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Posts
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Hit me with your buying advice for a wheelset.
Rider is 200lbs, I’ve been on Mavic crossride disc wheels for about 6 years. Two sets. Seems like I have to replace them every 3 years. Which isn’t bad.
My budget is less than $1000.00 but more like 500-700.
I like to race (poorly) so weight is an issue but my real requirement is the wheels have to be solid trail wheels (strength). I can’t replace them every year. I’m not going to ride downhill. But I do ride a lot of rock gardens, roots, up one side of appalachian mountains and down the other.
Classic skewer, disc only, tubeless compatible would be nice. Running Avid brakes. Can’t remember how many bolts. Guess I need to walk into the garage and find out.
I would like to hear some learned recommendations. My LBS is only selling pretty low end stuff, which is fine but I would like to try something lighter and stiffer. I know they will order for me if I find something I like.
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Not sure, if "light and stiff" will fit in 500 price. DT Swiss could be an option, but a little pricy
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I am looking at these right now;
Stans ZTR Archs, Mavic Crosstrails, American Classic All Mountain. I looked at the crossmax st also. I can go up to the $800 ish range if it is worth it, but unfortunately my lawnmower broke a wheel this weekend too. So, it looks like the combo of the new wheels and the new mower is going to take me up to $800.00. When it rains it pours.
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I’m a little light on actual advise, and will watch for the answer. Sounds just like what I’d like. I had to replace my front wheel suddenly and got a Bontrager Rhythm 29er because it was the only one I could find in stock. One bad slide and it’s about had it. Might ride for now but can’t really be trued.
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I pulled the trigger on a set of custom built Stans Flow EX with Hope hubs. Not as light as I had hoped to be but at @ $600.00 it isn’t horrible. I struggled with the durability of a lighter set and the (hopeful) longevity of the one I ordered. If I wasn’t 200lbs I would have been a little more willing to risk a lighter set. I am interested if there is any real difference to the ride. Stiffness should be increased. Better hub and a few grams lighter. I’ll post back with the results. I’m sort of wondering if it wasn’t better just to order those cheap Mavic Crossrides for $200.00 since they seem to last me 3 years at a pop. Oh well, gotta try different things to see what you are missing.
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I was going to recommend the Stan’s Arch EX, but the Flows should be even beefier.
It will be too late for you, but I am 200 lbs and am currently testing some Easton EA70 XCT wheels for the blog. Keep an eye out for the upcoming review.
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I am a little late in the discussion. I am a bit confused as to why your weight of 200 lbs is an issue. I used to feel the same way about wheels, my weight has been up around 250 for years. I ran Rhyno lItes fro years w/out a problem, heavy but very strong, w/ XT Hubs. Never had problem with them. I then took the plunge in going with a light pair of wheels, I went with a set of carbon fiber wheels. They can as much of, if not more of a beating than the Rhyno Lites did. My point being don’t be afraid of going lighter because of your weight.
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the flows are awesome. the newer ‘ex’ is even wider (25.5mm internal width). not wheels for racing tho, more for techy am, fr, dh.
i’m running azonic outlaws. very heavy, but i love the wide hoops. it really sets up your tires with a wide footprint that’s quite noticeable on the trail. now with the flow ex, i’m very tempted to go for those and saving a bunch of weight over the outlaws. you should have a noticeable difference coming off the narrow rimmed mavics (19mm internal width). get tires to match.
if you’re more serious about having fun than racing, great choice!
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I’m a very devout azonic outlaw fan. you cant get a stronger bombproof wheel for the price.
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"spazjensen" wrote
I’m a very devout azonic outlaw fan. you cant get a stronger bombproof wheel for the price.
agreed. crazy good.
was thinking of the outlaws for shuttling fr/dh (chunky dh tires), and the lighter flows with am/enduro tires for pedaling days. not quite 2 bikes, but improves a 1 bike setup.
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Just a quick update.
My Stan’s showed up this week and I mounted them up. They are about two 10ths of a pound lighter than my old Mavics. I rode them today, frikkin 103 degrees and about 1billion percent humidity 😀 , and they were great. I didn’t really notice any difference from the old cheapie Mavics I was running. So I don’t know if the price is worth it for a person like me. Admittedly I am an all mountain weekend rider who enters local xcountry races just for the excitement of the start. Plus it does wonders for my humility when 13 year old children pass me like I’m pedaling a moped. I’m not competitive. But even if I was running carbon wheels and a 5 lb lighter bike I suspect I would be in the same boat. According to the digital bathroom scale my full squish rig comes in at 29.7 pounds. It was 29.9 previously. I could probably shave a bit more off if I cared to. I tend to over use the stan’s goo. And I am still running my seat dropper that I purchased when I lived in MT. I don’t really need it here, but I have developed a love for that particular crutch!
@hnetsrick: I agree with your assessment. I probably really don’t have to worry too much about all but the lightest weight rims. I think the Arch’s would have been fine. I do get to ride extended technical downhill in the Central and the West parts of the State. But we definitely ride up what we ride down so it isn’t chair lift riding. Sometimes you just break a wheel. That happened to me with my last set. I don’t think it was the wheel as much as careless (tired) riding, but they also were a solid three years old. That being said I just didn’t want to drop $800 and then worry that I was going to have to replace a hoop in the next few months. I guess I am buying piece of mind with the weight. Or at least that is what I am telling myself! It is rooty and rocky here in VA. More so than WA. AZ. or MT. which were the last three states I lived in.
Summary. I probably went a bit too heavy on the build. But they rode well and I didn’t notice any appreciable riding difference from my old Mavics. The scale SAYS they are lighter but I didn’t notice it. I have heard the HOPE hubs will take a few rides to "break in" and loosen up. I didn’t notice any drag riding them. If they get any better that is icing on the cake. The Stans are Tubeless compatible out of the box so it was a snap mounting the rubber. I run a fat tire up front and a 2.1 on the rear and both mounted without a hassle. Transferring the hardware between old and new wheel sets was a cinch.
I’ll try to remember to post another update toward the end of the season.
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