Asked the Bikeradarists, let’s see if you lot agree 😉

Smashed up one of my rear Rovals at the weekend- a combination of rock strikes and dings, 2 broken spokes, then finished up by putting the mech into the wheel and riding half an enduro stage with the wheel no longer very wheelish 😳 It’ll fix, but the fact is I’m asking too much of it, time for a sidegrade.

This is for my Hemlock, used for allsorts, red route laps, weeks in the alps, uk enduro racing, uplifts etc. I’ve got a set of Pro2s on Flows which I mostly use in my DH bike, but sometimes move to this bike- frankly, was a mistake not to for this weekend but now I’d like to remove that wheelswapping and have the bike up for everything, all the time.

Moon on stick:

So, moon on stick request commences…

1) Lighter than Flows on Pro 2s.
2) Tougher than Rovals. Better dent resistance would be nice especially.
3) Not too devastatingly expensive
4) Easy to get parts for- standard bits or at least good dealer support
5) Reliable and servicable hubs. Ideally not alu nipples.
6) Tubeless or properly tubeless ready- ie no chunky rimstrips like Bontrager etc, but tape like Stans is OK.
7) 20mm front axle- not negotiable this. Should be convertible for other formats though. Likewise QR rear, but should be convertible to 12mm.
8 ) Wide enough for 2.3s/Maxxis 2.5s.

So… Crossmax SXs tick the boxes but are a bit expensive.
Easton Havocs I’m not convinced about reliability
American Classic AM might be on the Rovally end of the strength thing
Ringle Charger Pro maybe
Or, custom build- Arch Ex or Flow on a lighter hub maybe.

I’ve noticed a couple of places offering Pacenti now… Feels like the AM one might be a little weak and the DH one a bit hefty but Superstar are doing them for £260 a pair, might be worth a try? (Octopi aside)

Also, WTB i23, looks horrible but ticks the boxes as a rim.

Why not just the next lighter rim from Stans than the Flow. Is it the Arch or the Crest?

Or as you also say start with a lighter hub than a Pro2?

Surely Flows on Pro2’s are fairly light anyhow? Getting a wheel that’s tougher than a Roval may inevitably mean it has to weigh more?

I’d probably try a lighter hub with a Flow personally.

True dat… There’s a fairly big gap between my Rovals (sub 1600g) and Flows (1880g) so I guess looking for something in the middle. Partly psychological, this!

I’d like to stick Flows on DT240s but that starts to look pretty expensive for what you get. Unfortubately hte Roval hub is 28 hole otherwise I’d be putting a new stronger rim on that, but very limited in choice really.

Still kinda tempted by the MTBR chinese carbon ones 😉

stans arch ex rims come in 28 hole. would be an option, to rebuild it just now. quite wide/strong.

Other than taking a penalty in some way (weight or cost) you are indeed chasing the moon on a stick. 😉

Only in 29er as far as I can see? But if you can find me a 26er one that’d be absolutely magic…

oh aye, didnt look at that bit!

Arch EX custom build would be the best solution in my opinion.

I’ve been running an Arch/Hope wheelset built by Moonglu for the past 2 years and it’s still totally true with no dings and I ride with no finesse and have crashed a fair few times on them.

For availability of hub spares and spare spokes they are perfect too.

http://www.zovelo.co.uk/mavic-crossmax-sx-6-bolt-wheels-2011.html

Crossmax sx.

Light, strong, bling. All the important axle standards supported. Non-standard spokes, but good support from mavic on all accounts. Proper tubeless/ust ready; no rim strips to faff with.

Crossmax sx.

Light, strong, bling. All the important axle standards supported. Non-standard spokes, but good support from mavic on all accounts. Proper tubeless/ust ready; no rim strips to faff with.

I’d probably buy a set of used wheels with DT Swiss 240 hubs, then get some new rims and spoke to build them up.

The only thing to bear in mind is the conversion kits for DT Swiss seem to be fairly expensive. I’ve been running a set of Arch EX’s on some 240’s for about 9 months now, and the rims are great. I used the wheelset out in the Alps for 2 weeks at the Mega & Morzine, done a few DH races & a few enduro events on them.

However, I did build them up with DT swiss Revs, which was probably a bit silly as you can notice the flex & they do require a fair bit of work every month or so. If I was doing it again, I would probably rebuild them with Supercomps just so they don’t need as much TLC. They are very light light though. I have a set of Flows on another set of 240 hubs with Flows on Supercomps, which is a more sensible build, comes in at 1750g with brass nipples. I think that’s got to be the ideal balance between strength & weight without spending silly money. That seems to be around the sweetspot for an AM wheelset that is light enough, but can take some stick.

