Wheels

rafalm

Currently have easton ea70xct wheels on my meta sl but they are nearly on the way out. Looking for stronger wheels with much better pick up and similar weight. Type of riding usual trail/enduro stuff. Budget around £650 they must be 15mm fron and 142x12 rear and hold my 200 pounds weight without issues. Options:

Mavic Crossmax XL
DT Swiss XM1501
Industry nine hubs on stans flow rims

Which ones are the best and why?

mattup

I have just fitted a set of XM1501 on my 5010. They are a fantastic choice for you're requirements. They were perfect out of the box and I have not touched them since fitting a couple of months ago. The finish is top quality and they are light for the strength of rim. I am an engineer by trade and the way the spoke attaches to the rim is a proper job. No chance of cracking as there is a washer under the nipple that reduces the stress on the rim. The pick up on the hub is super quick. Mine are set up as tubeless with a Hans Damph up front and a Ralph at the back. I am sure I paid a little more than £650 though.

I can't comment on the others you have mentioned.

Let us know what you buy?

njee20

DT 240s with upgraded star ratchets on Light Bicycle rims?

BloggingFit

njee20 wrote:

DT 240s with upgraded star ratchets on Light Bicycle rims?

+1

mattup

Nothing like DT 240s??

rafalm

mattup wrote:

I have just fitted a set of XM1501 on my 5010. They are a fantastic choice for you're requirements. They were perfect out of the box and I have not touched them since fitting a couple of months ago. The finish is top quality and they are light for the strength of rim. I am an engineer by trade and the way the spoke attaches to the rim is a proper job. No chance of cracking as there is a washer under the nipple that reduces the stress on the rim. The pick up on the hub is super quick. Mine are set up as tubeless with a Hans Damph up front and a Ralph at the back. I am sure I paid a little more than £650 though.

I can't comment on the others you have mentioned.

Let us know what you buy?

Sounds good. Which hubs are better mavic or dt swiss? Was trying to look at the different technologies used in both wheels but cannot say which is better.

Also looked at dt240s but not pushed for carbon wheels (mainly because of the high cost of replacement rims)

rockmonkeysc

DT hubs are much better than Mavic. They are more reliable, parts are easier to get and they can use j bend spokes where Mavic are straight pull only which is better in theory but not in reality.
I would go for the Lightbicycle rims over Stans. They are lighter and tougher.

lawman

240's on light bicycles rims would be my choice, or maybe 350's with the 36t ratchet upgrade if you wanted to save a bit of cash.

rafalm

RockmonkeySC wrote:

they can use j bend spokes where Mavic are straight pull only which is better in theory but not in reality.
I would go for the Lightbicycle rims over Stans. They are lighter and tougher.

I always thought that straight pull spokes are better because they do not have bend part which is a weak point?

Whats happening with carbon wheels if you drag them on the rock or hit them of the rock or something ? Do they crack? Was thinking that aluminium will be better and cheaper to replace is this correct?

Ferrals

If you don't want carbon, As an alternative to stans I can recommend the Ryde trace rims, I've got the xc version but they do trail and enduro versions. The xc ones have been great for me. You could get them on dt240s for your budget from just riding along

rockmonkeysc

Straight pull spikes are a little stronger but if you break one you will need to have a stock of spares because you will be very lucky to find a shop with them at the right length and they are several times the price of j bend.
Take a look at Hope Tech Enduro rims as well, heavy but very strong or WTB i23 which are lighter but not quite as strong

njee20

rafalm wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

they can use j bend spokes where Mavic are straight pull only which is better in theory but not in reality.
I would go for the Lightbicycle rims over Stans. They are lighter and tougher.

I always thought that straight pull spokes are better because they do not have bend part which is a weak point?

Whats happening with carbon wheels if you drag them on the rock or hit them of the rock or something ? Do they crack? Was thinking that aluminium will be better and cheaper to replace is this correct?

That's the theory of straight pull spokes, in reality j-bend spokes so rarely break its a moot point, and they're much easier to find and replace.

A Light Bicycle carbon rim is cheaper than a Crossmax rim if you're worried about breaking them! For a given weight a carbon rim will be tougher, the only saving grace of alu is that if you twat one really hard it may just get bent, whilst carbon will either be fine, or crack.

I'm well impressed with my LB rims and would definitely buy again.

The Rookie

I've broken one spoke at the J bend, but it was on my commuter and I was breaking a spoke (either the flange snapping off the nipple or the spoke breaking just where it enters the nipple was usual) every 4 weeks by then so who knows what stresses it was under by then, new wheels now fitted I would add!