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I'm after some new rims for my CX bike. Currently using DT XR331s but they are no longer available. I also seem to end up truing them a fair bit so am wondering if it's time to try carbon. I have a lovely light set of 28 hole DT hubs. What should I lace them too? Light bicycle ar24 flyweight looks like a possibility. Anything else to look at?
Do you ride the bike year round or race only? CX racing is very gentle on wheels (very low mileage, soft surfaces), but hard on the bearings (deluge conditions, the jet-wash). But if your putting miles in year round over the rocks this can be really tough on the wheelset. So I'm not sure what that means for one wheelset - not too deep a rim for me, as it would get battered out of season.
Cheap carbon tubular wheelset is still the boss for racing in the UK, and loads available s/h for not much. You could then use the hubs for something more mileage-based.
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Race/train only on this bike, the hardest thing the rims will see is roots on the Southern CX circuit. It doesn't get used for gravel or road or anything else. I get the point on cheap tubs but I'm heavily invested in tubeless cx across my bike and daughters which counts them out, being able to swap tyres easily is also appealing (I'm also probably not close enough to the front to feel the advantage :D). I do/will have a second set of wheels for the bike but intention is for them to sit on a low budget pit bike. Point on the bearings is a good one, I've all the tools for the DT hubs which makes bearing changes trivial (rear is the version that doesn't even need the ratchet ring removed).
A shallow rim is what I thought would be best, I've seen a fair few deep rims caked in mud. I've now taken the punt on the AR24 rims, they are not that much more each than a decent alloy rim and worst case if then end up being too flexi for me they would go nicely on daughters bike. Hopefully they will stay true for longer than the lightweight alloy rims.
A shallow rim is what I thought would be best, I've seen a fair few deep rims caked in mud.
I had thought the 'traditional' logic was that a deeper rim had steeper sides and was more likely to shed the mud? I'll be able to test the theory this winter as I'm on 31mm deep now instead of 25mm, although my rim brakes and limited tyre clearance will pose bigger issues for mud collection! 🤣Â
I'm not sure TBH, I thought it was to do with the mud not closing in over the rim on deeper rims and that the build up referred to older flat top rim designs (where there is a definite shelf). There seem to be a lot of conflicting views around. On daughters bike in a particularly muddy race last year I'd fitted my shallow rimmed front wheel to her bike as it had a better tyre, rear my wheel wouldn't fit so was still on her deeper rim, rear wheel seemed to have more mud build up (could just be f/r difference though). I'm trying out a ceramic coating this year to try and help stop the mud stick in the first place.
Twisty turny cross course is a strong argument for lightest wheelset (and lightest rider) you can get - ie not deep. So much change in speed and momentum, accelerating out of tight turns.
Not all courses are like that, though - something more rudimentary, e.g. big laps of a farmer's field, or a more MTB-tech like track, might benefit from ploughing a deep rim through the mud.
This set should be just a smidge over 1.2kg, maybe less if I go for cx-rays or swap the steel ratchet ring for the alloy version. Rider weight is WIP :D. Hoping for around 4-5kg lower system weight this year.