while we’re talking tires…good compromise between gravel and slick?

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Viewing 15 posts - 181 through 195 (of 203 total)
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  • #1091089
    Tania
    Participant

    Also, the only time I swap mountain bike tires are when they’re worn so messiness isn’t an issue. I have Nobby Nics on my trail bike and Minions on my enduro bike and love both. I will replace the front Minion for a fatter one come Spring.

    #1091091
    huskerdont
    Participant

    @Tania 182530 wrote:

    https://www.wtb.com/products/ci31-carbon-rims – sold out now but they seem to have been $599/rim? Which for carbon I guess isn’t too bad.

    My spoke is still bent from that big stick I caught. Wheel still seems fine!

    They have another model of carbon that … is also sold out. Too bad, but perhaps I can find some used or elsewhere. I could always run them with the current tubed tires at first and change to tubeless later. Might swing by Bikenetic this weekend too and see what they might say.

    #1091093
    drevil
    Participant

    @huskerdont 182533 wrote:

    They have another model of carbon that … is also sold out. Too bad, but perhaps I can find some used or elsewhere. I could always run them with the current tubed tires at first and change to tubeless later. Might swing by Bikenetic this weekend too and see what they might say.

    As an alternative, I like my Nextie carbon rims. I have read that others have had good luck with them as well. Here’s the link to the Premium 29ers, but you can follow the links there to get to other styles.
    https://www.nextie.net/premium-mountain-29

    I had an issue with first generation fat bike rims, and all I had to do was send them a pic of the damage and the serial number, and replacement rims were on their way the same day.

    Bonus, they’re much cheaper :)

    #1091094
    Tania
    Participant

    @drevil 182535 wrote:

    Bonus, they’re much cheaper :)

    Whoa, you ain’t kidding. And if they withstand your bike antics, they’re a steal.

    #1091095
    huskerdont
    Participant

    Yes, really nice prices, and so many different dimensions. Ima need to go do some research.

    #1091111
    hozn
    Participant

    +1 for Nextie, or — in a similar vein and at a similar price point — Light Bicycle rims. Those are also well respected in the MTB community. I realize I have 4 sets of LB wheels across 3 bikes now (45mm 27.5+ wheels, 2 sets of gravel wheels, 1 set of road wheels). They also have US distribution now (though it is still cheaper to order direct).

    I don’t think there’s any reason to pay more for carbon in 2018. (Or, at least, I think this price point is about where the value curve levels off.)

    https://www.lightbicycle.com/

    I would build these up with Hope hubs, or maybe SRAM 900; those seem pretty solid on my MTB so far — and they’re cheaper.

    #1091115
    huskerdont
    Participant

    Those are nice too. I actually don’t even need carbon; just want bombproof (and tubeless compatible), and carbon doesn’t seem that expensive anymore. And while I like doing things myself, building wheels is one thing I never want to do. It’s the exact type of activity guaranteed to drive me crazy, so a complete wheelset is also a possibility, as is going through an LBS.

    #1091125
    hozn
    Participant

    Yeah, I was going to add a comment to the end of my post, saying something to the effect of …

    while I think carbon makes sense for any plus-sized rims (to keep weight down) and for anything where you expect to bottom out that rim sometimes (e.g. gravel), and for anything where you want a deep rim profile for aesthetics and/or “performance” (road), I’m less sure that it makes sense for a narrow MTB tire.

    I can’t remember the last time I’ve damaged an alloy mountain bike rim (but any alloy rims I’ve used for gravel riding get dented up); MTB tires are generally plenty large to avoid rim damage. I think the best bang for your buck is a set of Stans Arch EX (or, if you’re heavier, maybe Flow EX) rims. At these narrower widths, carbon rims aren’t going to weigh much less than alloy (well, especially if considering the Arch). And the Stans rims will likely have a better tubeless experience. And you can find them for $60-70/rim instead of (at the cheapest) $200+/rim. So it’s easy math. I.e. you could build those up with SRAM 900 hubs for somewhere around $400 in total parts, as opposed to $800 in parts for carbon rims.

    When I build my single-speed wheels for my mountain bike, I think I’ll be just using Stans (Arch) rims. I don’t see a compelling reason to pay for carbon.

