You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
From the BB thread......
We have some handbuilts from Merlin, 717s and 719s on Hope and XT hubs that are well over 15 years old.
DB spokes, get a tweek for tension and the hubs get grease and new bearings every so often but have never failed or gone out of true.
They've had a proper hammering.
Also have some Exal DC19s on Deore hubs from Spa that, despite having taken far, far more abuse that could be considered normal (tip runs, shopping trips, loaded off road touring abuse) still perform as new.
All 36 hole, all 26" all handbuilt.
Have we just been lucky, or have we just been riding overbuilt wheels?
You lot?
12 year old Spa handbuilt set here.
deore 6 bolt hubs on rigida sputnik rims, built with sapim strongs throughout.
used em at my heaviest (23 stone ).
still true and not a single spoke breakage.
only wheels i trust are Spa handbuilt ones.
I have some hope xc hubs with some Mavic something or other rims that came with my Rock Lobster in about 2001/2...they have had a bearing change once.
Set of Hope XC on Mavic rims built by North West MTB in the early 2000s, still running on Mrs NBT's inbred
Fully agree, Hope XC on Mavic ex721 just will not die, still going strong on a hand me down bike I gave my brother umpteen years ago.
That's reassuring, thanks for the replies!
I thought it was just us being a pair of wusses 🥴
2001 Hope XCs with Mavic 517 rims (yep, still have a braking surface on the rim but always run as disc brakes), DT double butted spokes. Still being thrashed on my rigid single speed, started life on a Yeti ASR. Replaced back wheel bearings once, amazingly never needed to be trued, despite my reckless line choices.
Investors just put a pair of Singke Tracks on my jump bike that came on my 2005 GT moto. Need a slight true but spin well.
26in, 36spoke are pretty big factors also. Also the fact that because they are disc brake, the rim doesn't lose structural integrity because you aren't weakening it with rim brake block wear. But loaded touring isn't to be underestimated
Wheels last a long time not being used. Highest mileage wheels is the correct way to couch this question. Mavic Ceramic rims with Hope hubs where you just keep wapping new bearings in are my longest lasting wheels. 40k km maybe? Braking performance is very poor now though, polished braking surfaces.
I am quite pleased with my home build wheels. Not ancient but the first set I made probably 7 years ago for my commute bike never needed work and they did the cobbles of Flanders a couple of times. Bike now sold with them still on.
Gravel bike is running on a set of Mavic Open Pro which is somewhat outside their design intent. Originally on a road bike also been to Belgium.
Last set are DT Swiss on my hardtail MTB also not seen an spoke key, probably 2 years old.
I'm a really slow builder though, very methodical so I reckon build quality is a big part of longevity.
I've three Spa touring wheels. Sputnik rims. One pair. One rear. All taken loads of abuse and still good.
I do have a Friday afternoon set of Spa wheels though. 700c 36 spoke LX17 on Tiagra hubs. Several front spokes broken. One or two rear spokes. used for unloaded local riding
Granted it's Glasgow potholed roads and I'm 16 stone but that was why I went 36 spoke hand built.
Chris King ISO hubs on Stan Olympic. The hubs were second hand when I bought them in 2005, so must be almost 20y old. Ridden in all weathers and have never needed anything but a re-lube.
For longevity, it's hard to beat CK.
Similar story here. I had some F519 rims on Deore hubs built by Merlin. Must be 20 + years old. Ended up on the bike for Gunsmas's daughter, hopefully they're still trucking on.
The old Mavic Open Pros were narrow and fairly heavy by modem standards but hot damn they were tough for a 'racy' rim!
The old double eyeletted DT TK540's touring rims were pretty damn sturdy, commuted on them for years, the only one I killed was when I went over the bonnet of a car that had pulled out without looking or indicating and I can't really blame the rim for that.
A friend is still riding my old Marin, Hope hubs, Mavic X517 Lemon rims, they must be circa 1999 hand built by Biketreks in Gt Ayton (alas, no longer there)
I wonder - the 717 and 719 were pretty XC style rims weren't they? But I thought most wheels had been 32h.
Would be interesting to know the trade offs in strength between extra spokes vs heavier/stronger rim.
I have some Dura Ace 7400 hubs that are 30 years old, and had them re-built into Mavic CXP33 rims about 20 years ago (were previously on tubular rims). They have grease ports, which makes keeping them A1 such an easy job. I've recently built some 26" wheels for my commuter MTB. Bought some used, but excellent condition XT hubs (parallax ones) and laced to some simple Ryde Zac rims. I can see the hubs lasting a long time, and when the rim get's worn out, I'll just rebuild them.
Got a set of Mavic 717s and HopePro2 hubs from 2008 that are still going strong. Have had loads of bearing replacements but only one spoke replacement. They must have done thousands of miles and used to get rattled round the Welsh trail centres on a regular basis.
I have a Mavic 719 on Hope XC rear. I have spare pawls and a freehub I bought in anticipation of a failure that never happened.
It’s older than my son, who is about to be a chartered engineer
I have a feeling the longevity of wheels was the primary reason for changing wheel sizes, which still utterly f*cks me off even now.
Edit: I’ve checked, it’s 25 years old. I bought it for my brand new Trek Y5 when I upgraded to a rear disc brake. Still runs perfectly.
OK, so I'm saving the rest of the bike for a NBD announcement, but these must be getting on for 30 years old. Not sure if they entirely count for this thread as they've only been in my custody for 3 weeks.
Mavic 221 rims on Shimano QR hubs 😎
Mavix Open Pros on Shimano 105 hubs from about 1997. Still on original bearings.
Had a Mavic 517 on Hope Sport front hub (before they were called Hope XC) from about 1998 too. They ended up on a winter single speed and never had to change the bearings.
I've got the original Mavic Ksyrium SLs on my old race bike. They've done about 35000 (dry) miles since 2000 or 2001. Changed the pawls once and the bushing once.
Have some easton XCone wheels as well. They must be 17 or 18 years old. They've done everything from 100k marathons in the pouring rain to black trail centre runs. Changed one of the hub bearings after about 18 months, been fine since.
Can't think of anything else, except i have a literal pile of knackered wheels in the garage ready to go to the tip. All the stuff with dangerously thin rims, massive dents, hubs that are no longer adjustable, bent axles, freewheels that spin freely both ways... All well beyond economic repair. Or even safe repair.
Some of those are actually old enough to originally be from 8 speed groupsets