Touring Disc Rims (26")
 

Hello all

I'm building up a Surly 26" disc trucker and the only component I'm really struggling to select are the rims. Many recommend Mavic but others say they have recently had a tendency to crack (Mavic XM719 Rims: Probably Not Suitable For Loaded Touring - TravellingTwo: Bicycle Touring Around The World and other sources seem to say the same).

I can't find any other rims that match my requirements - 26", 36 hole, around 21mm wide (I'd like to be able to fit anything between 38mm and 2.15") and BLACK. Black as the night and no silver sidewalls. Yes I'm a tart but the appearance matters to me. Of course they need to be tough too.

Rims fail. I'm not sure the reports of one or two people establish that this is a bad rim. My Mavic A719 rims are absolutely first rate but I don't think that my experience establishes that this is the best touring rim of all time.

If you want an alternative in black, you can check out the sun rhyno lites; they're tough rims.

I've toured loaded (literally and figuratively ) on nothing but the cheapest rims for more than 25 years.
Never had a problem.

This proclamation carries just as much weight (literally and figuratively ) as someone that has had a cracked rim of the high dollar variety.

I have Mavic's Ex721 .. the black stays on because you dont use rim brakes , but the brake track is there if you do ..

I know that anecdotal evidence is dangerous but there does seem to be a lot of it against the Mavic 719. Rims seem to be the prime source of critical, non-repairable mechanical failure on tour so I would rather er on the side of caution. The Sun Rhyno Lite's are appealing but 28mm is rather wide but more importantly - silver brake tracks.

I missed the Mavic Ex721 - thanks, that's worth considering. Complaints seem to be specifically about the 719.

I use the Mavic 719. Thousands of miles, they're fine.

I use DT on my commuter
XR 400 is a cross country rim, probably too light
I think mine are EX500

I don't know how wide the Rigida Sputnik rim is, but it matches your other requirements.

Mavic 719......36,000 miles and counting....still might crack....:)

Silver brake tracks though.....

It's getting tougher to get 26" rims now. And most of the rims that you might be interested in only come in 32h.

How much do you and your bike weigh? Do you already have 36h hubs?

EDIT: Sorry I meant to say not many choices with 26" rims.

sun big fat mammoth. (downhill rims)

they're big, they're fat.
and heavy as a freakin' mammoth, too.

specs: 29.6mm, 708g, black anodized

Sun Mammoth Rim Reviews - Mtbr.com

I recommend you consider using a wider rim for wider tires. I use Schwalbe Big Ben 2.15 tire, which I think is a great tire, and have used it on a 21mm and 28mm rim. The fit on the 28mm is much better. There are benefits of wider rims for wider tires. See this page for some details:

Tech Tuesday ? Wider Rims Are Better and Why Tubeless Tires Burp Air by RichardCunningham - Pinkbike

Perhaps thre are more reports of the Mavics cracking simply because more people own them. Then again it seems to be from around 2011 that most of the reports come. Perhaps a drop in build quality but again - I realise it might be nothing but don't want to take any chances. ]

ScruffyChimp - the Sputniks are very popular but have silver brake tracks

Saddlesores - the Sun rims are quite hard to find in the UK and I cannot find the Mammoths for sale anywhere online.

bwgride - I am not running tubeless. I know that wider rims have benefits and many go too narrow in order to save weight but any wider than 25mm would be overcompensating I think.

Dream Cyclery - Yeah, it's frustrating to find promising rims only to scroll down and read that they only come in 32. I already have 36 hole hubs coming in the post. I weigh about 70kg, I'm guessing the bike will be around 15kg when it's built and I'll typically carry 15kg luggage. I want wheels that I can carry an extra 20kg of food and water on if I have to, though, so up to 120kg or 265lb.

I'm leaning towards the Mavic EX721 in back and a Mavic EN521 in front now. The EN521 is a little cheaper and there won't be so much weight on the front wheel so it's quality is not as important.

At this point the Velocity Aeroheat AT is probably better than Mavic, though there really isn't any way to tell.

I'm a big believer in 36 spokes, and I haven't had any trouble getting them, but I weigh up to 275, and have never cracked an MYB rim at 32. The thing on spokes is that they largely stopped making high spoke rims, you can get the drillings, but they are drillings in low spoke count designed rims. The old system was lots of spokes, double eyelets, whippy rims. You needed lots of spokes to hold the rims under very high tension, for best performance. But aero rims, low count, deep v rims came to dominate, not really a better design, but that is what happened. Mavic is trying to retain the fame of the old double eyelet days, still a good thing, while using the newer rims sections. Over time velocity has moved ahead.

Traditionally touring bikes had 27 inch rims and 32/36 drilling, you are running a much smaller rim, and even with 32s would only be short 4 spokes. In the US, the high spoke thing has traction still, and I say why not if you can find them, but maybe euro just isn't caught in that trap.

Look at euro brands you can easily get, and look at the ones designed for downhill mtb use, that is normally the touring section. So the alex DH22 at one point, and they offered them in 36 holes.

Also check out amazon, I was able to find a source for rims that would ship to Canada (not normal) on amazon.

