Recently divorced and in need of a project :-)

Anonymous

So here I am.

As the title says I've just got divorced :-) and now find myself with a lot of free time, so my plan to fill all that precious time is, not by hiring a thai housekeeper, although the thought had crossed my mind :-P, but by building an MTB from scratch. Considering I haven't built a bike since my Team Murray BMX in the 80's I figure I'm going to need a little help from all you experienced and knowledgable people out there, more grovelling to follow.

Anyway, first thing you need to know is that my minds made up and trying to convince me otherwise is fruitless, especially considering I've already bought the frame, a 50cm kinesis XC3.
Have been doing a lot of sourcing and research and obviously will need a few tweaks here and there from my LBS but my current dilemma is all the wheelset jargon especially when it comes to hubs. To be honest I'm probably not going to understand all the technical info which may start flying my way so my question is this :

Which 26" wheels?

Am not planning on over exerting myself, just a few hours light trail riding here and there, maybe some commuting too, so I don't need anything over ambitious or hideously expensive. Round and with a reasonable amount of longevity would be perfect. Have sourced the groupset, Shimano SLX M670 and Shimano SLX M666 disc brakes. Not sure whether this will have a massive bearing on my choice of wheels but I've been looking at the Superstar wheelsets and as they're reasonably priced and have decent reviews I wondered if any of you kind and helpful people could point me in the right direction? Preferably QR and no more than £350.

Thanks in advance :-)

P.S. Forks would be Rockskox Recon Silver TK Solo Air 2011.

felix.london

Congratulations? :?

I'd say stick with Superstar but go for these as they are an absolute bargain @ £200 for the set

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=496

I'd say the Crests are what you want for the riding you describe.

Also - just finished my first build a couple of weeks back and I documented it from start to finsh so you may wanna have a read of this;

http://thehairyrider.com/2012/06/13/first-custom-build-part-1/

felix.london

Btw - with some of the money you just saved on the wheels I'd upgrade your fork choice to a 120mm Reba;

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/frame-forks/forks-shocks/rockshox-suspension-forks/rockshox-reba-rl-forks-2013.html

(You might be able to find this cheaper elsewhere - just the first place I looked)

And if you're going for that fork you may as well get the front wheel with a 15mm through-axle adapter instead of standard Q/R.

Anonymous

Cheers Hairy :-) Congratulations is correct lol
So superstar choice of adaptor for rear wheel would be QR? and excuse my ignorance but the cassette would fit straight onto the hub and no other parts would be needed right?
Thanks for the link, will be back and forth no doubt.

nicklouse

Read the links in my sig to get you up to speed on most things.

felix.london

Yep - standard QR for the rear and don't forget to order an actual QR skewer as well. Yep, cassette will fit straight on.

lc1981

RuskinRover99 wrote:

Anyway, first thing you need to know is that my minds made up and trying to convince me otherwise is fruitless, especially considering I've already bought the frame, a 50" kinesis XC3.

50"? Blimey, how tall are you?

Anonymous

lc1981 wrote:

RuskinRover99 wrote:

Anyway, first thing you need to know is that my minds made up and trying to convince me otherwise is fruitless, especially considering I've already bought the frame, a 50" kinesis XC3.

50"? Blimey, how tall are you?

Sorry fella but am not looking for another relationship just yet :-P

lc1981

RuskinRover99 wrote:

lc1981 wrote:

RuskinRover99 wrote:

Anyway, first thing you need to know is that my minds made up and trying to convince me otherwise is fruitless, especially considering I've already bought the frame, a 50" kinesis XC3.

50"? Blimey, how tall are you?

Sorry fella but am not looking for another relationship just yet :-P

felix.london

If you do get the forks from Merlin, you may as well chuck on of these in the basket too;

Easton Haven Alloy Riser Bars - Special Offer
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/bars-stems/handlebars-riser/easton-haven-alloy-riser-bars-special-offer.html

Anonymous

Thanks :-) Just took your advice, good price that :-)

felix.london

RuskinRover99 wrote:

Thanks :-) Just took your advice, good price that :-)

Indeed..paid over £60 for mine back in June :x

Although - got a black one in my Merlin basket in preperation for the next build

The Rookie

Building a bike isn't really that hard, have all the bits around you and you can do it easily in about 5 hours.

I just have the Lidl toolkit plus my normal car maintenance socket set (which includes allen key sockets) and some good cutters for gear cable/brake cable/hoses etc.

I cam back to bikes after an 28 year layoff and built my first bike up from scratch, since then I've built 9 more and the MTB is a continual upgrade in progress.

paul.skibum

Couple of things you may have to get someone to do for you though:

Face the Bottom Bracket - which basically means squaring the two sides off with a tool - tool is pricey so best to just get someone to do it for you.

Headtube may or may not need same treatment (I didnt do the one on my bike and have had no probs).

Press headset into head tube - you can buy a tool to do it, but its pricey for the limited number of uses, bike shop will do it for little money or you can build your own headset press with a long threaded bar, some large bolts and washers and some bits of wood - I did the later and its quite satisfying if a bit of a faff.

Cut steerer tube - once you know how long you need the steerer you can cut it yourself easily enough but again if you dont have an appropriate guide you may find it as easy to get someone else to do it to square it up (I applied two pieces of tape to create the guide and then just cut carefully!)

