[Closed] Ultimate Custom AM Wheel Build - Help

King and Hadley are both a bit weighty.I'd only run revs on raceday xc wheels.Arches are a little narrow for bigger tyres.
I'd probably go Dt240's, sapim cx rays,Oddessey taperlock nipples (alu bmx nipple you CANNOT round off) on Pacenti TL28's.
JRA will sort you out with a good build .

id get I9 purely because their rear hub sounds the shiz.

'Ultimate' would mean carbon rims, shirley?! and King with CX Rays

CK & Hadley are too heavy IMO.

I9, spares are a nightmare if you toast a few spokes.

I built a set of DT240's on Arch EX's with DT Supercomps. Light, strong, reliable & easy to get the bits for.

Carbon and tubs.

Rorschach - I'd probably go Dt240's, sapim cx rays,Oddessey taperlock nipples (alu bmx nipple you CANNOT round off) on Pacenti TL28's.

For an all-mountain wheelset? 240's are for XC and I'm not too sure on the Pacenti's long-term durability. I've been holding off buying some for my bikepacking bike, let alone a trail/AM bike.

OP - I'd go for the Arch EX, I think Rorschach is thinking of the normal (old) Arches when he says they're too narrow.

Most wheelbuilders will steer you away from bladed spokes/CX rays for AM use. They may be light and strong but they don't build the stiffest of wheels.

I'm not a weight weenie, but I don't want a lard arse set of wheels.

Hadley are only 170g for a front 20mm hub, that's not that bad is it?

The Pacenti TL28's look like a decent rim, but still require tape...

Arch ex's are 2mm wider but still only same width as crests.
440's are dh worthy...240's would be more than fine.
The pacenti's are a little soft but no worse than stans and at least they are eyeletted.
Given that spokes are only in tension (apart from i9's and mavic r-sys) I'm not sure how bladed spokes would make much difference to stiffness (as this is governed by rim stiffness hub geometry and spoke elasticity).I only recommend cxrays because of their massive fatigue resistance.

240's are for XC

No they arn't! Plenty of people build them up for all sorts of use, DH included. Hence why they have such a range of availability, bit like a Pro 2 (just better & lighter).

Tough choice on hubs, all depends what you want.

If you want a wheelset thats going to last then id go kings, or dts (if you want to go a bit lighter) as they are both very reliable and spares are easy to get hold of.

If you want a wheelset that is superstiff and very bling then go with i9s handsdown. However bare that you will not get spares! I got a set when they first came to the uk (about 2 years ago), and had a issue with the front wheel with the spokes. Its taken me from june last year till last weekend to get them warrantied. Dont get me wrong, you wont be disappointed with them if you get them. But just be aware of the after service.

With reference rims, personally i would stay away from stans rims. There very light rims, however due to them not being eyeletted means that you get about 18months use out of them and then they need replacing. Plus they lose tension as soon as you put a tire on them. Id look at either a couple of the mavic rims or frm rims. Ive been running a set of the frms on my xc bike for 9 months now and are considerablly stiffer than the equivilent stans rims, this is due to they being eyeletted and the rim construction.

It might be worth a call to the guys at strada, there more than happy to help you spec the perfect wheelset for your riding style and budget. There numbers 01903 750040.

Just out of interest, is there any reason your dont want to go down the carbon route?

Possibly the fact that Enve's are £700 each!! 😯
Actually.... I'd just buy Mavic Crossmax ST's and pay for MP3...2 years no fault replacement?!?!?!GARCON!!!!!

Thanks for the detailed reply cruzer!

I don't want to go down the carbon route due to personal preference really. They're SUCH a lot of money for really not that much difference in weight, and I'm a 90kg rider and just wouldn't trust them... I know CF is stupidly strong, but I'd rather just not.

Saying that, the Enve AM carbon rims are very tempting, but just SO much money!

I've looked into the Mavic XM819 and EX823 but feel the latter would be overkill for AM use?

Just noticed, you do realise that all the stans rims rely on using tape to seal the tire dont you? Its the same with the frms. The only ones that dont are the mavic rims.

Any reason why you want to go down this route? Seems like your cutting out a huge selection of rims over a piece of tape?

Also 240s arent the xc hubs, the 190s are. If you look on the dt swiss website the 240 hubs are speced on their ex1750 wheelset. Which is the perfect am/enduro wheelset you can buy off the shelf. Ive had 3 sets and cant fault them. Only got the i9s because i got offered them at a price i couldnt say no to :D.

To be honest, ive no knowledge of mavic rims at all. But id rather have a wheelset thats over built than one where your always riding on its limits when you want to push yourself.

I understand the expense of the cf rims, im having the same issue. Im completely sold on the strength of them, its just the cost. I think they will start to come down in price once they go more main stream

240s aren't just XC hubs, no idea why anyone would think that tbh. Definately would be my choice, if money weren't an issue- I've got a couple of 240-derived hubs and they're fab.

819 is a pretty dated rim now- sturdy but narrow and heavy, 823 bombproof but very heavy- Mavic don't seem interested in releasing a competitive standalone tubeless rim, I guess they want you to buy their full builds.

