[BikePharmer]

What are the best rims out there bang-for-buck- wise? Rims take a pretty severe beating in the SW rock gardens, but I am still looking for a solid set of rims without too severe of a weight penalty. So, I have a series of questions:

1.What do the more expensive rims really get you?
2 What is the difference between welded and the other types?
3. What are the pros/cons of 24mm width rims compared to 27 mm rims?
4.Do "disk-specific" rims have any real performance benefit?
5. What is the weight penalty for 32 vs. 36 hole wheels. ( I read somewhere that it is minimal, and the 4 extra spokes add significant strength to the wheel). Any truth to that?

Thanks!

 

[fsrxc]

I've added a few comments onto your list:

What are the best rims out there bang-for-buck- wise? Rims take a pretty severe beating in the SW rock gardens, but I am still looking for a solid set of rims without too severe of a weight penalty. So, I have a series of questions:

1.What do the more expensive rims really get you? generally they are stronger and/or lighter (or UST)
2 What is the difference between welded and the other types? in theory welded is stronger but lots of riders have good luck with decent pinned rims
3. What are the pros/cons of 24mm width rims compared to 27 mm rims? generally wider is heavier, and wider rims can be nice if you run 2.5"+ tires a lot, a bit more stable at low pressures. When you're looking at widths, be aware if it's the inside or outside measurement. Mavic's rims all have their inside width in the model number (eg EX325), where Sun uses outside width (eg Singletrack 31mm), so those two are about the same actual width
4.Do "disk-specific" rims have any real performance benefit? don't know for sure. All my rims are disk specific and they've all been great
5. What is the weight penalty for 32 vs. 36 hole wheels. ( I read somewhere that it is minimal, and the 4 extra spokes add significant strength to the wheel). Any truth to that? 36 spokes might make the wheel a bit less likely to "taco", might stay true longer, and probably worth it for a heavy and/or aggressive rider

Thanks!

If you're looking for recommendations, more info could be useful (are they for XC, DH, etc)

But, I hear DT 5.1s are pretty good for their weight, and I've had good luck with Singletracks, which are under 600g and quite cheap too.

In the 500g range, XM321 maybe? (I hear they're very good) but, you won't find many wider than 21mm inside width without going heavier.

 

[Cheers!]

for XC, after my week of surfing around the net doing research it seems these are my fav for rims.

-Mavic 717
-DT Swiss 4.1D
-Sun Ringle UFO <- very limited info, disc compatible?

these options are for tube'd, and tires that are 2.1 or less in width.

 

[BikePharmer]

Thanks for the response

I've added a few comments onto your list:

If you're looking for recommendations, more info could be useful (are they for XC, DH, etc)

But, I hear DT 5.1s are pretty good for their weight, and I've had good luck with Singletracks, which are under 600g and quite cheap too.

In the 500g range, XM321 maybe? (I hear they're very good) but, you won't find many wider than 21mm inside width without going heavier.

These would be for mostly XC/AM type riding and some weekend warrior racing. No real drops (2-3 foot max, and those are rare because I have noticed it takes longer to heal these days). Considering I probably do 6-8 races a year, and otherwise ride trails a couple of times a week it makes sense to me to target the "most common denominator". I don't mind pushing a few extra grams if there is a strength benefit. My experience is that equipment failure is infinitely slower than a little extra weight . If it matters, I weigh around 170-175, plus another 10 lbs or so with riding gear. Pretty rocky terrain here in the SW and it is particularly hard on wheels (many lateral hits).

Given this, any good recommendations?

 

[Homebrew]

Salsa Delgado Disc might fit the bill. Fairly wide (22.5mm bead width, 29mm outer width), fairly light (claimed 450g), and fairly cheap compared to DT 5.1s. Even if it's 10% over claimed, you're still doing well.