[travis.taylor]

Hey all,

I've done a quick search and have found a lot of questions about how wide a tire you can put on a rim, but my question is this..

How wide a rim can you use with a tire?

A little silly, I know, so I'll explain the sitcheyation..

I've got a 2019 Jamis Sequel that I've upped with all SLX stuff. It's a super fun and versatile ride (It's also my sole means of commute, ergo the choice of frame).
I'm not thrilled with the stock wtb st i23 wheelset. Just a note, it appears that these are cheaper oem type rims and NOT the Frequency range that one would be buying independently. The front bearings are already failing after only 6 months, I'm starting to hear some nasty spoke noises when trail riding, and to top it all off, I've failed at converting them to tubeless. I'm sure my noob-ness has a lot to do with it, but I have tried two different rim tapes and just can't get the job done. These rims have a very steep and deep spoke well and I can't seem to get anything to lay in there nicely. I did have some success with gorilla tape, but the stuff peeled off and failed very quickly. Just didn't hold up at all to the stans sealant, so I'm disregarding using non application specific tapes for now.
The other problem I'm having at this point is that I'm on a budget.
I've been looking at wheelsets and damn do they get expensive quick!!

I found locally a set of brand new take off RACEFACE ar35's with SLX hubs that match my bikes specs for a price I'm willing to pay. I REALLY like the SLX hubs given that they're cup and cone, centerlock, and match everything else on the bike.
The only problem is that the things have a 35mm inner rim width and my bike will fit a MAX tire size of 2.25.. Could I run my Vittoria MEZCAL 27.5x2.25 on a 35mm inner width rim? It's def overkill, right?
If I purchased this wheelset, I'd probably leave the mezcals mounted and only use them on the trail. My stock cheapie wheelset would still be used for commuting with some form of road plus tire.

So again, could I run (on the trail) 2.25" mezcals on a set of ar35's
or would that make the tire profile and or handling totally ridiculous??

I just don't want to spend money on something that I can't or won't like to use..

If you have any questions about the bike or my intended use, fire away.

Thanks for any and all input,
Travis

 

[Hurricane Jeff]

Don't think it'll be a problem. I put a 2.25 Schwalbe Racing Ralph on a Knight Enduro wheel, believe they are 33mm width,and it worked beautifully, really made the tire look a lot bigger.

 

[MSU Alum]

Don't think it'll be a problem. I put a 2.25 Schwalbe Racing Ralph on a Knight Enduro wheel, believe they are 33mm width,and it worked beautifully, really made the tire look a lot bigger.

What's the width of the tire on your rim?
I have a 29x2.25 Rocket Ron on an i27 rim and at 19 psi, it's close to 2.26".

 

[travis.taylor]

MSU, They're dead on 2.25" with the widest part being the sidewall just below the tread. this gives me about an .125" clearance off the chainstay on both sides of the tire.

Jeff, at that width of rim, did you have any trouble getting the tire to seat tubeless?

BTW, Sitting here and playing with the bike, I just now noticed that the rear wheel is way out of true I have a good idea of when it may have happened on my last trail ride about a week ago. Can't believe I haven't noticed it till just now..

 

[MSU Alum]

MSU, They're dead on 2.25" with the widest part being the sidewall just below the tread. this gives me about an .125" clearance off the chainstay on both sides of the tire.

I can't be sure, but I'd guess that .125" would be eaten up by the wider rim. 23mm to 35mm is a pretty big jump.

 

[travis.taylor]

Oi vey.... Now that I'm not sure I want to use the stock wheelset even for commuting
(don't want to spend any money getting the rear retrued or replacing the bearings in the front with something of quality), I suppose I really just need to bite the bullet and seek out/have built some wheels of a reasonable inner width given my max tire size....

 

[fredcook]

I can't be sure, but I'd guess that .125" would be eaten up by the wider rim. 23mm to 35mm is a pretty big jump.

That's what I was thinking. Some time ago I mounted 2.35's that measured ~2.3 onto a slighter wider rim (can't remember exact dimension any more), but they grew to 2.4+ish (and rubbed).

 

[fredcook]

Oi vey.... Now that I'm not sure I want to use the stock wheelset even for commuting
(don't want to spend any money getting the rear retrued or replacing the bearings in the front with something of quality), I suppose I really just need to bite the bullet and seek out/have built some wheels of a reasonable inner width given my max tire size....

Are you not happy with the rims and hubs, or just the hubs (bearings)? If the latter, it may be more cost effective to just have your existing rims laced with SLX hubs.

