In my quest for a new set of 29er wheels i have come across a seller on e bay selling Stans Arch EX rims on Hope hubs for a decent price, thing is i my knowledge of Stans rims consist only of Crests (xc) and Flow (trail/AM). where do the Arch EX fit into the hierarchy and how much heavier and stronger would they be over crests, i’m ot the lightest of riders at 90kg, but these would be on my XC HT so don’t need to be massively strong.

They would be fine. Arch EX are in between Flow and Crest in terms of width/weight as far as I recall. Check the website for latest stats.

Ace, roll on pay day!

Their not from ‘fastpartsforbikes’ are they?

Their not from ‘fastpartsforbikes’ are they?

I’ve seen these, are they worth considering?

Their not from ‘fastpartsforbikes’ are they?

I just got a pair of Pro2 Evo on ArchEX rims. Do you know something we don’t?

jonk – yes they are, something i should know? Checked their feedback seemed pretty legit.

Avoid!

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/is-this-dave-hinde-fastpartsforbikes

They would be fine. Arch EX are in between Flow and Crest in terms of width/weight as far as I recall. Check the website for latest stats.

Only partially correct.

Arch EX is the same width as a Crest, so is narrower than the Flow. There is more material in it though, and it has a different cross section, so it is tougher/stiffer than the Crest though not as wide/tough as the Flow.

And yes, avoid “fastpartsforbikes” (Dave Hinde) on ebay LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! Just google Dave Hinde customer service, you will see what I mean…

So, my wheels arrived as requested, within the time frame quoted. What will happen next? They look OK, and appear to be straight enough. Should I now start to fret about he quality of the build?

Just bought a set. Out of the box they are very good for £280. On par with Hope build if not better. 20min tweeking each wheel, even tension, take out any small deviations, spoke lock and I wont need to touch them again. I’m nearly 17stone. Super light

I’ve tweeked two sets of 29er wheels this week. Mine and my mate’s on his new Santa Cruz Tallboy. These were handbuilt by a reputable shop the previous week. First ride, buckle on both, second ride at Afan at pace last Sunday and the rear is hitting the front derailuer. Poor tension, bad build. Spokes on the front too short as well……

Close shave, was about to order from him this evening.

Scapegoat, take the wheels off, put something through the axles and kind of hang them so they are free standing.

Then kind of pluck the spokes, make sure you do it in the same position on all the spokes, do any sound grossly out of tune compared to others?

Do you have any friends who can build wheels?

Scapegoat – Member

So, my wheels arrived as requested, within the time frame quoted

I should buy a lottery ticket, were I you, you’re a lucky man!

Aaaaahh! what to do, what to do? just when i thought i’d found a solution 😕 So my options seem to be at the moment,

1, take a punt on the e bay ones with the rims i want,

2, get the hope hoops with crest rims from progressive bikes, same price but i’m not sure if the rims would be strong enough,

3, buy some rims and have them built onto my existing On one hubs, unfortunatley i don’t know a wheel builder local to me, and would work out close to £200 any way.

Any thoughts people?

go in to his shop in Northwich hes only a tosser when u cant touch him (got some 717`s on xt, off him nicely built lasted years) 😆

Didn’t have a problem and wheels were good out of the box.

My crest rims have survived trail centre/local trail abuse so far. I don’t use them for DHing, but so far they have survived all the small drops and jumps I’ve thrown at them at trail centres/local trails.

But then again I only weigh 156 lbs and build my wheels myself, so they are damn near perfect tension wise.

Bazz – Member
Aaaaahh! what to do, what to do? just when i thought i’d found a solution So my options seem to be at the moment,

3, buy some rims and have them built onto my existing On one hubs, unfortunatley i don’t know a wheel builder local to me, and would work out close to £200 any way.

Any thoughts people?

Option 3 but learn to build wheels yourself – it’s not really difficult and will save you a fortune in the long run

Scapegoat, take the wheels off, put something through the axles and kind of hang them so they are free standing.

Then kind of pluck the spokes, make sure you do it in the same position on all the spokes, do any sound grossly out of tune compared to others?

Do you have any friends who can build wheels?

Hmmm, some slack as a bag of knackers, others taut. Had them checked by LBS who used a gauge to show me how inconsistent they were, and how some are nowhere near the recommended tension.

Weighed up my options and got a quote from the LBS guy who told me that he would rebuild them for me for 50 quid. He told me the build was so poor he would have to more or less start again. He quoted me £360 for a new build in the same spec, so paying him to true them works out cheaper than sending them back to the original supplier and arguing for a refund via ebay.

Lesson learnt (ouch)

Clubber – option 3 is essentialy what i’ve gone for, ordered a couple of DT Swiss X 470 rims yesterday and i’m going to see if i can just swap them over onto my existing bent On-one wheels using the same spokes, then if i can’t quite get them properly true i’ll take them to the lbs to get them tensioned, also have Sheldon Brown’s guide to wheel building at hand.

Couldn’t bring myself to give Dave Hinde any of my hard earned in the end, on principle as much as anything else.