phantomcow2

Okay well im going to be building some wheels for a friend and this guys into jumping. Hes getting started with it, well thats way out of my tiny world of XC. He was looking to spend up to 500 in total so i suggested Rhyno lite rims, ive built with them and they seem beefy as well. Hes doing 5-7 footers and weighs 140. I know he wants 20mm axle hubs, we were looking at the DT free ride 20mm hub, ones on ebay now. For a front though im at a slight loss. I was looking at the Hadley front hub something like 130
https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...9&category=735
any opinions, recommendations?

dirtbikedude

I would recomend the Hadleys all the way around but that would raise the price tag.

Woodman makes some very nice hubs that are resonably priced. Besides being of good quality you can convert their hubs from the oversize 20mmfront/12mmrear to standard qr's. This is nice if you want to use the wheels on two different bikes.

Another decent hub set that is affordable are the AdventureComponents hubs. They are not widely used but they do work well.

Any shop should be able to order the Woodman hubs but you might get them faster ordering directly. The AC hubs you may have to order directly but your lbs may be able to get them.

bruiser2

If he wants strong rims i've seen dee-max wheelsets on ebay for 500. They have a 20 mm front hub.

handlebarsfsr

rhinos are ok, but if you are gonna start gonig big, they are gonna die pretty quick. for a 20mm hub on a budget, a simple marzocchi hub works great. im sure im going to get slammed here, but xt and deore hubs, when they are properly greased (which they rarely come from the factory) and proper cone torque work very well. id say a set of singletrack rims, perhaps a stronger one on back on a front marz hub and rear xt would be a fairly inexpensive but strong setup.

dirtbikedude

As for rims I like the SingleTracks as well. I have been using them for 4 1/2 years now. Raced on 'em(DH), freeride and xc and they hold up very nicely. Front hubs are not as much of a concern as the rear, less parts, less that can go wrong. Marzocchi, SunRingle, Hope and many others make a decent front hub. Look to spend around 75$ on a front hub and get the best rear you can afford. As an example, on one of my bikes I have a PowerTrax(definitly not the best) front hub which I picked up for 20$ and it has lasted 3 years now and still working great and I have a Hadley on the rear. This is on my freeride bike which gets a lot of abuse and less maintenance then my race bike.

On the rear I would use at least a 10mm axle since it is for freeride and that is why I would not get the XT's. You could go 12mm but then you would either have to enlarge the dropouts (dont recomend this unless you know what you are doing/will void warranty) or get a different frame.

phantomcow2

his budget is 500 dollars here, he wants higher end stuff here so yea. If you can base recommendations with that, it would be more helpful. I really wish i could help him out more with picking parts, i feel kind of bad. But im afraid the mass of my knowledge revolves around two letters..."xc"
I was also looking at those single track rims, you think they will fair nicely? Hes just getting started with jumps, but hes planning to go up to 7 feet.

handlebarsfsr

well for set it and forget it, marzocchi hub front, hope rear, on atomlab trailpimps. still well under 500 bucks, and bombproof.

bruiser2

When you say seven feet do you mean 7 foot drops, or seven foot tall jumps?

dirtbikedude

Single Tracks will fair well. As I stated I have been using them for some time and I weigh in at 265lbs and hit 6 foot drops to flat on a regular basis.

If he realy wants the high end parts then you should try and talk him in to spending a few more $$

phantomcow2

I think 7 foot drops. Im gonna see if i can get himt o get Singletracks then. I like sun rims a lot anyways. He wants the DR freeride hubs at least for the rear. The front might be the matching hub, he likes matching stuff

phantomcow2

by the way, thankyou to all who replied

stapfam

Stay off the DT rear hub, unless you like rebuilding the freehub. Nothing wrong with XT hubs but go 36 spoke. On the rims- look for a full downhill rim- if 7 ft is attempted.

I know I am in the UK but look at https://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatalog/Number_19.html For a set of wheels that will last. I was going to suggest this wheel but they would normally go way over your budget. However, at a price like this it may still be economic to import. Plus the fact I know Merlins and they build a darn good wheel that takes me a long time to wreck.

phantomcow2

Okay well the guy wants to spend a bit more now, so hes looking at Phil wood hubs