 

[d365]

2.25 on i35 rim is not ideal at all IMO. You'll get a very square tire profile, which has significant negatives. If you're maxed at 2.25 tires, i23 is probably ideal.

New bikes always need a tune up after a break in period. Spokes, cables, bolts all bed in, stretch, etc and need to be tightened up. It's normal.
Truing a wheel isn't that big of a deal or expense, unless it's because of rim damage, or worn out spokes. Hubs can be serviced too, unless they are past the point of no return. Cheaper than new wheels.

My older i23 wtb rims were a b*tch to set up tubeless, but with an extra layer of rim tape, an air compressor, and some cussing, I was able to. Pro tip: once you finally get it set up, only add sealant through the valve stem in the future, by removing the valve core. Otherwise, you'll be cussing all over again.

 

[noapathy]

Have you actually looked at the bearings to make sure they don't just need cleaned/regreased? If I'm looking at the right thing, they're:

"WTB ST i23 TCS 2.0 (UST Tubeless Compliant System) disc rims, 32H, Formula alloy 6-bolt sealed bearing hubs with front 12mm/rear 12x142 thru-axle and 14g black stainless steel spokes".

Even if it's both bearings, it's not hard. And if they're toast I don't get how it's not cost effective to just replace them. Maybe $10 each (there are 2, so $20 and done). Easy. You can do it yourself if you're careful.

The WTB ST rims are good and will do awesome on a commuter.

 

[LoneStar]

One other thing to consider in addition to the profile is that your sidewalls will likely protrude out further than your tread, just begging for something to rip them open. Might not be an issue where you ride, but something to think about.

 

[Sidewalk]

Truing wheels is pretty easy. When you ride like me, you end up having to true wheels...A LOT :lol:

 

[travis.taylor]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think you're all pretty much spot on the more I think about it. I guess I'm trying to make a big deal out of nothing. I'll throw some new bearings in the front hub and have the rear trued and just save my money for a custom wheelset that works well for the bike and my purpose.

The point about buying new hub bearings is this though, as a machinist and industrial tech I KNOW just how crappy those generic radial ball bearings that everyone sells are. Good cartridge bearings are not cheap. Cup and cone shtuff is cheap, properly serviceable, and can be tuned to run super duper smooth. They're hands down mechanically superior for handling the type of loads that bike hubs experience. I've cheap, no name cup & cone hubs on my first "real" bike, a giant escape, and after two years of almost total neglect they still run circles around these new sealed bearing hubs since day one.

That's why I'm stuck on the SLX hubs.. As far as going tubeless, I guess there isn't really all that much benefit to be had for me here in the PNW, right?
The places I go just don't have that big a thorn problem and I generally keep my tires aired up pretty well so.....

As stated before, I think I'll just make the current wheelset work for now and save my monies for a decent build. The XT straight pull hubs sure do look nice and are very reasonably priced. I'll probably go that route or SLX.. Any suggestions as to rims?
Looking at my tire profile right now I think probably 25mm to 29ish mm would work really well. Lightweight would be nice but not at the cost of toooo much durability. And for goodness sake a flat-ish spoke bed that isn't impossible to setup tubeless!

I'll have to re-machine my fork dropouts to accept the 15mm axle and larger hub ends (currently 12mm axle standard) when I'm able to drop the money on the new wheelset, but that's probably better left for another post..

 

[noapathy]

I'll have to re-machine my fork dropouts to accept the 15mm axle and larger hub ends (currently 12mm axle standard) when I'm able to drop the money on the new wheelset, but that's probably better left for another post..

Pretty sure I saw a Fox on ebay that had that done to it...sold "for parts only" as it had broken. You might get away with it with chromoly, but why risk your safety for so little?

As for the bearings, as long as you're not using absolute junk and clean/regrease 'em occasionally they usually roll for quite a long time...sometimes indefinitely. It's a bike, so the forces are smaller compared to automotive and other uses. :thumbsup:

 

[travis.taylor]

NoApathy,

Thanks for the heads up. I've already crunched the numbers there. Probably wouldn't consider modding alloy forks, but my particular ChroMo fork and dropouts will handle the mod no worries. The only option I have at this point for a decent loose ball front hub would be Shimano's Sora, and where I'm sure that would be fine given my application, I'd rather have something from their MTB lines. Plus it just opens up other options in the future if I should change my mind. Normally I'm hesitant to modify things like this actually. This case though, I feel pretty well justified..

As for the bearing type, I'm a stickler for such things. Can't help it I want cup and cone
and I shall have cup and cone when I make the switch..