New Wheelset

[bdub]

Hey Guys, haven't been following the forum for awhile but I built a 057 a few years ago and opted for some pretty cheap wheels. Now I am looking to upgrade to a better set maybe even carbon if I can afford. I however am not very versed in wheels, hubs, etc, so need some advise. If you guys had $500 to spend on some new wheels what would you guys go with to outfit a 057?

[Midwest-MTBer]

So I ordered my wheels right from Peter when I bought my frame, so I'm not sure how much shipping would be. I purchased the FHR930C Wheels with DT Swiss 350 hubs. If I was to do it all again I'd actually buy the HR935C wide rims. They have a 30mm interior width vs the 25mm width I have currently. Not saying that I'm not happy with my current setup, but the extra width would really help spread the tire even more. Whatever you decide to do I recommend the DT Swiss hubs highly.

[bxcc]

Is $500 your max budget? If so, try to find some of the new Stans wheels. I have the Crest MK3 rims laced to DT 350 hubs and I've been very pleased with them. The are quite narrow at 23mm inner compared to what I normally like but they are on a XC singlespeed so they are fine.

If you could push it to $650ish, Peter can do most of his rims (pick your flavor) laced to DT 350 hubs using Sapim double butted spokes for about $650 shipped to the US. It's going to be VERY hard to beat that price for some good quality carbon rims and name brand bullet proof hubs. To save some weight, opt for the centerlock version of the 350 hubs.

[lRaphl]

Going with novatech hubs instead of DT 350 would bring the price down closer to your budget. Check with Peter what he can do.

You can also check there. I built a wheelset with their 36mm rims.

http://www.carbonbicycle.cc/proshow.php?cid=68&tid=9&id=184#.WQCiojffO70

[bdub]

Thanks guys. $500 should be my max budget, don't want to make the wife angry.

One last question I had on rim width. I see a pretty big difference in sizing and want to make sure I get the ones that will fit the 057 and my style the best. Typically I do your normal cross country riding, nothing extreme or to crazy. I live in Utah so my rides consist up climbing up the mountain and then riding back down. What do you guys think would work the best and what size can my frame accommodate?

[bxcc]

What size tire do you plan on using? The wider the tire, the wider the rim. Also, if you like leaning the bike to turn in high speed corners, you will want to go wider than normal. Somewhere between 23 and 30 would suffice but I would lean towards 26 or 27 if it's mostly XC like you mentioned.

For comparison, here is what I run

2.35 Bontrager XR4 tires - 29mm inner width rims - SC 5010.2 - ride somewhat aggressive and lean as much as my ability allows - very happy with width and tire choice

2.2 Bontrager XR2 tires - 23mm inner width - WW 062 chiner HT Singlespeed - ride it playfully but strictly XC type of riding - happy, would like wider but don't want to add weight or pay for carbon so 23mm works.

[bdub]

I was just looking at what Peter has to offer and the DSS-HR930C seem to fit my criteria pretty wheel. Sent him an email to see how much he is charging for those.
Thanks for your help guys.

[Carbon_Dude]

I'd probably go with the 30mm wide DSS-HR930C you mentioned in your last post.  That's a good middle of the road width and can work with lots of different tires from 2.1 up to 3.0 in width.

[bdub]

Been working with Peter on pricing and there seems to be a couple hundred dollar difference between the Sapim Race spokes and the CX Deltas. To me the Deltas don't seem worth the extra price, but I am not an expert. What do you guys think?

[Midwest-MTBer]

I'd say role with the cheaper spokes. You may save a few grams, but I don't think the price is worth it. If the more expensive ones are bladed I think that's cool, but not needed for mountain biking. I run bladed spokes on my road bike, but don't see the point of doing it on an mountain bike.

[Patrick C.]

I'm a little late to the thread, but have you considered building your own?  Either way $500 should be plenty, but I got a lot of satisfaction from building my wheels.  I've gotten two sets of carbon rims from Peter, one 29" with 25 mm internal width and one 27.5" with 35 mm internal width.   Both are for my -057.  Building them up was no trouble at all, following some online calculators for getting the right spoke size and how to put them together.  If I was doing it again I think I would go with a 35 mm internal 29" rim.  The -057 frame is too narrow to fit really large tires, but a 2.4" tire on the wide rim gives great cornering and at 200 lbs I can run 18-20 psi in the rear.

On both wheelsets I used DT Revolution spokes.  No problems, even with my weight riding on lots of rocks and roots (Southeast US trails).   

I used DT Swiss 350s on the 29" rims and they have been great.  For the wider 27.5" rims I decided to try XT hubs- the pair of hubs costs about the same as the front 350 hub (mine were ~$70 for the set), and they only weigh a couple of ounces more than the 350s.  The XT hubs have been great as well- they have 36 engagement points and have not given any problems, though they are due to be opened up and re-greased.

[bdub]

I'm a little late to the thread, but have you considered building your own?  Either way $500 should be plenty, but I got a lot of satisfaction from building my wheels.  I've gotten two sets of carbon rims from Peter, one 29" with 25 mm internal width and one 27.5" with 35 mm internal width.   Both are for my -057.  Building them up was no trouble at all, following some online calculators for getting the right spoke size and how to put them together.  If I was doing it again I think I would go with a 35 mm internal 29" rim.  The -057 frame is too narrow to fit really large tires, but a 2.4" tire on the wide rim gives great cornering and at 200 lbs I can run 18-20 psi in the rear.

On both wheelsets I used DT Revolution spokes.  No problems, even with my weight riding on lots of rocks and roots (Southeast US trails).   

I used DT Swiss 350s on the 29" rims and they have been great.  For the wider 27.5" rims I decided to try XT hubs- the pair of hubs costs about the same as the front 350 hub (mine were ~$70 for the set), and they only weigh a couple of ounces more than the 350s.  The XT hubs have been great as well- they have 36 engagement points and have not given any problems, though they are due to be opened up and re-greased.

Interesting idea. Did you buy a truing stand and was it hard to do?

[Patrick C.]

I did buy a truing stand, but you don't have to.  You can just mount the wheel on the bike for truing, but having a stand certainly makes it easier.  With a stand you can work on it while watching TV or just sitting on the couch.

It is not difficult, but it can be tedious.  Read http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html and watch some youtube videos, and you'll be good to go.  More details on my wheels in the prior threads at-
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,206.15.html
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,697.60.html

[lRaphl]

I built my last 4 wheelsets myself using this really nice guide from Mike T. The guy really know what he's talking about.

http://miketechinfo.com/new-tech-wheels-tires.htm


I also used this book to understand more what I was about to do the first time and still refer to it when comes time to lace my wheels.

http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php


I'm using this calculator for the spoke lenght but DT swiss also has a great one.

http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/spokecalc/

[carbonazza]

like @IRaphl, I don't think I'll buy laced wheels anymore.

The first wheel you build is a bit of a fiddling.
But my first wheelset is still perfectly true, after thousands of kilometres.

The more you do them the quicker and easier it gets.
And as tinkers like we most are, it is a very gratifying work. You should try.

I found the spoke calculator http://www.prowheelbuilder.com/spokelengthcalculator quite good.
It has a big database of hubs/rims that facilitate the entry.

And Roger's Musson book is always on my side too as the reference when I build one.
I have now a pro stand I bought second hand, but in the book, you get a drawing to build a stand that works pretty well.