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As above, which rim would you get if you wanted a 27.5” wheel for general tail riding and some uplift days? Will be run tubeless and looking for a rim around 29-30mm internal diameter.
Looking for sub 500g weight and under £100 a rim ideally. Probably a 32 spoke 3 cross build with j bend spokes.
Key things are I want to have to give it as little attention as possible with the spoke key, get a stiff and relatively light wheel, as cheaply as possible whilst using decent quality parts.
Hubs as yet unknown, probably using double butted j bend spokes.
If there are any other rims I’m missing on my list that meet the above requirements then feel free to add them!
How heavy are you, are your regular trails fairly rocky and do you have a bit of a track record of killing rims?
If you're fairly punishing then I'd say go for the EX 511's a bit over 500 grams but tough as old boots.
If not, the XM 481s tick all the boxes.
You could always run an XM on the front and an EX on the back.
I've just been through this & opted for:
https://www.starbike.com/en/dt-swiss-xm-481/
272mm spokes all round on my existing Hope Pro2Evo if using 12mm DT Pro Lock nipples.
Spokes & nipples from Rose Bikes (rims ship with washers to go on the nipple).
Spank. Great rims.
i wouldn’t get the KOMs - I reckon those will be too light for uplift days
What Hatter said.
What Ben said
My only reason for going Spank Spike rather than exactly what Hatter said was CRC were knocking them out for £35 a rim if I didn't mind yellow decals. Been happy with them though.
KOMs I'd worry were a bit lightweight and Stans I don't like recent reports of cracked rims.
currently using the oozy 295 rims - the oozy's are trail rims but are fairly tough for their weight. I've had them for 3 years and been fairly rough with no dings but I don't have stupidly low tyre pressures. If you use low pressures consider using a huck norris type protector for whatever rim you use.
I'm also on the lookout for a wheelset for the hardtail I'm rebuilding and the DT and spank rims in 25mm size are what I'm currently looking at.
I’m around 12 stone 4 ish I think. I probably lack a bit of refinement with my line choices - but DT e1900’s are still running true with no dings after about 14 months so they’re strong enough.
Local trails aren’t really rocky (not at any speed either). Uplift is usually BPW / Flyup 417 then some push up at Windhill. Also doing black mountain Cycle Centre soon - if I like that it can be added to the list.
So it’s looking like the xm481 or one of the Spank rims. Sounds like Koms might be a bit soft and I have seen some people mention cracked Stans rims.
Anything from easton any good? I couldn’t seem to get mtb rims up on their website without subscribing to a mailing list.
Pressure wise I haven’t dared go below 25psi front or back even running tubeless. Maybe I could take a risk and go a bit lower?
The DT XM481s i'm running at the moment have been fantastic. Highly recommended. I'd possibly run the EX version on the back if you are heavy/racing/brutal...
Curve ball. Halo vapour 35 (30mm internal), claimed weight under 500g. Build nicely and cheaper than the others. The two I built have survived BPW and a very rocky trip to the Peak District this weekend. They also come in stealth black :D.
I’ll have a look at the halo vapour as well - thanks!
I don’t think I’m that heavy or that brutal so the Xm should be ok over the ex in terms of DT rims.
Having looked through I think it’ll be the DT XM481 on Hope Pro 4’s with double butted DT spokes and their funny washer thing with squorx nipples. Should be a nice wheelset.
I found a oozy trail 295 wheelset for £193 so it was a no brainer.
The KOM is a great rim but it's not that tough tbh. I have a set of Frequencies for exactly this job, they're not light though.
Spank always seem to get overlooked but I've ended up with a random spare wheel with one and it seems pretty ace tbh
Wow poah- that’s really cheap! About the same as Hope hubs on their own. Where did you find those?
Amazon but they were 26 and blue. Hey also had green for 183 and black for 230.
Race Face ARC 30? under 500g, about £70 a rim?
They’re very blue! And 26” often cheaper now.
What bike is that - looks really nice?
Will have a quick look at the Arc 30 but got a feeling I’ve heard Arcs aren’t that strong / durable....
DT Swiss M502?
M502 is quite a bit heavier than the Xm481 - isn’t the m502 meant to be less strong than the xm too?
DT EX511 here. Tough and well finished. You can build them with normal nips too, if you don't fancy the squorx ones.
What bike is that – looks really nice?
2016 dartmoor hornet - built it up for the wife to use and she liked the blue so kinda handy really.
DT still getting good comments - think I’ll go that way with the phr washers. If I could avoid squorx it would save me buying the relevant driver - although the Xm481 appears to come with those nipples and washers included. Just need to decide which spokes then and I’m done. Once I’ve saved enough up in a few months time I’ll go for the build.
Want a Hornet frame now for my hardtail - especially the seat / chain stay area looks very tough and the colour is great. My wife would probably kill me though, and I’d need to re-hub my new back wheel unless the hornet has a 135x9mm qr rear end!
Don't get ARC30s. They're nice and light, easy to set up tubeless, and look cool, but unfortunately their strengths don't include actual strength.
Ouch! Definitely deleted from my list as I’ve read other stuff about them being a bit soft too. What did you do to that one?
The DT rims that require the washers and nipples are supplied with them. You can use other nipples but they need to be from the Pro Head range to have the correct chamfer to fit the PHR washers.
i didn’t use any specific tool to build mine, just carefully fitted the washers and nipples by hand (only awkward for the last few) and used a standard spoke key to tension them.
i know some have made a tool to help fit the nipples by gringpding down the head of a T25 rotor bolt and attaching it to a handle of some sort.
What did you do to that one?
General trail riding and some uplift days 😀
Dunno really, that's done 3 BPW days and Ard Rock. To be fair I tend to run pressures in the high teens on mellower trails, but Ard Rock and Wales I'm mid 20s. I also weight about 10st, so they haven't been totally abused. It's a big thumbs up for Slaughters though, they've taken all that abuse without even the slightest puncture!
I'm following this thread with interest as I've transferred the ARCs to my general trail bike, and I'm rebuilding my 350s (which are currently running i25s) on to something with exactly the same requirements as you! Probably going for Flows.
My wife would probably kill me though, and I’d need to re-hub my new back wheel unless the hornet has a 135x9mm qr rear end!
that's the old one which has a 135x12 bolt - new on has a 142x12.
this is the new one
Either way the hornet would require me to change the rear hub on the ht which is a Shimano XT qr one and I only built the wheels in the last few months. I must resist any temptation to change frame which I definitely don’t need 😞.
Arcs definitely don’t sound brilliant.
I like the idea of using a Torx t25 bolt as a bodge for the squorx nipples - a cap head one might be small enough not to need any grinding. The cheapest I found the DT tool is £16
you can buy the required DT (brass) nipples from Rose Bikes for a lot less than the squorx nipple tool then use a conventional nipple driver - if you have one.
I just used a small screwdriver with the last set of wheels I built, plus then a normal spoke key once I got so far. The nipples that come with the rims are alloy so getting brass ones with a normal flat screwdriver fitting would be preferable. I believe they need to be pro range ones so they have the rounded nipples profile to work with the washers.
are far as the ARC rims go they are trail rims. pretty much most rims will get dented if you run low pressures.
I tend to run 25psi front / but higher rear (but under 30psi) so I think I’m at the safe end of pressures. Not seeing any reports of dented DT xm481s or Spank rims though.