Mountain Biking - What kind of wheels do you run?

I'm in the market for a good set of disc wheels. Any suggestions? Needs to be light, stiff, fast, and pretty durable. Keep in mind I'm a light guy 140 pounds. I've been considering the Chris King ISO's with Mavic 3.1 rims. I'd like to be able to run tubeless tires. What are you guys running? And what's your opinion on tubeless?

I have never ridden tubeless and probably never will. I don seem to ever get pinch flats (ironic part is I am 250pnds). My rim is Mavic 321 with a deore hub for now. I plan on upgrading to stronger hub in the near future.

I just got sun rhyno lite XL's with XT disc hubs. Haven't really had a chance to try then due to weather. But i hear they are quite strong.

I ran Mavic 217 SUP's with shimaNO LX hubs for 5000 miles then the rims finally crapped out. I switched to Mavic X 221 did not like them at all. I use now Sun Rhyno Lites with Nuke Proof Bombshell hubs and have zero problems. I also use Sun Sub IV with shimaNO XT hubs and have found that I had to place 2 rounds of tension on the rear wheel to hold it true.
My wife uses the Sun sub IV with a Nuke proof Bombshell front and a Surly 1X1 in the rear and loves them. I recently built her another set of wheels for another rig using Hugi hubs laced to Mavic 117 SUP CD rims. Those wheels are really light kind of scary.
I look at tubeless as a fix to a problem that really was not a big issue.

Originally posted by Mambwe
I just got sun rhyno lite XL's with XT disc hubs. Haven't really had a chance to try then due to weather. But i hear they are quite strong.


I've got a set of those on my other bike. Not a bad set of rims, but not really what I want. I'm not too fond of the XT hubs. Idealy I'd like to have a hub that I can hear. I love a loud hub!! I'm still torn on the tubeless issue. I don't want to be left behind if it turns out to be really great, but then again I don't want to be stuck running crappy tubeless tires if it turns out they suck. I hear the technology is getting better, though.


I've heard they're really fast, and also plush, which is exactly what I need on my hardtail. I'd like to smooth out the ride as much as possible, but I also don't want flats all the time or problems with my tires. So I figured I'd see what other peoples' opinions on the matter was. Thanks for the advice guys.. keep it coming :)

The thing about tubeless though, if you are at all interested, you can also run regular tires on them too. Although tubeless tires have gotten much better in the past year. I've been running tubeless since last summer without any problems.

So it would definitely be a good idea to get a tubeless set of rims anyway. What do you think of the Chris King hubs, and the Mavic 3.1 rims?

You can't go wrong with Chris King hubs. Those wheels look like they would be stout, but I've never tried them. You might look at mtbreview.com and see what others think of them.

Rhynolytes on XT's laced with 14ga straight spokes

Mine came with Mavic 3.1s and Conti tubeless tires. I ran them on low/high pressures and they were dependable, but neither do I throw myself of mountains so I can't say what they are like when it comes to general impact.

Soon as I rebuild the wheels on my wifes old bike, I have it mind to build my own Mavics, so I have a spare set for road use - charity rides.

I had a slow flat on my rear tire. Nice thing was that it was possible to get the tire off without levers. Fitting a spare inside the tube works but I've never had to use one in the field. A tube is much less bulky than carrying a tubeless tire as a spare.

I'm running a set of Sun Single-Tracks, with a Specialized 20mm axle front Hub, and a Shimano M-525 rear hub.

Super strong wheels.


:beer:

If I were only 140 lbs, and wanted a superlight wheel, I'd build them exactly as you described. I would debate between the 3.1 and the X317's, only because I doubt I'll ever run tubeless.

However, the last time I was 140 lbs, I just graduated, from MIDDLE SCHOOL!!

I'm currently running Profile Hubs laced to D321 w/14 gage spokes. These are about as heavy and strong as you can get!

If you don't know, Profile makes very high quality stuff. It's super strong and very precise. They got popular in the BMX scene of the late 70's and early 80's. They hit it big when they produced a three piece chromoly tubular crank.

L8R

Ha! People making fun of my weight :D


I'm about 6 foot, too. Lets just say I'm a bean pole cross country weight weenie.


:o

I have been running Mavic x317's laced to King disc hubs with 15 gauge spokes on my Jekyll for over 2 years and have had no problems. I weigh 175 pounds and the terrain here in Northern California is steep and rocky. I never give my wheels a second thought when hitting the rough stuff and have hit hard enough to pinch flat a few times and still have not even had to have the wheels trued. (The credit here should go to the mechanic at my LBS as he can build an awesome wheel.)
For me, this has been the perfect setup both for reliability and lightness.

Well personally I think Mavic D521 silver/CD are the best money can buy. Even Steve Peat uses them over D321's. My brother has just replaced his with a Planet X BMF and he has buckled it slightly with only the same amount of abuse as his old wheel.

What about the new Spinergy wheels? Any experiences with those?

Spinergy = Bad!

Look Cool, lightweight, but difficult to keep true!

I had a pair of the D521, and although it's a super strong rim, asn I agree with you that it is one of the best, Jim311 was looking for a lightweight rim, not a Downhill rim.

L8R

Originally posted by a2psyklnut
Spinergy = Bad!

Look Cool, lightweight, but difficult to keep true!

I had a pair of the D521, and although it's a super strong rim, asn I agree with you that it is one of the best, Jim311 was looking for a lightweight rim, not a Downhill rim.

L8R


Yup.... light and fast are my biggest priorities. I won't be dirt jumping or really doing anything extreme, so downhill rims would really be overkill.

If you can afford it, Mavic D-MAX. The new '03 are now tubless.

Slainte:beer:

Well, in a couple weeks I should be able to tell you how good the King hubs are. My frame came in a couple days ago, and it seems like I get a box of parts every day or two from different sources for this new bike I'm building. One thing for sure, if you go with King's you better get ready to dig deep in your billfold. They aint cheap. I'll post after I get it all together.

The wheelset I want is like 550 bucks! Thats for the King ISO hubs and Mavic 3.1 tubeless rims.


What do you think of these babies?

http://www.123bikes.com/images/products/484_isodiscwheel.jpg


http://www.123bikes.com/details.php?startpage=bikes&item_id=484

Those would be some sweet wheels! Wish I could afford some. Isn't the Dee-Max more of a downhill/freeride wheel and heavy? Not sure, just thought I'd heard that.
http://www.mavic.com/servlet/srt/mavic/vtt-prod_fiche?produitsid=57&lg=uk

Yea, but those wheels that I posted the link to shouldn't be Deemax... I think it said Mavic 3.01 rims?

Originally posted by Jim311
Yea, but those wheels that I posted the link to shouldn't be Deemax... I think it said Mavic 3.01 rims?
I know. I should have worded that differently. I was also responding to dirtbikedude's post. :)
Damn, my first MTB didn't cost as much as those wheels! :eek:

Now that you've got the Ultimate wheelset, you need to decide on colors. My preference would be Red Anodized Chris King Hubs, Black 14/15 double butted DT Swiss spokes, Red Anodized aluminum spoke nipples and Black Mavic Rims (All stickers removed!).

L8R