Wheelsets?

[Clack]

I know nothing about this stuff and I need to pick a wheelset. It'll go on a heckler I'll be using for everything under the sun.

I don't feel like spending a bazzilion dollars for wheels, but don't want crap either.

What say you biking maggots?

[jayfrizzo]

Call Ben at Unreal Cycles. http://www.unrealcycles.com

[Spats]

Buy these, beat the hell out of them, and don't worry.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Wheelset.aspx

[assgasorgrass]

Larry Mettler (sp?) at http://www.mtnhighcyclery.com/ has a great rep as a wheel builder. You need to call as he doesn't list prices on his website. He'll give you a fair deal and you can't beat a real handbuilt wheelset. I dropped off my disc hubs to get built earlier this week. My mechanic had a wheel on the truing stand. He asked me if I saw anything wrong? the spokes looked funny, there was hardly any spoke tension. He said those were Pricepoint wheels after one ride. No matter what you get, get a handbuilt wheelset.

[homerjay]

Buy these, beat the hell out of them, and don't worry.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Wheelset.aspx

be VERY suspicious of the build quality of a jenson wheelset. speaking from personal experience.

[chaka]

Larry Mettler (sp?) at http://www.mtnhighcyclery.com/ has a great rep as a wheel builder. You need to call as he doesn't list prices on his website. He'll give you a fair deal and you can't beat a real handbuilt wheelset. I dropped off my disc hubs to get built earlier this week. My mechanic had a wheel on the truing stand. He asked me if I saw anything wrong? the spokes looked funny, there was hardly any spoke tension. He said those were Pricepoint wheels after one ride. No matter what you get, get a handbuilt wheelset.

Agree re: Larry. He is a straight up guy, I got a smokin deal and a lot of care and feeding from him for a new fork last year.

Wheels- two popular routes to go here in my mind...
1) get a resonably solid, production line wheelset with decent components like XT/Mavic, etc from one of the mail orders like Jenson, price point, etc. Expect a decent wheelset, not a great wheelset. You get what you pay for.
2) Go with a custom build, bomber components, spend more, get a more solid wheelset. I have had great success with http://www.coloradocyclist.com/ for custom built wheels. Not the cheapest out there but the set of King/Mavic X517 they built for me has survived a lot of abuse (XC mind you) without needing a single true.

[mntlion]

XT or LX hub

Mavic rims

DT spokes

get local bike store to hand build.

[scoober]

be VERY suspicious of the build quality of a jenson wheelset. speaking from personal experience.

I'll second this. You get the parts at a great price, but really for wheels half the value is in the build. I got the same setup from Supergo and they lost all tension after one ride. After finding out I have no wheel tensioning skills (stripped out two spokes) I took them to my neighborhood LBS for a truing and tensioning.

(However, now after a long rough year, the rebuilt wheels are still just as true. Rhyno Lites are not the lightest, but they are strong and run true. If you go the mail order route, I would go for the build with the XT hubs. Deore's are barely sealed and still use loose ball bearings instead of cartridge.)

[bagtagley]

I've had good luck w/ factory built wheelsets.

I've got a set of WTB Laserdisc DH wheels on the Bullit that have been to hell and back, yet I've never touched a spoke. They're relatively light, and I've seen 'em for cheap.

[Spats]

be VERY suspicious of the build quality of a jenson wheelset. speaking from personal experience.

For a bomber $89 wheelset that will last years, I'm willing to spend four minutes checking spoke tension. Or you can have a shop do it and still come out over $100 ahead.

XT aren't cartridge bearings either, btw. They're a bit lighter than Deore, but if you're running Rhyno Lites, who cares about a few extra grams in the hub? In my experience, even cheap Shimano hubs last forever with very little maintenance.

[gravitylover]

even cheap Shimano hubs last forever with very little maintenance.

Except the Deore hubs. The freehub body is crap. We go through them at a pretty good rate around here.

[L7]

XT or LX hub

Mavic rims

DT spokes

get local bike store to hand build.

I second Mavic rims. Used them for years on the road and had great durability and performance. Briefly used some others from time to time but always brief as they blew up. Mavics on my mtb when I did more of that always held up best as well.

DT spokes have always been the standard and still the one I try to use. I'm sure there are comparable out there now but for tried and true...


Of course I don't usually agree with Mtnlion as normally his opinions are ill informed and a bit gay.




just trying to coax out Mtnlion's 1000th post.

[Spats]

Except the Deore hubs. The freehub body is crap. We go through them at a pretty good rate around here.

I'll keep that in mind: I've got about 2000 miles on mine, but they're road miles, albeit rough road miles (on the recumbent).

I had an old Cannondale w/rigid fork which I used for commute and urban duty for years. It was the cheapest bike they made, and I don't remember whether the hubs were Alivio or Acera. Damn things lasted six years of daily commute, six years at Burning Man, and though the front hub felt a little scratchy, it still spun beautifully and the rear freehub was as good as new.

[mntlion]

I have a XT disc rear with a 519, used, cheap, hub noisy, true.

[phUnk]

Larry has an excellent reputation on the www.mtbr.com forums too. Thumbs up for that guy.

[AfroMullet]

http://spinlitecycling.com

I've had two sets of wheels built up by him and they are damn near indestructible. Five thumbs up.

[mntlion]

Of course I don't usually agree with Mtnlion as normally his opinions are ill informed and a bit gay.




just trying to coax out Mtnlion's 1000th post.

Thanks buddy. #1005 now.

[freshies]

i'll throw in a plug for a local builder here, Gravy. Was head mechanic for several pro teams (Yeti, etc) and many pros still only trust him to do his thang. Not the cheapest, but as many have said, you get whay ya pay for.

http://www.gravywheels.net/

[Clack]

Thanks all. I ended up leaving it in the discretion of the tech in tahoe working on it with the same guidelines I threw out here and ended up with a premade set of xt hubs and mavic 717 rims. They're at my lbs in the bay area now being trued and tensioned. So pumped to get out on this thing.

[schuss]

i'll throw in a plug for a local builder here, Gravy. Was head mechanic for several pro teams (Yeti, etc) and many pros still only trust him to do his thang. Not the cheapest, but as many have said, you get whay ya pay for.

http://www.gravywheels.net/

Steve "gravy" gravenites? His name used to pop up more than most pro's did back in the day in mags.

[fondigley]

Thinking about scoring some Mavic Dee Max wheels. I see I can score the 04 model for 500 or blow 150 more cash for the 05 model. Apparently the 05 is beefier and made a little better. Anyone know a lot about these wheels?

[Crinkle]

deore hubs for mtn biking blow. Mine (stock) lasted about 800 miles of hard riding till the free wheel busted. Rims were shit anyway, replaced it with an XT wheelset that rides MUCH better, now with 1300 miles on them.