    #1091248
    huskerdont
    Participant

    Almost pulled the trigger on some Stans Arch S1s, but appears they’re only with 142 rear hubs and my bike is 135, so haven’t yet decided if I want to shave a few mm off the dropouts or keep looking. There’s certainly no rush since my current wheels are decent enough.

    #1091256
    hozn
    Participant

    @huskerdont 182708 wrote:

    Almost pulled the trigger on some Stans Arch S1s, but appears they’re only with 142 rear hubs and my bike is 135, so haven’t yet decided if I want to shave a few mm off the dropouts or keep looking. There’s certainly no rush since my current wheels are decent enough.

    The difference between a 142×12 hub and a 135QR (or 135×10 which also fits in a QR frame) hub is simply the axle diameter. They both are the same OLD/frame spacing (135mm). The Stans hubs are convertible between axle standards, but you’d have to budget another $20-30 for the QR rear endcaps.

    #1091259
    drevil
    Participant

    @hozn 182718 wrote:

    …They both are the same OLD/frame spacing (135mm)…

    So this part’s not quite right. The Outer Locknut Distance (OLD) – basically the faces of the axle that clamp against the frame – is 142mm on a 142mm rear hub. The frame dropout is recessed 3.5mm on each side to accept the axle. The first vid on this page explains the same with an example: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/12×142-explained.html

    But yes, to properly use a 142mm BOOST rear hub in a standard 135mm frame, you’d need hub axle adapters which are available for some hubs (like Hope, DT Swiss, etc.)

    #1091265
    huskerdont
    Participant

    That’s helpful. I had seen the site with the video, but had also read a couple of comments from folks on forums saying that to make a 142 fit on a 135, you’d have to shave 3.5 mm off both sides. I have Tange sliding dropouts so don’t have a recess like in the vid. They are QR, not thru. (Thru on the front, QR in the back, just to make wheel buying more challenging.)

    #1091269
    drevil
    Participant

    @huskerdont 182729 wrote:

    That’s helpful. I had seen the site with the video, but had also read a couple of comments from folks on forums saying that to make a 142 fit on a 135, you’d have to shave 3.5 mm off both sides. I have Tange sliding dropouts so don’t have a recess like in the vid. They are QR, not thru. (Thru on the front, QR in the back, just to make wheel buying more challenging.)

    Yup, understood. However, even after shaving 3.5mm off each side of the axle/endcaps, you still have the challenge of having a 12mm diameter hole through the center of the axle. What then would you use as a skewer? AFAIK, besides the possibility of it being too long, the diameter of the skewer will be 2mm too large to fit into your dropouts (BOOST uses 12mm diameter skewers that the frame sits on, while standard (i.e., non-boost) rear dropouts use 10mm diameter axles which the frame sits on).

    But you mention the magic words: sliding dropouts! I’m not sure how similar Tange’s are to Paragon’s, but if they’re similar/same, you can get the proper dropouts for that wheelset and call it a day:
    Driveside: http://www.paragonmachineworks.com/replaceable-parts/inserts/sliding-dropouts/b4137-right-side-sliding-hanger-m12-x-1-5.html
    Discside: http://www.paragonmachineworks.com/replaceable-parts/inserts/sliding-dropouts/b4027-post-mount-160-rotor-for-12-mm-skewer.html

    That said, Hozn’s suggestion to get the swapout QR endcaps (if available for that hub) are a cheaper and better way to go IMO in your case.

    #1091415
    Tania
    Participant

    @huskerdont 182533 wrote:

    They have another model of carbon that … is also sold out. Too bad, but perhaps I can find some used or elsewhere. I could always run them with the current tubed tires at first and change to tubeless later. Might swing by Bikenetic this weekend too and see what they might say.

    Someone is selling the WTB ci31 rims on Facebook right now – says they’re brand new. Unfortunately for them, they’re asking more than Jenson, the link to which they provided! Doh! Anyway, they’re on Jenson right now for $540.

    #1091485
    huskerdont
    Participant

    @Tania 182887 wrote:

    Someone is selling the WTB ci31 rims on Facebook right now – says they’re brand new. Unfortunately for them, they’re asking more than Jenson, the link to which they provided! Doh! Anyway, they’re on Jenson right now for $540.

    Thanks. Recent veterinary visit = 4 carbon wheels, so on hold until next year. Such is life.

Viewing 15 posts - 181 through 195 (of 203 total)
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