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Hi,
I'm planning on building up a XC/AM front wheel, and need some advice with the components please:
Rim: Stans Arch Ex 26". I'm pretty decided on this, as it's light and has a lot of positive reviews. The only downside is that it's £60 on all the sites I've looked at, so if anyone can recommend somewhere to get it cheaper, or a cheaper rim which is just as good, it would be appreciated. Any particular advice on building a wheel with this rim would be great too.
Spokes: I'm thinking DT Revolution, as they're tough, light and I can get 32 for £15. I have heard though that they're a pain to build with due to being round section and tending to twist as you tension them, and also that they can be a bit flexy. Does this have some grounding in fact? If so, please provide some suggestions as to viable alternatives.
Hub: Some hub which weighs around 150g and is £40-£50. I've found a few in this category, so any recommendations as to a particular one would be great. I'm at the moment leaning towards the Superstar Superfast, though being 9mm only is a bit of a pain as I quite fancy a 15mm on be front.
Cheers
I would have thought DT Revs were a bit on the light side if you're going with an Arch
I'm no wheel builder though 😀
According to the DT Swiss website the Revs are rated up to gravity riding, with 4/5 for trail riding and then 5/5 for xc. This could all be marketing rubbish of course, so I'll happily listen to anyone with experience with them 🙂
Comps or super comps if you must.
Fair enough, having done a bit more research about Revs I see what you mean. I really want the spokes quite light though, so if I want something comparable in weight to the Revs but suitable for AM riding is my only option CX-Rays? I don't really want to go Titanium, bit too pricy.
Cheers
There's only 30g between 64 comps and 64 revs.I'd try not to get too hung up on chasing weight at the expense of durability.
At the end of the day I suspect you're not chasing wc podiums....
Build weight difference quoted on jra site same build comp or supercomp is about three times the 30g mentioned above.
1669gr arch ex hope build with brass nips..
Must be the nips?
Given that the advice on stans rims is for a lower tension (95kgf) if memory serves, I'd be tempted to go comp on the spokes so they're a little bit less elastic than revs at that tension. Although personally, for my weight and riding, I prefer comps and ignore the stans tension guide.
My advice (as a seasoned wheel builder of more than 10 years, and 17 years riding):
Don't get too hung up on hub weight. PLENTY of decent hubs out there that can run QR/15mm/20mm and are in the 180-200g bracket. QR only is very limiting these days.
Don't get too hung up on spoke weight. DT Revs have their place, but it's on XC race wheels under a very light and smooth rider. It's not that they're not strong, just that theyre pretty flexy. They're also harder to build a wheel with than DT Comps (or Super Comps) as its more difficult to get even tensions all round. For the weight you'd save, not worth it. DT comps every time IMO!
Don't get too hung up on using a Stans rim. Very nice, but also very expensive. They're also not as strong as their Mavic counterparts, and they aren't eyeletted. If you're dead set on using it don't let me stop you, but unless you're running tubeless from the get go and want the ease of Stans, I'd say go Mavic for ease and reliability to be honest! The XM719 will be about 60g heavier, but it's eyeletted and tougher and cheaper and will be easier to build.
I've gone down the route of obsessing about weight in the past myself, and I've come to the conclusion that unless you're competing for places in an XC race, it's not worth it. Not saying if rather heavy parts, just that I'd rather barrel into a rock garden on my bike knowing that the slightly beefier front wheel is strong and stiff enough to shrug it off, than have to slow down for fear of damaging my slightly lighter wheel.
Stans rims are fine and I'd say stronger than mavic, despite lack of eyelets.
Revs ok for light use- I use them on the front on a set of olympics.
Building wheels for 25 years, many professionally.
al...what leads you to think that stans rims are tougher than mavic, my experience is quite the opposite..
last years stans flows can be had cheap at the moment, a very good choice for trail riding and a bit more. They've been a bit fragile on my dh bike but have survived a surprising amount of punishment.
beanieripper - Memberal...what leads you to think that stans rims are tougher than mavic, my experience is quite the opposite..
My experience & what I hear/read on here: nothing I'd seen/used seemed to be as tough as mavics (for the weight, at the light end at least) until stans came along.