Submitted by
geoff luttrell
a Racer
from san francisco Date Reviewed: October 4, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Flume Trail
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Very light, easy to build, trued up very well, less dish with the off-center design, nice sidewalls
Weaknesses:
they were not free
Similar Products Used:
lots of mavics, Rolf Dolomite
Bike Setup:
Trek 8500, XT, XTR, Fire XC Pro's
Bottom Line:
Bottom line is- Great Rim!!! I laced this to an XTR hub, 32 hole, 2 cross, straight 15 guage spokes with alloy nips. I have raced this wheel about 5 times, including an 8 hour, ridden at Tahoe and plenty of other places. I trued it up after the first ride, and have had no problem since. Actually, I probably need to turn 1 nipple about a quarter turn at the moment, but I have been kind of lazy. I weigh about 157 and am fairly careful when I ride. No huge drops, but I have hit some stuff pretty hard. It's all about the wheelbuilder. I can't wait to wreck my front Rolf so I can build the front rim.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sean
a Weekend Warrior
from Tokyo Date Reviewed: October 31, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Less dish than standard rims, therefore, far less spoke breakage. Wider pad surface
Weaknesses:
the rim deforms around the eyelets!!!
Similar Products Used:
Mavic X221, Velocity, Araya
Bike Setup:
Kona Explosif, '98, XT hubs, DT single butted spokes, aluminium spokes
Bottom Line:
I built this wheel up myself, so, personally, I have confidence that it is well built. You'll have to trust me on that one. Its the third or fourth rear wheel I have built.
I haven't tested it on any evil trails yet, but it is true and centred after three months. None of the spokes have loosened either. Its great. I also love the extra wide brake surface (13 mm vs 11mm on the Mavics). It makes pad adjustment that much easier.
However, I was rather alarmed to feel a faint bulge around the eyelets, from the spoke tension. At first I thought I had over tightened the spokes, but I spoke to my LBS, and they said it was quite common with cheaper rims!! I was a bit shocked, but they said it probably would not be a problem. I'm going to wait and see.
One other disappointment was the stiffness of the rims. Because of the offset design, I expected a stiffer rim, but that does not seem to be the case. Just judging from the force required to push the rim to one side with my hand, it does not seem any stiffer than my Mavic rim which it replaced. Oh well. I'm still satisfied. It's better than my old rim...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sindross
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada Date Reviewed: January 28, 2002
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$100.00
Strengths:
pretty strong for weigh to strength ratio. Light, 405g. Oversized side walls! You could problably fit 2 pads on them... They stay true.
Weaknesses:
None... if you use them for what they're for
Bottom Line:
As usual, they are XC rims, use them for what they're made for and they'll last. I had mine for abour 5 months, i go mountain biking, Xc. They're excellent.
b.t.w. I'm getting a new wheelset, Chris king hubs... I'd like your help. I don't know whether to get Mavic 517's or Bontrager Valiant. I know valiants are good. but i never tried 517's please help me
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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