Mavic would be an option, but pretty much every wheelbuilder will put you off them, for various reasons. I prefer wheels I can buy bits for anywhere.

American classic all mountain.

I’ve got two pairs of AC wheels and both have been great. Light, strong but not too expensive if you shop about and ask for cheeky discounts 🙂

Obviously handbuilts on some good hubs. Because as you have found out, rims break, and are a disposable item if you’re racing. If you have some nice hubs, then just get them re built again.

I’d get the Arch rims, and use your Flows for racing. I dont think you can have a lightweight wheelset for racing with, they’re going to break sooner of later.

I’ll vote Chinese carbon… and report back… please 😀

I’m very tempted to do this myself as two of my Flows need replaced… I run two pairs of Hope Hope Flows so everything is interchangeable.

Different wheels for racing won’t work I think, most of the hard knocks this set’s taken were Just Riding Along- this was the straw that broke the camel’s back but it’s always been coming.

Wrecker- cheers for the link. I know this is tragic, but I couldn’t have the grey Crossmaxes on my bike 😳 Knowing you’ve got a problem’s the first part of fixing it, right?

Hob Nob, that’s good thinking, new DTs are pretty dang pricey but built wheels don’t seem to hold their value.

Arch Ex is looking like the main contender. Wish I could get one built onto my old hub, or something else similiar.

Messiah… It really is tempting! At worst it’ll be an interesting story 🙂 And that Nancy seems lovely.

Cheers folks, helping to sort my thoughts out a lot.

Syntace MX35’s for the lighter and wider than flows and strong option. Not cheap though.

The Chinese carbon rims are meant to be very good (what’s the companies name? light bikes or something?)

I’ve smashed pacenti tl28 and arch ex on the rear (Pacenti on the front’s been fine even when I’ve accidentally left the spoke tension very low). I’m running an old xm819 wheel at the moment which is muct more resilient.

I would take a look at Spank’s new rims (their evo range), they use 7000 series aluminium (like Mavic) which might mean they have the same hardness. Indeed, reports I’ve read seems to say they are very durable with even the xc race rim being fine for dirt jumping and the likes.
you can even get them in ELITE COLOURWAYS.link

Take a look at the DT 350 hubs rather than the 240S.

Same internals, slightly cheaper (and heavier) hub body, but mechanically identical to the 240’s which is important. Still slightly lighter than Hope Pro2’s too, and importantly still a bit lighter than them.

I’d go for DT 350’s on Flow EX’s with DT Supercomp spokes if I were you, though alternatively, you can usually find 240’s cheap 2nd hand as you know and they’re really amazing hubs!

Just googled “spank rim”. Everything went better than expected.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Syntace-W35-MX-Wheels-Tested.html

WANT. Badly. In fact I want the 40mm wide ones for a laugh seeing as they only weigh 1800 grams, I just don’t know what they’d do to 2.35 Maxxis Minions/High Rollers

These look a realistic alternative to the Arch Ex and I can vouch for Mooglu wheel builds.
The BOR rims have eyelets which might be a positive for a rim taking some hammer.

http://www.moonglu.com/shop/hope-pro-2-evo-black-bor-xmd388-rims/

Ah now if they did the rims seperate those Syntaces’d go lovely on my hub… Though the wheelset price is a bit spicy!

Need to go and look up BOR.

You can buy Velocity p35s for c. £60-70. They aren’t light though, 535g. But if that means a smaller tyre it ‘might’ be offset.

Hmmmm.

Right, we’ve established the sensible option, Arch Ex on Something Expensive. Still looking at alternatives though…

Fulcrum Red Zone XLRs are silly cheap for a UST, 1735g wheelset that has claims of enduro/freeride toughness, and they review well. Fulcrum in general have a pretty good rep, I know it ties you to silly spoke standards etc but has anyone any more input on that?

neninja – Member
Arch EX custom build would be the best solution in my opinion.

I’ve been running an Arch/Hope wheelset built by Moonglu for the past 2 years and it’s still totally true with no dings and I ride with no finesse and have crashed a fair few times on them.

For availability of hub spares and spare spokes they are perfect too.

I agree with this – bought the same wheels and they’re very light and strong. They’ve taken a pounding but they’re still lovely.

