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I'm looking at some wheel options for a potential 29er trail bike build. Hope hubs are a given, but I'm not sure about rims. I tend to go for a fast rolling tyre on the rear (say a rock razor 2.35 or maybe even a racing ralph 2.25 if we get a proper summer), but I fancy trying out something wider on the front for the extra grip/confidence (say a nobby nic or even magic mary 2.6). Would it make sense to run a wider rim on the front (e.g arch mk3 rear and flow mk3 front)? It seems logical but I've never tried running different width rims front and rear before.
It could do- but also you don't really want a weaker rim on the rear than the front, that way likes Crossmax Enduro Madness. Maybe something like a KOM, which comes in different widths?
DT XM481/421 or EX511/471 if you want more rock garden happy rims.
Thanks. I hadn't really thought about strength. I'm not particularly hard on wheels but it doesn't really make sense to have a weaker rear wheel. I've been happy with the DT Swiss rims on my fatbike, so I'll look into those.
I think some of the EWS lot ran narrower on the back last season, dependant on terrain, 25mm internal width versus 30mm up front. I've seen a few people trying to sell this combo second hand too, without much success it seems, which could be good for you, unless you try and sell them later
I bought these mind
https://www.dtswiss.com/en/products/wheels-mtb/enduro/ex-1501-spline-one/ex-1501-spline-one-30/
keep and eye on pinkbike, I got mine second hand but like new from a pro for 450 for the pair.
Was talking about this at the weekend, my next wheelset will be ex471 rear and xm481 front.
Have always run a narrower rear since the days of Mavic 717/719
1 mm of rim per 0.1" of tyre works fine
By that rule I'd be fine running the 2.6" tyre on an Arch Mk3 rim, so could just use those both ends. I'm reluctant to go too big as I'm just an XC mincer. But I'm an XC mincer who likes fat tyres 🙂
I like this Idea, good shout!
I'm running A Flow Mk3 Front with an Arch Mk3 on the rear, so that's 29 mm F, 25 mm R. Seems ok but I preferred the tyre profile of the Minion 2.5 on the Flow. AS the Arch is only 25 g or so lighter I figured I wasn't sacrificing much, if any strength. In reality, I did this because the Arch was £30 cheaper.
Would a wider rim on the front alter the geo slightly? I'm thinking the wider tyre profile would reduce the height of the tyre relative to a narrow rim. Doubt you would notice it but may take half a degree off the head angle
My thinking was a bigger tyre front as well, which would negate that or go the other way.
don't worry too much about strength mismatch. It used to be the case that wider = stronger every time, but that's not necessarily the case - see Hugo!
And if you choose your back wheel so it's strong enough, i's still going to be strong enough whatever front you end up with. Choose a front rim that's wide enough and light enough, and if you care and if it's available, get it from the same range as the rim at the back
A wider rim makes the tyre taller up to a point, then it will go the other way, however that 'point' would be a really big rim!
I have a set of each of the 30/35/40 XM rims available and I am actually running the opposite at the moment, 35 Fr 40 Rr... I like the 2.6 up front on the 35 as it keeps the intended shape and so corners really well, but like the greater sidewall stability and a slightly squarer tread for climbing and braking that the 40 gives me with a 2.6 out back.
A wider rim makes the tyre taller up to a point,
not by any noticeable amount, surely? especially when the wider rim allows you to run a few PSI less.
Back in the 90's a lot of trials riders used a much wider and stronger rim on the back with a light XC rim on the front. Made sence as most the impact was on the rear wheel.
If a wider rim on the front provides more grip and grip is the main concern then it sounds a good idea. I've thought about doing this and might try with a combination of current wheels (DTXM421 and M502). But the M502 is about 100g heavier.