I'd be looking at Flows for strength, Arch Ex for a little weight loss. The yellow tape shouldn't be a major consideration IME, my Flows and my 819s are functionally identical once taped. Only downside is that I once pulled the tape off the edge of the rim when changing a tyre and had to retape it, which was slightly annoying but not that big a deal. When riding, etc, it's no different.

check the classified. there is a set of super lightweight 1500g tricon am's for sale. i made a bid on them and he came back with a counter of around £350.00 posted.

I'm not counting out rims which need to be sealed with tape at all, but if I'm spending a lot of money, I'd rather it be tubeless ready...

The Mavic 819s are 450g a rim, whereas the Pacenti TL28s are only 360g and the Arch EXs are 395g a rim.

Decisions, decisions...

The claimed weights for 819s are crooked- they don't include the ferrule things that you need to build the wheel up, the true weight is 507g.

Cheers for the link campfreddie, but the front hub is only 15mm and I'm not sure if it could be converted to 20mm?...

What hub would you go for chaps? Been looking into Tune hubs, seem pretty light and strong. Would these be ok for a 90kg rider though?

As for 'out the box' wheels, the Mavic Crossmax ST and Easton Haven AM wheelsets look pretty decent, but the Mavic hubs don't get the best reviews...

Newer Mavics have a totally different hub

I have always read horror stories about Tunes reliability. While very light and high performing they dont last long.

[I realise this isn't an ultimate build but i'd go for proII hubs on halo 4xr rims (435g a rim) which makes them lighter than flows (and cheaper)! You got the reliability of hopes in a light package but they will be common as muck.]

Most wheelbuilders will steer you away from bladed spokes/CX rays for AM use. They may be light and strong but they don't build the stiffest of wheels.

Rubbish. No difference in stiffness. They have a higher fatigue strength than a round spoke of equivalent weight and not a lot else. I'd not bother again, latest set of wheels have Revolutions, far cheaper, same weight, and I've not broken any. I also found using CX-Rays that the nipples broke instead, just shifts the problem to the next weak link!

DT240s (XC only my arse!) on Flows with Revs (or Super Comps if you're 'clumsy') for my money. Tune are too fragile, I had 2 freehub bodies break up, and by all accounts they've not really sorted that. Mediocre after sales too.

Hmmm, I'll enquire about the Mavics then with my LBS.

I'm tempted by the Crank Brothers Iodine 3s (currently running Cobalts with no issues), they would go well with my bike:

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bike-discount.de have iodine 2's at about £350.00 at the mo'... almost thought about them myself until i read up on the horror stories with freehub bodies and snapping spokes with branches etc (due to the low spoke count)

Tune fall apart, Easton hubs have questionable reliability (I went through 2 sets of wheels before I got a refund, and there are plenty of horror stories out there). Mavic 'used' to have a poor reliability, spares issues & frightening spoke costs. Crank Bros wheels, don't even know where to start with them. Just no.

With everything in life, if you dig deep enough, you will fid problems. It seems in most instances, proprietory wheelsets seems to be harder work to own than a custom built wheel with good, off the shelf parts, that are easy to get spares for.

The Crossmax ST looks good, but the stories about spares & Mavic wanting wheels back to replace spokes put me off them. Can't be dealing with faff that eats into precious riding time.

Tune fall apart, Easton hubs have questionable reliability (I went through 2 sets of wheels before I got a refund, and there are plenty of horror stories out there). Mavic 'used' to have a poor reliability, spares issues & frightening spoke costs. Crank Bros wheels, don't even know where to start with them. Just no.

All the more reason to get DT240s on Flows...

Or Arch EX's on 240's? Oh wait...

Hell, I even built them myself!

If the OP is looking at EX's i've just received a front EX wheel set up for tubes, with Pro 2, super comps and brass and it comes in at 781g. The rear non EX Arch with normal comps is 967g. I think normaL Arch is about 25g heavier than the EX.

I know that people go on about Crank Bros wheels being naff, but I have had no problems with mine. I've stacked it hard, landed badly off medium sized jumps and they've help up fine...

I'm still thinking CK hubs, CX-Rays on an Arch EX would be a pretty decent build. Just wish I could stick to a proper UST wheel...

"If" I had enough cash at the moment I would be giving these a go...

http://www.light-bicycle.com/wider-mtb-26er-carbon-bike-rim-26-inch-rims.html

A few threads on MTBR about the 29er version and this one.

Build them up on a Pro2 to keep the cost down and Bobs your bloomin uncle 8)

Setting up Flows to run tubeless is simple. They suit 2.3" (and wider) tyres better than 819s too. Flows on CK hubs are not light wheels, but they are nice!

I'm still thinking CK hubs, CX-Rays on an Arch EX would be a pretty decent build. Just wish I could stick to a proper UST wheel...

Really do not bother with CX-Rays.

crossmax sx with the mp3 cover. no competition.

I tend to ding the rims before the spokes break. That's on a hardtail though.

I've run DT Revs but they were noticeably flexier than std DBs. And CXRays are damn expensive!

I just go Hope Hoops (Flow on Pro2) and spend the rest on holidays...

enve

next?

£700 a RIM!

Regardless of how much money you've got, I still think that's a mad price?!...