Speculative what wheels thread

Northwind

OK so. Just back from a race up north, and I think I've finally beaten one of my Roval Traversees to death. More dents, broken spoke from rock strikes, then mech into the spokes just to finish the job. No longer very round. Might straighten out but either way, it's always been a little bit marginal for the use I put it to and this was just too much for it. Fair enough, the tracks were mad and they're light wheels, still very pleased with them but there's a limit.

Also got a set of Flows on Pro 2s which live on my DH bike, which are my main point of comparison- fab. I used these for my last Alps trip but I'd prefer one wheelset to do it all.

So, moon on stick request commences...

1) Lighter than Flows on Pro 2s. The more the better
2) Stronger than Rovals. Better dent resistance would be nice.
3) Not too devastatingly expensive
4) Easy to get parts for- standard bits or at least good dealer support
5) Reliable and servicable hubs. Ideally not alu nipples.
6) Tubeless or properly tubeless ready- ie no chunky rimstrips like Bontrager etc, but tape like Stans is OK.
7) 20mm front axle- not negotiable this. Should be convertible for other formats though. Likewise QR rear, but should be convertible to 12mm.
8 ) Wide enough for 2.5s. (proper 2.5s, none of your Maxxis penis-inches)

I guess ideally I'd be getting Crossmax SXs, but they're expensive. So what else fits the bill?

Not convinced by reliability of Easton Havocs.
American Classic All Mountain? Seem like they might fall into the Roval camp a bit.
Sun Ringle Charger Pro?
Possibly a set of Flows on lighter hubs? (I likes me the DT240S, but expensive...)
Or, another custom-build, but not sure what rim to beat the Flow.

cat_with_no_tail

If you like your Flows, but want something lighter, what about Flow EX on Tesla?

Even Arch EX depending how far your All Mountain leans toward DH (mine managed GT and Inners with no worries, although at inners I stuck to make or brake, so it's not "proper" DH )

warpcow

I'd go with Flows, or possibly WTB i23s (cheaper rrp but seem basically the same otherwise), with Sapim D-Light spokes, on whatever hubs fit the budget and aren't boat-anchors. Depending on hubs, low to mid 1700g's should be doable, and possibly still sub-1800g if you go for the beefier EXs.

Northwind

The trouble with the Flow Ex is that I'd end up with a skinnier, weaker rim on the dh bike than on the trailbike and that just seems morally wrong Arch Ex probably fits the bill too though. Hadn't thought of the i23 as a rim-only option, cheers!

Anyone know about Pacenti? The DL31 is a bit heavier than the Flow but looks like it might be ideal otherwise, seems to have a similiar tubeless-ing design. And Superstar are doing them on Teslas for what looks like a good price.

TBH most of the time my riding on this bike doesn't require a bombproof wheel, it doesn't need to get an awful lot tougher before the wheels (or rear wheel rather) have a bad day. Mostly it's about margins, and the Rovals don't have much. I;'ve got the dh bike for most uplifts etc but the hemlock is still expected to do dh duty from time to time (and tbh the lines are all a bit vague these days, some of the riding over the weekend was way harder on the bike than anything that's happened to it on a dh track!)

jairaj

I was just about to post saying, have a look at the Pacenti options at Superstar but looks like you beat me to it. :-)

mrmonkfinger

WTB rims never seem to get much recommendation here, I don't know why, maybe because their hubs aren't very well sealed.

Anyway, I used to have some speeddisc am's on hope pro 2s. I ended up flat spotting the rear rim after three years of user & abuse and the front had picked up a ding or two. Nice rims. They got replaced (reluctantly) by some suns. One of my wife's bikes has a laserdisc (and would have had two for one reason or another) - also nice rims. The i23 seems to be equivalent to their old laserdisc trail - on that basis I'd happily buy it.

hopes + speeddisc were about 1700/1750g - from memory.

rockmonkeysc

Mavic XM719 on either pro 2's or Superstar hubs. Lighter than Flows and pretty bombproof. I used one of my XM719's on my DH bike for the last four or five days riding and I'm surprised how solid it is and much lighter than my DH wheels.
Everyone always recommends Stans rims but when I was looking for new wheels I asked why I should buy Stans instead of the equivalent Mavic rims and couldn't get any sensible answer.
Avoid DT Swiss EX500's, they seem to be made of cheese. Worst AM/FR rims I have had.

jairaj

I prefer Stans tubeless system over Mavis UST system.

Mavic's UST system is only designed to work tubeless with heavier UST beaded tyres. Stans is designed to go tubeless with normal bead tyres. So you have a wider choice and usually tubeless tyres are lither than UST tyres.

Also I think the correct comparison would be a Stans Arch EX vs a Mavic XM719? No idea of what weights they are both at so not sure who wins on that fight?

Northwind

719 doesn't fit the bill at all tbh- not wide enough, not tubeless ready, not all that strong. Cheers though! Used to have a set and they weren't bad but not for this job.

jairaj- Mavic UST works fine with standard tyres btw. Or at least, always has for me.