Congrats on the new found freetime. I am assuming you also have some free cash - so win win!

TimB34

Superstar crest wheels would be good, but to go tubeless you need to budget for valves & tape (and quick-releases too)

I recently got these : MT65 (SLX-level) Shimano wheels : http://www.alltricks.fr/vtt/roues-jante ... 65968.html should be about 145gbp delivered.

Bit heavier than the Superstar wheels, and you need to be happy with cup & cone bearings instead of cartridge (and you can't change the front wheel axle - it's QR only). But I'm quite happy with them.

They have some cheap Rebas on the site too.

felix.london

TimB34 wrote:

Superstar crest wheels would be good, but to go tubeless you need to budget for valves & tape (and quick-releases too)

I recently got these : MT65 (SLX-level) Shimano wheels : http://www.alltricks.fr/vtt/roues-jante ... 65968.html should be about 145gbp delivered.

Bit heavier than the Superstar wheels, and you need to be happy with cup & cone bearings instead of cartridge (and you can't change the front wheel axle - it's QR only). But I'm quite happy with them.

They have some cheap Rebas on the site too.

Why would he want a heavier wheel with an out of date axle for a saving of £50 when his wheel budget was £350?

The Rookie

Note sure cup and cone can be called out of date seeing as how it's current.....maintenance is much cheaper and I haven't had to touch the bearings on the second hand front wheel on my commuter in nearly 3000 miles.....

felix.london

The Beginner wrote:

Note sure cup and cone can be called out of date seeing as how it's current.....maintenance is much cheaper and I haven't had to touch the bearings on the second hand front wheel on my commuter in nearly 3000 miles.....

Was talking about the QR axle which already seems to limit your fork choice..I should imagine in 2 or 3 years time QR MTB forks will be as rare as rocking horse sh1t

TimB34

Once you add in the cost of valves, tubeless tape and QRs (and leave a bit of slack to allow for sending wheels back to the UK for SS to true if you get a dodgy build) that extra £50 doesn't go very far.

Fair comment about the front axle though, but it seems to depend quite a lot on rider weight, style and terrain if people notice a difference or not. I decided that an extra 150g or so and a skinny front axle was worth the cost saving.

Oh, and having a rear hub that's almost silent was a big advantage for me (can't stand the noise of Hope rear hubs)

felix.london

Who says he want to go tubeless? but good to have the option. They're good wheels either way

Anyway - the ones you linked to are 'Tubeless' rims as well so I don't really see the difference

My Superstar wheelset is, was and has been spot on. And I'm hitting them pretty hard (Arch EX, Swicth EVO/Trizoid - Q/R and using tubes)

felix.london

I'm not talking about noticing a difference when riding - I'm talking about trying to future proof a new build

Anonymous

ok am confused now lol
first off thanks for all the advice and a special thanks to paul.skibum :-))
as for the tools was just gonna splash out on a lifeline tool kit and get the headset pressed at the LBS
wasn't plannin on gettin the steerer tube cut tho as heard thats not such a good idea, probly just wham on a few spacers...??
tbh id rather stick to what i know and not go tubeless at the mo and gonna stick with the superstars but am questioning the QR aspect now....are u sayin its better to have a fixed axle instead of QR ??
thanks again :-))

supersonic

You can only have about 50mm of spacers - so you will probably have to cut it (if new).

It is not always better to have a screw threw axle.

felix.london

If you are getting a new fork and new wheels - yes, you might as well go for a through-axle because if you want or need to change your forks in 2 or 3 years time there will be a lot more choice.

Seems like the trusty old 9mm QR's days are numbered if you ask me. For example the 2013 Reba's on Merlin are only available in 15mm Maxle version. That's all.

supersonic

Go for the cheaper 2012 lol. Or maybe think about a switchable hub. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with QR and cup and cone. Cheap, reliable, works. There are 2013 QR Rebas though, just that merlin, like with 2012 Sektors, will have got a big batch in.

Jolly Swagman

Victoria Pendleton would be my project. It wouldn't take long either.

felix.london

supersonic wrote:

Go for the cheaper 2012 lol. Or maybe think about a switchable hub. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with QR and cup and cone. Cheap, reliable, works. There are 2013 QR Rebas though, just that merlin, like with 2012 Sektors, will have got a big batch in.

Do you not think SRAM will start phasing out QR or at least on the Reba and upward?

supersonic

Maybe. Will be a pity though.

felix.london

supersonic wrote:

Maybe. Will be a pity though.

Indeed. I'm still rocking the skewers on 2 out of three bikes 8)

The Rookie

I very much doubt QR will ever disapear.....especailly as most are continental cousins are mostly into XC.

Having said that a wheelset that can accomodate 9mm/15mm and 20mm seems a no brainer for future proofing as there is no reall added cost or weight, But fork wise I'd suggest you get the one you want (the best you can afford) rather than one that may or may not have 15/20mm over QR, as SS will often tell you, some forks tested are actually stiffer in 9mm QR trim than 15mm and no guarenetee a 15mm is stiffer than a QR from somewhere else.

ali4390

Sorry for the stupid question but I have been considering these wheels recently as an upgrade for my Kracken (and I can then swap the parts over to a new frame as and when I decide it's time). I understand what people are saying about fixed axel rather than quick release but what size would people recommend for front and rear?