pros & cons 24 spokes v 36

SUPERSUTT

hi I'm a bit confused are 24 and 36 holed rims aimed at different aspect of mountain biking I can see that 24 holed rims will be lighter than a set with 36 but surely you loose strength is that the case or not as a rim with less holes should be stronger

Chunkers1980

If all spokes were alike then the fewer would mean less strength given the same everything else.

But this is generally not the case, if there are less spokes then it is often compensated for by stronger spokes and/or rims.

cooldad

Depands. I am not light but have 24. Weird pattern though with 16 on the drive (rear) and braking (front) sides and 8 on the other.

SUPERSUTT

cooldad wrote:

Depands. I am not light but have 24. Weird pattern though with 16 on the drive (rear) and braking (front) sides and 8 on the other.

and you find them OK under hard cornering and heavy braking no flexing either way

cooldad

Not that I notice.

SUPERSUTT

cooldad wrote:

Not that I notice.

with that quote you have set my mind at rest and will now consider buying a set with 24 hole rims

Thank you cooldad

miceden

Wait wait wait... whats the wheelset and what type of riding do you do?

There are lots of factors to take into account - the riding you do, lacing pattern, your weight, rims, spokes, etc

cooldad

Yep. Very true. Mine are Red Metal 5, and I ride mainly XC singletrack. No serious drop offs or jumps as I am an old chicken.
But they do handle everything, and still perfect after a few years.

SUPERSUTT

looking at Mavic crossride and or Mavic crossone im like cooldad (42 so it take longer to heal from bad crashes) mainly XC single track Delamere forest is my main play ground with the odd trip to Llandegla red and black runs
dont do 4X , downhill and free riding

The Rookie

I wouldn't have crossrides, heavy for the price, there are better available for a lot less money (check out Merlins offers).

My son has the same RM5 as Cooldad and they too are still perfect, and he's younger so small jumps and drop offs are part of his daily riding.

and for information 42 is not old, it is a smaller number than my age an I am not old........

cooldad

43 though. Different story.

rockmonkeysc

24 spoke wheels don't use normal spokes so replacements are expensive and not many shops stock them. There is also more chance of flat spotting between spokes.

The Rookie

I'd like to know how a spoke prevents a flat spot which is where the rim is pushed in in the same direction the spoke (that isn't there) would be pulling it anyway.......

Chunkers1980

Not to worry, the engineering god will be along soon to explain all.

cooldad

RockmonkeySC wrote:

24 spoke wheels don't use normal spokes so replacements are expensive and not many shops stock them. There is also more chance of flat spotting between spokes.

So what sort of spokes do they use? Abnormal ones?

CitizenLee

cooldad wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

24 spoke wheels don't use normal spokes so replacements are expensive and not many shops stock them. There is also more chance of flat spotting between spokes.

So what sort of spokes do they use? Abnormal ones?

Usually straight pull, different nipples and thicker than your standard DT Swiss or Sapim.

I went for Crossmax ST for my new build, which have 24 front and 20 rear, and I wouldn't hesitate to thrash the absolute shit out of them even if the spokes are around 4 quid a pop. What's the point in buying something designed to be used and abused and then worrying about it breaking? Anyway, I've only had the bike out a couple of times since finishing the build and they don't seem flexy at all, quite the opposite actually. I must admit though, I had reservations about the 24/20 spokes to begin with but all long term reviews seemed to indicate they were a tough and durable wheelset, plus the previous owner used them for a summer in the Alps and yet they were still true and tight when I bought them.

cooldad

Mine use J spokes, and although they were stupid prices on the RM website, Sapim worked perfectly and look identical. I bought a bunch just in case, but only one has gone so far, and that was well over a year ago.

supersonic

Lots of 24 spoke wheels use standard J spokes. Really does depend on the wheel, use, rim, pattern, and all sorts of stuff.

SUPERSUTT

Fulcrum RM5 sold out on Merlin cycles website but have found Mavic crossride on chain reactions for a nice price.
I think any wheel has to be better than the heavy Giant S-XC2 QR at the moment

BigAl

SUPERSUTT wrote:

Fulcrum RM5 sold out on Merlin cycles website but have found Mavic crossride on chain reactions for a nice price.
I think any wheel has to be better than the heavy Giant S-XC2 QR at the moment

The Crossrides are a 'solid' if unspectacular buy.

Not particularly light for their strength or strong for their weight, if you get my drift.

On the other hand - I've had a pair for 5 years plus and they've been completely trouble free. Bear in mind they have straight pull, flat bladed spokes which look great but might be harder to replace. But I wouldn't know as I haven't brocken any

Depends what you want

The Rookie

I wouldn't get the crossrides (speaking as someone who had a pair), better is available for the money, wait until Merlin have either the RM5 or the Stans/Deore in or look elsewehere.

miceden

Buybikebits.co.uk have some Easton ea90's in stock for reasonable money, Sapir straight pull 24 front and rear

njee20

Such subtle graphics too! Good weight for that price admittedly, but the hub life has been absolutely dire!

I'd think long and hard before I bought wheels with proprietary parts these days, more faff, harder to get spares and rarely any performance graphics.

fizik

I quite liked my crossrides back in the day, the hubs are very smooth running and the wheels fairly strong for ordinary xc riding. I used them for a while when I was xc racing and used to ride very aggressively, I wouldn't suggest using them if you ride fast or weigh over 85kg, my front one unexpectedly came apart at the sleeve joint throwing me off the top of a berm on the lower sections at a race at cwmcarm... still have scars to prove it

WindyG

I was put off the Easton's due to the high hub failure rate and difficulty with finding spare bearings, I think they are cheap for good reason I would only have a set as spares.

mini_death

From what I last read on easton hubs (may have been in dirt 100 so means shit as they still bum YT industries) they've done a lot of work improving the reliability of their hubs.

poah

I thought about the eastons before I got the crosstrails. Their hub reliability has been improved upon and the havens look a decent set of wheels.

SUPERSUTT

i decided to get an Easton EA70 xct from chain reactions got for a good price as well. Its already had a good hammering around Delamere forest the real test will be Llandegla in the summer