting such crappy wheels on such a capable bike.  My rear wheel started losing spokes and when I went to replace them, there were cracks around the spoke holes of the rear rim.  Definitely not an endorsement for Sun Ringle Duroc rims.  I believe part of the problem was that the rear wheel came with only 28 spokes instead of the standard 32 spoke wheel.  The front wheel has only 24 spokes.  Trek probably had these OEM wheels built as a cost saving measure.  Less spokes=less cost=more profit for Trek.   I would have happily paid a few dollars more for my Full Stache, if it had come with 32 spoke, higher quality rims.

      However, if I weighed 265 lbs,  I would be looking for some 32-36 spoke wheels with heavy-duty aluminum Downhill/Enduro type rims. WTB makes 32 spoke i35mm KOM Tough and Asym rims that might do the trick.  I have a bike with  i35 Asym rims that show little wear after more than 6 years of heavy use on a hardtail no less.  (The rear wheel of a hardtail takes more abuse than the rear wheel of a full-sus bike.)  If you look around or order from the internet, you might be able to find some even stronger 36 spoke heavy-duty aluminum Enduro/Downhill wheels with the strongest spokes.  Call Colorado Cyclist and ask for a 36 spoke Downhill wheel.  You should be able to buy a very high quality aluminum rear wheel for less than $500 and a whole wheelset for less than $1000.

      I would not recommend carbon.  Carbon is lighter than aluminum but not neccessarily stronger than aluminum.  However, carbon is much more expensive than aluminum.   I’ve seen a lot of internet stuff about Enduro riders busting carbon rims.  Aluminum bends but carbon fails catastrophically.

      By the way,  I replaced the rear wheel on my Full Stache with a 32 spoke wheel using an i35 WTB Asym rim for about $200.   Strong wheelsets don’t have to be expensive.  Her are some things that make a wheel strong.

      —heavy duty aluminum Enduro/Downhill rims

      —36 spokes

      —brass nipples

      —double butted spokes

      —3 cross spoke lacing pattern

      —wider Boosted hubs(now standard on most Mountain bikes)

       

    • #304647

      If you’re looking for strong aluminum wheels check out the offerings from Spank. If you’re in the market for carbon then I don’t think you can do better than We Are One Composites. I have a set of their Union rims that I have thrashed for almost 2 seasons. They’ve survived some brutal rim strikes. I haven’t had to touch a single spoke.  They start  at a very reasonable $1400 with I9 101 hubs and a lifetime warranty. Also consider  running an insert at least in the rear wheel to protect your investment.

    • #304754

      ^^ Some solid advice above ^^

      First off, as @Bike_Nerd pointed out stock wheels are usually low end.  Assuming yours came stock with the SunRingle Durocs it’s no surprise (check the reviews).   I trashed two sets of Easton stock wheels on my XC bike (both the original and the replacement) before buying a set of wheels from Stans.    I have a couple of Stans wheelsets which have performed flawlessly (including a set of Barons which I ride as a 29+) although I am only 180lbs.  Your  weight puts you over the limit of most wheel mfr recommendations but I wouldn’t get hung up on that.   Buy a decent rim and have it custom built as they’ll set it up best for you and your riding style.  I would be hestitant to go with carbon given the cost and other issues.   And @Bikesandbones suggestion about using a tire insert at least on the rear is another great tip.

    • #304902

      I tend to agree with the rest of those that responded, you shouldn’t need a carbon wheel. I am 6’1″ and 200lbs. You don’t strike me as that big. I agree the bikes should come with better wheels. I have WTB wheels on both my bikes. The one I have rode the most I have replaced two spokes on the real wheel. I have been looking at putting wider rims and I am considering ethirteen wheels. Not sure of their quality.  I know the company strives to produce good products and they cost significantly less. Maybe worth looking into especially if you are leaning towards carbon. It would irk me though to need to replace wheels on such a capable bike and give my money to the same company that sold me sub standard wheels, so I wouldn’t spend my money on Bontrager in your case.

    • #602020

      Knowing how to lace a bicycle wheel 36 spokes can be a big help. The first thing to do is put the hub with 36 holes in the center and the bike’s rim around it. Place the nipple on the spoke. This will lock it on the rim. The nipple is good to go after you successfully turned it after five size rotations, fit the lead spoke into the rim of the first hole. Then, screw in a nipple using a screwdriver onto the spoke’s end where it comes out of the bike’s rim. You have to fit the primary trailing spoke on the right of the bike wheel, the spoke should pass on the inside of two primary spokes.

    • #602719

      I recently purchased the Roval Traverse SL Carbons, cause they were on sale, and it changed my ride completely. Went from 23mm wheels to 30mm and crappy hubs to great hubs. Before I felt like I always had a flat and was dragging my back wheel. Now I flow uphill. I hope they last, but they are guaranteed for life with some type of warranty. I am 170 lbs, so I’m not too worried about weight, but I do abuse my wheels.

    • #603813

      Hopefully you have solved your problem by now, but for all the Clydesdales that read this thread, I have a suggestion. I’m over 240lbs.w/gear and ride in New England. I have over 1k miles on a set of E1900 DT Swiss wheels. I haven’t even needed to true them yet. I would only run Boost hubs with 30+mm aluminum rims. 32 spoke wheels have always been enough for me, just my 2cents….

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