Cyclocross - Offroad rims and tires for a Jake the Snake

Hello,

I was wondering what the biggest tires you can put on a jake the snake (and still have a bit of clearance)? The reason that I ask is that I want a bit bigger tire more aggresive trails. Any suggestions on specific tire brands and models?

I was also looking for suggestions for a cheaper strong wheelset (is there such a thing?) that I could mount the tires on. I don't care if the rims are heavy, as long as they are strong and take some abuse (roots, curbs ect.)

Any help is appreciated:thumb:

Thanks

sun cr18 and salsa delgado's are both great rims that are wide for cross, touring or even mountain riding. they're affordable and eyeleted as well.

i run rim brake delgado's on my ss 29er. they've held up great for me for a few seasons now, even with the super rocky trail riding here. i'm typically running 2.1 tires at 30 to 35ish psi tire pressure.

my friend has sun cr18's on his rivendell quickbeam and also loves them. they're fairly light, strong, and inexpensive. they seem like they could withstand trail riding as well.

i've had great experience with sun rims in general. i'm running sun me14a's on my cross bike now. i really like them for all uses. i think they're 19mm wide and 420 grams. i'll ride them on single track with 38c wtb interwolf tires or race them with narrower speedmax's or mud2's. the interwolfs have been fine for offroad. i don't have any complaints.

mavic a319 and a719, as well as the sun ryhnolite would be super heavy duty. emphasis on super heavy!

Are you near an REI? If you want cheap and strong, they have a set of Sun rims with Deore hubs for about $135 (and an even cheaper set of Alex rims w/ no-name hubs). I would think most local bike shops could get you something similar. My Jake came with a Deore front hub and Tiagra rear and both are still going strong at approaching 10k miles, having been re-laced to Salsa Delgado rims at about 7k.

The Delgados are total pigs. Probably overbuilt and too heavy for my purposes (commuting and canal trail rides) but would be good for trail use.

Thanks for your responses,

I am from Canada and there isn't a rei around. I need to have a 10spd cassette, so that all my gearing still works. Can a deore hub work?

deore hub will fit 10sp. however, it is spaced at 135mm instead of the road standard at 130mm