For 26" rims that are strong (e.g., Sun Rhyno Lite), 32 spokes can very easily handle 265lbs. I use 32 spoke 26" wheels (Deore 525 hubs, rhyno lite wide rims, Schwalbe Big Ben 2.15 tires). I weigh 230lbs, my bike weighs 35lbs, and I regularly commute with about 20lbs of food/clothes/books. When I tour my gear weighs about 30lbs, so total weight on wheels is easily 300 or more lbs. The key is ensuring good spoke tension and no loose spokes (that is really the killer). In addition, if you ride on wide tires, like you state, that adds more wheel protection since they absorb more shock than narrow tires.

Look on the clydesdale section of Bikeforums and you can find many folks there who weigh 150kg/330lbs, or more, riding 32 spoke wheels.

In short, you really don't need 36 spokes on a 26" wheel for the level of weight you are referencing.

jensonusa has sun rhyno lites in 36 for $31, and will ship international.

I've already got the hubs in 36h so the 32h option is out of the window unfortunately. The Sun Rhyno Lite's would be perfect if it weren't for the silver brake tracks - I've settled on a pair of the Rhyno Lite XL which are all black. The cross section looks practically the same, they are just a couple of mm wider. I hope they are as solid as their better-known brother!

If you decide to use a rim that was designed for rim brakes, I am quite happy with Salsa Gordo rims on one of my bikes. The rim and their website had conflicting data on diameter for spoke selection, I called them to ask which was correct but I do not recall the answer. If you get the rim, it might be a good idea to measure it instead of rely on printed information to calculate spoke length. They are heavy but for loaded touring you want that.

That's a tough one with the all-black rims. I'm in your exact boat except I've decided on wide rims for my future Disc Trucker 26". I'm sold on all black Velocity Cliff Hanger rims (28mm). They are the bigger brother of the 24mm Aeroheat rims (do the Aeroheat's if 24mm isn't too wide) but wider and 15% thicker walls. I'll be getting the Cliff Hangers with 40 holes mated to Phil Wood hubs with Wheelsmith spokes built by Peter White. Lifetime warranty if you use only the parts that he recommends (Velocity, Mavic, Wheelsmith, etc).

Ive read too many complaints with Mavic so that's a no-go for me.

The thing with Sun rims is that they aren't straight. Meaning different tensioning on each spoke. Meaning some spokes will be more tight than others. Meaning more stress on some spokes. Meaning breaking spokes. Meaning you get what you pay for.

P.S. I'm only 162 lbs but I'm sick of broken wheels, hence the 40 hole choice and overbuilt wheels, especially on a loaded tourer while curb hopping.

If you REALLY want to go strong, I'd actually recommend checking out our Atlas (eyelets)/NoBS (no eyelets) rim. It's actually slightly wider and stronger radially than the Cliffhanger, and will be absolutely bomb proof in a 36h drilling for your purpose. I believe we've got a limited run of all-black Atlases in at the moment, but I'd have to double check to confirm.

Chris Murray, who is on these forums a fair bit, got a set of our NoBS rims and tried them out on his loaded cargo bike: Chris Murray Wheel Works: NoBS Short Term Review

http://www.velocityusa.com/product/r...iff-hanger-559

http://www.velocityusa.com/product/rims/atlas-559

Cliffhanger=28mmx25 Atlas/NoBS=25.4mmx18

Cliffhanger appears to be wider than Atlas. Which is correct - you, or Velocity's published specs? Not trying to argue. I've been considering these two rims for a new build and I'd like to know the facts before I make a decision.

With it's cross-section, I can see why Atlas may be stronger.

@Tourist in MSN - Salsa discontinued Gordo rims two years ago.

sounds like you're not looking much the extrusion die makes straight aluminum (aluminium in UK) sections
the rim is rolled from a specific length cut for the diameter ..

Yea probably slow moving inventory and fashions keep changing what is getting made .

Those Gordo rims probably didnt sell well, after a while so the QBP company did not re order more made .

That's the reason I decided on Cliffhanger or Aeroheat. No all black in NoBS or Atlas on Velocity's USA site. I realize I'm a brat for wanting all black, but the maroon Disc Trucker is already blacked out and I'd like to keep it that way. Purpose does trump looks, but I feel the Cliffhanger or Aeroheat are strong enough. I'd feel way more cooler pulling up to a gas station with panniers and padded shorts with black rims versus bare machined, lol. Just kidding but it is the truth :). Now, what am I going to do with the dorky reflective Schwalbe Marathon sidewalls? -- I'll have to live with that :)

Haha... I totally understand. The Cliff should serve you quite well. I will caution that with Aeroheats, running wide tires at higher pressure (60+) can be an issue. The rim is fairly narrow and light, and doesn't have the blow out strength of some of our wider rims. It becomes more of an issue with higher spoke count, smaller diameter rims, as the spoke holes get closer together as you increase spoke count, and the amount of material in the spoke bed and web decreases.

Totally my mistake -- I was thinking Atlas vs. Aeroheat. The website (as usual) is correct. I'm much more prone to errors. :P