exarkuhn15

Hi all! I'm confused when it comes to bike wheels. They all look the same to me! I have a few laying around, and I'm not sure which I should keep and use, because I don't know what to look for.

I have some "Hoopster" rims from a Giant mountain bike, and a Ritchey Vantage Comp rim, and a pair that say Shimano Deore LX "Parallax" with "DT Swiss" spokes.

The Hoopster rims are drilled for a Schrader, and the other ones are for Presta tubes.

Can I drill out the Presta rims for Schrader? How do I know which rims are worth keeping?

You guys are great! Thanks for the help!

cascade168

What do you want to use your wheels for? Racing? Training for racing? Exercise? Touring? This answer makes a big difference.

Presta or Schrader? Most serious bikers are running on Presta. There are solutions that allow you to deal with either standard. Figure out what your goals are and go from there. Yes, you can drill out rims to use Schrader, but do your homework first.

Again, what you goals are in biking drive the answers to your questions. Let us know.

exarkuhn15

I didn't even think about mentioning that. I just ride recreationally, no big downhill jumps or anything like that. I ride in the city, and on bike paths, just for fun. i do like the freedom to be able to jump curbs and things like that though. I wouldn't consider myself a "serious rider," but I have a couple slime-filled shraeder tubes, so I thought I would see which rims are worth keeping before I see whether I need to replace the tubes.

cascade168

THE most important thing you can do to maintain your bike is to keep the tires inflated to the proper pressure. Slime is great for people who are trying to save weight and understand what they are accomplishing (i.e. less rotational mass). For the vast majority of riders, plain 'ol tubes are just fine. Carry a spare and know how to replace it in the field. That will carry you past 99% of any situation you will find. When you start racing competitively in downhill and MTB races, then start getting serious about Slime and Stan's NoTubes. Tubes are cheap (!!!) and universally available, compared to Slime and Stan's - and - so much easier to repair in the field. Properly inflated tubes will carry you through almost all of the type of riding you describe. Buy spare tubes and a decent floor pump - and use it before every ride. Do this and flats will be very rare. Proper inflation of tires is way more important that what rims/spokes/hubs you are riding.

AndrewP

Slime works well at pressures below 60 psi, so is OK for fat MTB tires in places where you find goat head thorns.

waterrockets 

Any of the wheels would be fine for what you're doing. If one set is lighter than another, that might be nice to ride on. The highest quality hubs are those LX hubs, if they're tuned properly. Browse https://www.parktool.com and https://www.sheldonbrown.com to learn how to maintain those hubs.

Really though, I'd keep all those wheels. You just never know...

barba

I would take the LX wheels with DT spokes. Have a shop give them a look over to make sure that they are true and the tension isn't a mess.

exarkuhn15

So can I drill out the those Presta wheels? I certainly don't want to compromise their strength, but it's just so much easier to find shraeder tubes than presta ones (even though I like how easy it is to deflate presta tubes).

Bikedued

I used slime tubes until one day about 2.5 years ago. It clogged the valve core, and would not let air in or out. About two days later I had another explode, right on my favorite pair of black Chucks, and a pretty decent pair of levis. Haven't used them since. Thorn proof tubes and/or kevlar tires are all I use. I can handle the extra weight.,,,,BD

Imagine these covered in bright green goo. Disgusting! Lol!

https://www.playersarena.com/images/C...monochrome.jpg

cascade168

Sorry I did not answer this in my first reply. Yes, you can drill them out. Make sure you carefully deburr the sharp edges.