Is it time for new wheels?

beerbellyonwheels

Hello,

I've recently got back into mountain biking again and have got a Specialized Rockhopper Disc (08). The original factory wheels fitted were OK for a while, but then after a minor crash I bent the front rim and needed a whole new wheel. My LBS fitted a new one with a Deore hub and DT Swiss X455 rim.

I am a farily heavy rider and seem to be hard on wheels. After a few rides the front wheel is slightly buckled as is the rear wheel.

I've been thinking abhout upgrading the wheels, probably to Mavic Crossrides (£125 per pair). My question is, should I bother going for better wheels or just shelling out a few quid every now and then for them to be trued?

Also, has anyone had experience of the crossrides, or can recommend any other value wheels that will last the distance?

thanks...

peter413

Learn to be smoother, I was always knocking mine out of true (same as yours) but now they don't go out of true so often.

So I would say, save your money

sssikuk

beerbellyonwheels wrote:

Hello,

I've recently got back into mountain biking again and have got a Specialized Rockhopper Disc (08). The original factory wheels fitted were OK for a while, but then after a minor crash I bent the front rim and needed a whole new wheel. My LBS fitted a new one with a Deore hub and DT Swiss X455 rim.

I am a farily heavy rider and seem to be hard on wheels. After a few rides the front wheel is slightly buckled as is the rear wheel.

I've been thinking abhout upgrading the wheels, probably to Mavic Crossrides (£125 per pair). My question is, should I bother going for better wheels or just shelling out a few quid every now and then for them to be trued?

Also, has anyone had experience of the crossrides, or can recommend any other value wheels that will last the distance?

thanks...

I have Crossrides on one of my MTB's and they were a great upgrade from the stock wheels supplied.

warpcow

Fulcrum Red Metal 5s are worth a look too. I had some older Crossrides (07/08 maybe) which gave me nothing but trouble. Mavic's warranty department were very good, but that doesn't always make up for a bad product. The Fulcrums I changed to are the equivalent in many ways - weight, price, etc - but seem to be of a higher quality and strength overall.

Check other European retailers besides the usual CRC, Wiggle, etc. German webshops tend to be much cheaper with reasonable shipping rates and times (i.e. no worse than Wiggle or CRC on average).

I'd also add that you probably need to rethink the way you ride. In my experience bodyweight has very little to do with it (I've been everywhere between 70-120kg in the last 10yrs). It's all about line choices and the ability to shift bodyweight, or 'body-english' as the mags used to call it.

Chris5.5

I have just had these wheels delivered from Superstar, only rode them up the street, the hubs are really smooth and the build looks pretty good, also the freehub makes a noise like angry wasps when you freewheel:

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=227

or for stronger wheels, what about, only £90:

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=330