Didn't want to derail the 26 to 29" thread, so started this one.
I've gone to 29" wheels on a 2017 NS Snabb+ from 27.5+.
It was initially to see if I liked it in direct comparison to the plus wheels, and after the initial barge moments I got to like them and was probably moving a little faster than usual.
However, I had a bit of a moment when pushing into a corner that felt like the wheels were springing sideways and about to collapse.
Took the rest of the ride slowly and decided to go back to the plus wheels as I concluded that I was simply too heavy for 29" wheels at 115Kg.
Thought about it today, and the wheels I bought were s/hand from here and quite cheap. No problem with the sale as they are exactly as said, but i'm wondering if Formula hubs, Kore Realm 3 30mm rims and what look like plain gauge (32) spokes could just be under tensioned. They were OE spec from an Orange something or other and look brand new, but the spokes move a fair bit on the squeeze test.
All my other wheels are hand built with Hope Hubs and Stans or Arc 40 rims and a fair bit tighter in the hand test.
What are the thoughts on simply having a local wheel builder tighten the 29" wheels up, or is it not advised to ride such large wheels whilst being a fatty.
Was all set to put the plus wheels back on as they are solid but with hindsight I haven't given the wagon wheels a fair try yet.
Going back on my original 26" FS this weekend coming to see if it now feels inadequate. Hope not as it is supposed to be the main ride, but I have a nasty feeling......
I am a similar weight and ride in the lakes and found my spank oozy 295's to be solid even on the hardtail, they feel very stiff round corners
Spoke tensions will make a massive difference, get them checked if you don't know how. Cheapest option too. They still running true? A wobble somewhere will indicate that something isn't tensioned as it should be.
Decent set of built wheels? Hope on stans maybe, well built will make a difference, you will need some something stronger/stiffer on 29 than 26
Cheers, Will have a closer look at them tomorrow evening and see how straight they are. Didn't even look if they are true tbh as had decided they were coming off pretty much instantly after the ride.
I've had a front wheel fold on me before and leave me in a bit of a state with a smashed helmet and concust with no memory for 20 minutes or so, so I think the 'wobble' feeling must have pressed the oh poop button in my head.
The 26" FS has Hope pro 2 evo with Stans Arch EX and the plus is Hope pro 4 with ARC40 rims. All 32h and hand built. 26" wheels are a good few years old and the rear has recently developed a kick, so might take them all in and get a true and tension done.
Don't really want to be spending too much more money on wheels so will try get these sorted and stiff, then decide what I like the feel of the most and spend accordingly.
If everything is in "ok" condition and the spokes are a bit low tension getting them properly tensioned will make a big difference.
I re tension quite a few "factory" wheels, feel soo much better to ride, also dont tend to snap spokes from fatigue.
If you have a local wheel builder take them along and he can pop a tension meter on them and see what they are like. If you are up for DIY and have another known good wheel to squeeze you could try just adding 1 turn all the way round, then try another turn if needed.
I'm around 110kg and find Flow rims on Hope hubs best combo for me, not much weight penalty and on proper mountain bike i've never had them flex.
Bit of an update. I decided to buy a Park spoke gauge as I have a handfull of bikes to look after and would rather be a bit more scientific than a squish test on the larger wheels.
Interesting results on the 29" wheels. They run true but spoke tension is all over the shop.
Ranges from 77 to 120 Kgf on the disc side of the front and 57 to 113 kgf on non disc.
The rear is 55 to 95 kgf on the disc side to 95 to 135 kgf on the drive side.
All a bit subjective as I read about the tension meters not being entirely accurate, but each spoke was measured twice and I was careful to place the meter in the same place on the spoke and to release tension the same for each.
Never really played with tension beyond a simple squeeze so will have a measure of wheels I've re-dished and trued to see how accurate I've been.
Will now look to see what tension should be applied to this build and start again, getting it true first before tensioning.
I bought a second-hand rolling chassis after my bike was nicked about ten years ago.
Plugged in some new forks, but otherwise just rode it. I noticed that during hard cornering, the rear wheel seemed to suddenly break away, which destabilised the bike and led to a few crashes. I'd begun to think it was just a characteristic of the new frame (VPP) as opposed to the single-pivot I'd had before, and I began to go off the bike as a result.
After checking there was no play in the bearings, I finally thought to try checking spoke tension in the rear wheel (should have been first thought, really!). It was, as you say, all over the shop.
Five minutes with a spoke key to get it back to tension and the problem was completely gone. Didn't bother with a tension gauge, just nipped them up a bit, checked the rim was true, and job done. Horrible ride characteristic gone and bike as good as I'd expected.
Incidentally, rode that same set of wheels on my hardtail in to work today, so there's something to be said for getting it right.
I am a similar weight and ride in the lakes and found my spank oozy 295’s to be solid even on the hardtail, they feel very stiff round corner
I've just bought a new set of these as I too am same weight as OP and building a lovely 29er frame up.
I were running Hope Pro 2 on original mk1 stans flow rims with stainless steel standard spokes prior and they felt good but expecting even better things when I go tubeless for first time on the 29er soon.
As others have mentioned, get a re tension of the spokes as my brother ignored me by riding until his rear wheel exploded down an extremely steep hill on road iirc. Not a wise move and would mean that it would breathe a fresh lease of life into them.
Retension as above.IMO It's best not to separate truing and tensioning, just tighten the loose spokes then true it up but try to only tighten spokes, loosen as few as possible, so that you are never losing tension
Tightening the tighter side first will help get a good tension on it as it get tougher to do so near the finish.
Just figured out I can link to the charts.
Looks a bit like tight spoke - loose spoke X repeat.
Not sure if this is a thing or just erratic building !
Front wheel - https://www.parktool.com/wta/ws5b182e0a19b85
Rear wheel - https://www.parktool.com/wta/ws5b18309d37091
Please ignore the daft name 😉
36h, Hope Pro 2 Evo and Flows (whatever the normal spokes are)
About 120 kg in riding kit.
OR
32h Hope PRo 2 Evo onto the Mavic UST rim - 819 I think. Still 120kg, sadly.
Spent today trying to sort the wheels out.
Was in no particular rush so tried the most simple thing first of tensioning the spokes all to within 1/2 a Park gauge indicator. Did one side then the other and found the wheel to have around 5mm side to side wobble - no good.
Then went around truing as I would any other wheel without any form of gauge and got them both with around 1/2mm wobble, which I can live with as the tyres deflect a lot more than that.
Then checked the tension again and they were around a 10% tolerance, which seems ok.
Also increased the fork travel from 130 to the factory recomended 140mm and gave it a ride round the block.
Felt ok. A few spoke pings as I rode but all seem true and rigid.
Off for a test tomorrow - only around Sherwood as it's a good enough ride yet full of people if I have trouble.