EDIT: I’m 170lbs and they’re on a Fuel EX if that helps.

Aye, that’s definately the practical option… TBH I’d be happier with a DT hub than a Pro 2… (but, with a Pro 2 evo I can do a switch and refit the Evo kit into the Flows I have, and get rid of the unfit-for-purpose 12mm axle in it, and put the non-evo QR stuff on the Hemlock… So that’s good…)

Must admit the Light-Bicycle carbon rim is still tempting me, if only for lolz. 😆

With my two wheel pairs being Pro2 Evo’s I can swap the wheels over in less than a minute… no faffing with the disc brakes as the hubs are identical (even with Formula brakes and their ball-hair-clearance-issues). When I’ve tried in the past with slightly different hubs there has been enough of a tiny difference to have discs rubbing and hence much faffage required.

I’ve put my money where my mouth has been for months and just pushed the botton on the replacements for my two damaged Flow rims… I went for the the Light-Bicycle Chinese-wider-mtb-26er-carbon-bike-rim … can’t/won’t afford ENVE’s 8)

I’ll report back in detail at some point.

Go on, do the Chinese carbon rims, I’d be really tempted!

Wrecker- cheers for the link. I know this is tragic, but I couldn’t have the grey Crossmaxes on my bike Knowing you’ve got a problem’s the first part of fixing it, right?

Loud and clear.
Best place for arch ex;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/stans-no-tubes-ztr-arch-ex-rim/
I bought these and have built them onto some used Pro2’s for my “second” bike. DT Comp spokes and nipples are very reasonable from rosebikes.
Should be a very good and non-expensive wheelset.

I’m after something similar.

My XT wheels are strong and cheap but they ain’t light(1950 gms I think). Proper tubeless though which is definitely something I would want in new wheels

What weight would Mavic 819’s on DT swiss 240 be?

Best place for arch ex;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/stans-no-tubes-ztr-arch-ex-rim/
I bought these and have built them onto some used Pro2’s for my “second” bike. DT Comp spokes and nipples are very reasonable from rosebikes.

That’s almost exactly what I did. Half-price Arch EXs + 2nd-hand Pro2s + Sapim D-Lights from Germany. Cost me about £200 all-in for a ‘strong enough’ 1680g wheelset.

Going to hold fire for the moment I think and see if I can get Specialized to confirm the ERD of the Traversee rim… That’ll at least maybe rule out an option and make things simpler.

Comes down to either chinese carbon on the Roval, Arch Ex on whatever hub I can afford (just the rear), or the Fulcrum Red Zone wheelset I think. Or hoping to find some used Crossmaxes. Think I’ll chuck out the other ideas as all being basically less good variations on the same theme. There is a small risk of Superstar

Cheers chaps!

I have a fast mate that rides Red Zones for full on DH and general trail riding and has only ever broken a single spoke. Seem pretty solid rims and reasonably light too. Only hassle is getting the nipple thing in/out when you replace a spoke as it’s closed.
I’ve been tempted by a pair myself.

Yeah, there’s fannying around with magnets, isn’t there.

Sun Ringle Black Flags? 1750g approx and a licensed Stans design? Last time I googled there were some on sale on CRC.

I use them, no trouble for a year now over a variety of terrain.

Did you find the ERD for the Roval ? I’ve got same issue. Pair of knackerd rims but great hubs, would love to rebuild them to Arch EX, LBS weren’t to happy with getting right length spokes etc.

Cheers.

Another vote for Arch ex’s here, i’ve got a set on my Enduro and use them for everything apart from full on dh – use my 721/pro 2’s for that. Barons on the Arch’s and Der Barons on the 721’s.
Arch Ex’s were as close to crossmax sx’s i could get weight/strength wise without breaking the bank, mine were a moonglu build.

In the end I got a little bit more discount off the Red Zones so went for them, as a sort of budget SX. Not entirely sure this was the right choice tbh! But they arrived this morning, ex-display but in new condition, and seem to fit the bill very well. Kind of tawdry looking though!

@simonm- I think I’m going to strip the wheel down and check the ERD, then might well end up getting one of the chinese rims anyway just as a project. TBH if you’ve got the hub stripped down I’d have thought any decent wheelbuilder should be able to spec the parts? It’s only fiddly for me because the wheel’s still built so can’t measure it up accurately. But that’s all on the back burner as I have no money now 🙂

Northwind, thats what I’ve done.

My Chinese carbon rims are in the country… 🙂