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Looking for some input. I’m looking into upgrading my wheelset on my bike. The 2 sets i’m currently looking at are the Mavic Crosstrail and the DT Swiss X1800. Anyone have any experience or advice about these would be appreciated. Also any other suggestions on other wheelsets?
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I don’t know anything about those.
But check out the wheelsets from http://www.notubes.com aka Stans. The Stans rims are awesome…if you want to go tubeless, it’s the way to go IMO. With their ‘custom’ wheels you pick the parts, and price, yourself.
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What is your intended use for the wheels, what’s your price range, what do you weigh, how rough are you on wheels, and what do you want out of them as compared to your current set?
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Goose….XC riding, weigh around 235lbs, and would like to stay around $500.
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If you want to use them for XC riding, I’m going to assume you want them to be as light as possible without being too weak. (Weak is obviously a relative term that takes into consideration your riding style among other things.) But, I’ll assume that XC riding means relatively smooth trails with minimal "air time" where the wheels leave the dirt. When you start pushing 200lbs and up, you have to give a little more thought into what components you build with. Most XC components are intended for the welter weight racers who don’t push over 175lbs. So we just have to use our brains a little more when we put a wheel together.
If you plan on using the wheels as an everyday set, rather than something to race on, I’d suggest you take a look at rims that are geared more towards "trail" riding. They will weigh a little more than most XC rims but the trade off is strength and for an everyday set, you need it.
If you are planning to only use them on[i:34eyow85] some[/i:34eyow85] of your rides and keep your other wheels as a burlier "beater" set, sheer speed is what you want from these and you can probably get away with using most of the XC rims out there. These will have the lightest rim weights and you’ll really feel the difference in rotational weight. I have one set of wheels that weighs 1450g and another that is closer to 2200g and the difference is night and day. However, at 195lbs packed out, I am hesitant to leave the ground on the light weight wheels. IE: they are NOT an everyday set. I keep my eye on these wheels as I’m probably pushing their intended boundaries a bit.
Either way, light weight XC rim or a little heavier trail rim, you may think about pairing the rims to a hub that uses 32 spokes (or even more). The higher spoke count basically diverts the forces on the rim into more closely spaced points (spokes) allowing the wheel to feel stiffer and hold higher loads.
A lot of companies lower their total wheel weight by simply shaving grams off the hub and lowering the spoke count but you won’t notice as large a difference as with wheels of the same weight that take the weight from the rim instead (again, the rotational weight thing). In some cases, this can even make for a flexy feeling wheel. Some good companies can pull it off, but be careful if you decide to go that route. I’d stick with a well know wheel manufacturer with a good warranty if I were planning on buying a wheel with low spoke counts.
Not sure what kind of hub you are currently using, but hubs with higher number of pawl teeth, and thus faster engagement, would also be a good upgrade to have in the back of your mind. It can make a difference when starting up or going through very technical sections. Just something to think about.
Both of the wheels you mentioned would be good for everyday riding. I can’t speak for the DT Swiss but I have ridden Crosstrails and they feel solid. Mavic has been making wheels for a while and has a pretty good idea what they are doing. The hubs are easy to service, they engage well, and they roll smoothly.
You may also look at the Easton XC 2s for a comparably priced set from another great wheel building company.
If you want to really get involved in your wheel, get a custom set. The Stans rims mentioned by Dgaddis are strong and WAY light (got their Crest rims on my light set of wheels even though they say don’t go over ~185lbs). For a stronger set of rims, look at their Arch. If you keep your eyes open for deals, in your price range, you can get a GREAT set of wheels with just about all the bells and whistles.
YIKES, that was long. Hopefully something in there you can use.
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Thanks. Leaning towards Mavic because of their reputation but will definitely give Stans a look.
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I got these from Chain Reaction Cycles for less than 300 shipped
Fully Custom DT Swiss 455 Wheels, Gold Hope 2 hubs, with black 2mm DT Swiss Spokes. I weigh 230 on a good day, and they hold up well to me. -
Thanks. Those look sweet. I’ll have to check them out.
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Hey, I am dealing with the same issue.
The guy above doesnt mention if he is looking for 26 or 29er rims.
I need some help on getting some light, good quality 29er rims for XC riding.
i weight about 165 lbs and do mostly dirt riding with little "air"
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"JMBIGORANGE" wrote
Thanks. Those look sweet. I’ll have to check them out.
This is the specific link to the custom wheel set built around Hope 2 Hubs. There is literally every wheel they sell to pick from to get exactly what your looking for. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Kits … delID=7599
For your reference they do not come with skewers. You either have to add them, or purchase separately.
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Goose,
Awesome write up! I am trying to educate myself on this as well. I have Bontrager Rhythm wheel system, 28mm. That came stock on my Fuel EX 8 (2009). I think I need some more durable set. I started poping spokes recently. I am 250lbs, 6’3". I beat the living crap out of those wheels. As I continued to get more comfortable with my bike I started leaving the ground a significant amount. In fact there is not a ride, that I cannot find a burm, fallen tree, rock, or obsticle I do not try and get over without leaving the ground. It, to me, is just fun. These wheels just seem to have had enough.I use my ride on anything from short bursty rides, to long 6 hours heavy rides. My pack is also pretty heavy, I would say on long rides I can have 25 – 30lbs on my back/gear.
I am not a gram counter and care very little for weight management. I just want durabiltiy to the beating I put on it.
All that to ask, what are a great set of wheels for around $500 that I can take from bike to bike as I transition to a new ride.
You aslo mentioned: [i:482kxw7n]hubs with higher number of pawl teeth, and thus faster engagement[/i:482kxw7n] Could you eleborate a bit?
Should one my size be certain of specific items? Spoke count, Hub size etc?
Thank you in advance!
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The comment about the number of teeth on the pawl was worded wrong. I appologize. What I should have said is hubs with a higher number of engagement points on the pawl will end up responding/engaging faster as you pedal. I’ve heard of hubs with as high as 120 points which creates a fantastic hub engagement after every 3 degrees of pedal rotation. Good for very technical riding. Most hubs are probably in the range of 18-24. A 24 point hub will grab the hub every 15 degrees of pedal turn.
As far as great wheels in the $500 range for bigger guys such as yourself who likes to give his wheels a workout, I’m afraid I can’t make a specific suggestion as I myself am not quite in that weight range. The stresses that I put on my wheels just wouldn’t be a fair comparison. You should be able to get a couple of our bigger guys to pipe in on their experiences with their wheel sets though.
That being said, I do know that Bontrager doesn’t make their wheels with the 250+ rider in mind and I’m not surprised to hear you say your wheels have thrown up the white flag. Couple that with the fact that they weren’t really built to have the "living crap beaten out of them" in the first place and it’s a no brainer.
From your weight and the way you like to ride, I’d probably steer you more towards a stronger DH or Freeride type wheelset that is designed to take a regular thrashing. They will be heavier wheels but you said that’s not an issue. A lot of wheelsets will have a manufacturers recommended rider weight limit so pay attention and make sure you don’t buy something that’s not ready for you.
Good luck.
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