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Hi all
I am considering building up some custom wheels. There is a very good wheel builder locally and will be using him to tension and true them for sure. I may have a go at lacing them.
I am looking for a pair a good alloy rims for general trail riding. Light but strong.
I think they will probably be being laced to dt swiss 350 hubs or hope pro 4s.
Rims I want should be around 30mm int width. Any suggestions would be welcome. Cheers
I'd normally go DT Swiss or Spank.
Dt swiss xm481. Everything else is worse than that rim.
Check with your wheelbuilder that he’s happy to tension and true a wheel you’ve laced before doing it. Some shops / builders would not be up for that.
And in terms of cost - for me I think lacing is the quicker bit - when I build my own wheels I spend ages getting it straight / true then checking and adjusting tensions then trueing some more etc.
As above - for a decently strong but not too heavy trail rim I’d go DT Swiss XM481. I spent ages looking at rim weights / reviews online and concluded that was what I was going to use. Either onto Dt 350’s or Hope Pro 4’s. I found the Hope’s cheaper at the time so went with those - plus Dt competition spokes.
Really nice wheels!
You can even get rim decals for the XM481 now if you're not keen on red.
I can’t remember without going and looking at my bike but I don’t remember the xm481 having a lot of red on it.....
Oh yeah, there is a bit of red on the stickers on mine xm481’s.....
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Cheers. That's my mind pretty much made up then. Big thanks @joebristol
Out of interest @joebristol do you know what weight yours came in at?
TBH the 30mm internal is tricky, I can't think of anything better than a 481... But the 481's a big burly rim too, and probably more strength (and weight) than you need, since you said you want light, it is not. Light for what it is, but not light.
Unless you really need that width personally I'd consider sizing down a little to save the weight, with maybe a 421 or similar.
The XM421 is also a good shout and 25mm internal is ok. Got that width on my other bike and it ran ok with a 2.5wt Maxxis tyre on it. Looks a bit squarer on the 30mm bit can’t say I’ve noticed a massive difference.
I haven’t weighed my wheels I’m afraid - going on the quoted weights they should be comfortably sub 2000g each. That’s assuming about 200g for the spokes per wheel.
Pretty good for a big and fairly burly rim. I’ve already cased them a few times on jumps and smashed through some reasonably rocky trails and they’re still as straight and true as the day I built them.
DT Swiss XM521
XM 521 is 35mm internal and heavier than the XM 481. OP wants lightweight 30mm internal. Doubt you’ll find better than the XM 481.
Halo vapour 35. A tad lighter, 30mm inner, 35mm outer, cheaper and smarter. https://www.halowheels.com/shop/components/rims/vapour-35-rim-27-5/
If you're going to lace them you might as well have a crack at truing them. Trued my first wheel in an old frame with a couple of clothes pegs on the stays as indicators and it took under an hour I reckon . I found it much easier than the lacing to be honest, because the disc pattern was different to many online guides which assume rim brakes.
DT M502s are 30mm internal.