amgarcia

I am going to build up a Surly Troll soon for commuting, camping, mountain biking, and everything in between.

The goal is to run smooth Maxxis Hookworms (26x2.5) for commuting and the widest tires I can fit for mountain biking (likely either Surly Dirt Wizards 26+ at 2.75 or Knards at 26x3).

I am leaning slightly towards Velocity Blunt 35s as my rim, but would like suggestions. First, should I go wider for this combination? What's the widest rim practical for my tire choice?

Finally, in an ideal world and with slight retrogrouchiness, I would like to run cantilever brakes. Are there any really wide rims that can accommodate rim brakes? The Velocity rims do not. To note, I am not set on rim brakes and would choose wider rims over them.

dminor 

Alex DX32
Universal Cycles -- Alex DX32 Rim

Too bad haha - - Syntace WM40 MX is disc-specific . . . .

jimc101

Wide rims & rim brakes are from 2 different era's and there isn't too much overlap, SunRingle Rhyno Lite XL are wide, would they fit the bill at 29.2mm? Rhyno Lite XL | SUNringlé only just narrower than the velocitys

As you are building the bike, would look at disc brakes, unless you have legacy parts, disc brakes are just easier to work with, if you want retro, get mechanical, if you want current, and reliability, the current generation of Shimano brakes (from M395 to XTR) are the current standard.

Nice as retro canti brakes are, they can be difficult to setup, need wheels/rims which are in true, and don't offer as good stopping power in wet/dirty conditions as discs do.

Zephyr11

Hookworm for commuting? Mind if I ask why? That tire is a huuuge pig. Very heavy. Though it will be pretty bombproof if "commuting" actually means "airing off every feature you can find between your house and your workplace."

dminor 

Sounds like my kinda commute

amgarcia

I mostly wanted the widest slicks available. I'm willing to think about something else, for sure. I guess I should go back to looking at Big Apples or similar.

Please make some suggestions on other wide slicks!

amgarcia

I thought this may be a problem (hence the post). If it is a problem (which it seems to be), I'll likely suck it up and use mechanical BB7s.

iforgotmename

I have Paul Neo Retros on 47mm wide rims (Snowcat) The rims were old school and scored from ebay but I made it work on my troll. I had to get creative and make some angled washers to get the pads right. I have commuted, toured and MTB'd with this set up. They don't stop like the discs on my pug but they stop. As far as a slick tire goes I REALLY like the Geax Booze Lght, super fast and capable in a variety of conditions. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...snowcat%20rims

Leebo

Doesn't the troll come with disc tabs?

amgarcia

Thanks for the tips! The Geax Booze Light looks good. Not as wide as the Hookworm, but seems to be a good compromise.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for those Snowcat rims. That's basically what I'd prefer to run. Where'd you get the washers?

amgarcia

Yes, but it has cantilever bosses as well.

iforgotmename

I went to the hardware store and bought some spacers which I cut down at the right angle.