Reliable and strong XC MTB wheel recommendations
Discussion
Years ago I had some light as hell Ritchey rims with Deore DX hubs. They took EVERYTHING I could throw at them and stayed true throughout.
On my Cube Ltd, my front got an enormous buckle in it after one fairly minor encounter with a beach groyne (and 3 pints of Stella). Its sounds bad but it really wasnt a hard hit. I was a bit disappointed to be honest.
On my Cube Ltd, my front got an enormous buckle in it after one fairly minor encounter with a beach groyne (and 3 pints of Stella). Its sounds bad but it really wasnt a hard hit. I was a bit disappointed to be honest.
fergus said:
Guys, Thanks for the recommendations. I think Merlin are the way to go here. I may go for the 819s over the 717s if they're stronger, as I'm about 16 1/2 stone and don't want to bend anything for the sake of saving a few grams!
What is UST (apologies if this is an obvious q!).
UST is a tubeless tyre system - you can run either normal or tubeless tyres on this sort of rim. What is UST (apologies if this is an obvious q!).
There are several types of tubeless, with UST being (in my opinion at least) being the best, albeit heavier. The tyres are fully airtight and have thicker sidewalls as a result, thus making them heavier. It's best to run with some latex tyre sealant as otherwise you'll get thorn punctures etc. Using this system I've had maybe three or four punctures in several years, usually when I've ripped out the sidewall. As well as the weight issue (not huge), the tyres are quite a bit more expensive (£5-10 per tyre).
The other main system is Stan's No Tubes where you use special tape to seal the rim, and use a fair amount of latex tyre sealant and normal tyres. I've tried this and find it much messier, plus some tyres just can't be sealed, it seems. Add to that the fact that you sometimes need to use an air compressor to get the tyres to bead onto the rim, and I've concluded that it's not for me. If you can make this work, however, it's a fair amount lighter than the UST setup, so lightweight racers tend to go for this option.
Anyway, to come back to your original post, the 819 rims are excellent - strong and light-ish. The added advantage of tubeless you can find out for yourself over time.
See you at Mayhem.
Conversely - I find the Stans sytem much more preferable to UST, as
- I dont need a compressor to get the tyres to seat
- They done use THAT much sealant
- I can buy pretty much any tyre I want (though some work lots better than others)
- Its light
- I've had one puncture since March 2008 - again, this was a massive rip out of the tyre sidewall, to tube, stans, UST, makes no difference they all would have punctured and left me in the same situation.
With reference to the amount of sealant used - I've had three sets of tyres on those rims in the past year, and I've only just run out of that original bottle of sealant.
- I dont need a compressor to get the tyres to seat
- They done use THAT much sealant
- I can buy pretty much any tyre I want (though some work lots better than others)
- Its light
- I've had one puncture since March 2008 - again, this was a massive rip out of the tyre sidewall, to tube, stans, UST, makes no difference they all would have punctured and left me in the same situation.
With reference to the amount of sealant used - I've had three sets of tyres on those rims in the past year, and I've only just run out of that original bottle of sealant.
I tried (and tried) to get Schwalbe Racing Ralphs onto some Spinergy wheels I'd treated with the Stan's tape. I failed, even with a good high-flow track pump. My local bike shop took 15 minutes of faffing with a compressor to get them to seat.
After all of that they leaked sealant like a sieve.
Maybe it was the tyres, maybe it was the rims, and maybe it was my own cackhandedness. Either way, it put me right off the whole ghetto tubeless thing, hence my prerence for UST.
After all of that they leaked sealant like a sieve.
Maybe it was the tyres, maybe it was the rims, and maybe it was my own cackhandedness. Either way, it put me right off the whole ghetto tubeless thing, hence my prerence for UST.
That is one hardcore XC racer!! Using the front brake too.
XC use wheelset? Hope Pro II hubs, Stan Olympic rim or Mavic 717. Both will take a 2.1 tyre comfortably. The Stan's will be lighter but more expensive and is slightly softer (and thus prone to dinging).
Personally, as a general rule I don't mail order wheels. Merlin are excellent wheel builders but IF something goes wrong then you have the ball-ache of sending the wheels back.
Where in London are you? Ross of Ross Cycles, in Caterham, is an excellent wheel builder as are Nirvana in Wescott. I've used them both without any issues at all. I don't know anyone North of the river though.
XC use wheelset? Hope Pro II hubs, Stan Olympic rim or Mavic 717. Both will take a 2.1 tyre comfortably. The Stan's will be lighter but more expensive and is slightly softer (and thus prone to dinging).
Personally, as a general rule I don't mail order wheels. Merlin are excellent wheel builders but IF something goes wrong then you have the ball-ache of sending the wheels back.
Where in London are you? Ross of Ross Cycles, in Caterham, is an excellent wheel builder as are Nirvana in Wescott. I've used them both without any issues at all. I don't know anyone North of the river though.
longblackcoat said:
I tried (and tried) to get Schwalbe Racing Ralphs onto some Spinergy wheels I'd treated with the Stan's tape. I failed, even with a good high-flow track pump. My local bike shop took 15 minutes of faffing with a compressor to get them to seat.
After all of that they leaked sealant like a sieve.
Maybe it was the tyres, maybe it was the rims, and maybe it was my own cackhandedness. Either way, it put me right off the whole ghetto tubeless thing, hence my prerence for UST.
I have seen the problems with doing the whole 'ghetto' thing, with an old 20" inner tube or some rim strips on some normal rims.After all of that they leaked sealant like a sieve.
Maybe it was the tyres, maybe it was the rims, and maybe it was my own cackhandedness. Either way, it put me right off the whole ghetto tubeless thing, hence my prerence for UST.
Im referring in my post above though, to proper ZTR tubeless specific rims. They are a different shape to a normal rim (just as a UST is), and work brilliantly.
Prices roughly comparable to UST rims too, its the tyre choice that did it mainly for me.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff