I have been told my wheelset is on the heavy side - Mavic 729's on Ringle hubs. I looked @ rim weights and my 729's weigh 675g. I looked @ a few lighter AM rims and most were arount 565-600g. My hubs weigh F 212g, R -450g. Looked @ a few othe hubs (DT Swiss, King, Hadley etc.) most weighed within a 100g. So new rims, hubs both losing a few hundred grams is going to make a noticable difference ? Thanx
Rim / wheel weights ?
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depends on how strong of a wheel you need, a lighter wheel can be a little faster, but if you weigh over 180 lbs and hit alot of rocks and hucks and drops then the heavier wheel will prob be a better bet. plus new wheels cost alot you can drop that much weight by skipping lunch a few times
Rotating weight will be noticed more.
Get a good quality rim that is around 500g. (there are several to go with i.e. WTB speeddisc trail, dt swiss 5.1d)
the hubs while certainly nice (king, hugi, hadley, hope etc) are harder to notice the weight IMHO, but rather more about engagement, stiffness, and durability.
A good wheelset would be a Hope ProII or Bulb front w/ a Hadley rear on double butted (14/15) spokes with brass nipples and either of the two rims I mentioned above. Whatever you do don't get an XT hub for the rear, the price is attractive, but the engagement sucks, and theydo not have sealed cartridge bearings.
Get a good quality rim that is around 500g. (there are several to go with i.e. WTB speeddisc trail, dt swiss 5.1d)
the hubs while certainly nice (king, hugi, hadley, hope etc) are harder to notice the weight IMHO, but rather more about engagement, stiffness, and durability.
A good wheelset would be a Hope ProII or Bulb front w/ a Hadley rear on double butted (14/15) spokes with brass nipples and either of the two rims I mentioned above. Whatever you do don't get an XT hub for the rear, the price is attractive, but the engagement sucks, and theydo not have sealed cartridge bearings.
DT Swiss 5.1 looks interesting. I have had King hubs, Hadley's, and now on the Ringles - Hadley would have been my first choice but the Ringles were already built. Heard some durability issues w/ the Ringles but they have been fine thus far. Was looking @ a set of Mavic Crossmax XL's but even on ebay they are pricey.mp29k said:
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Dude, you've got top of the line rims. The hubs are probably just fine. There are other hub brands out there that are more heavy-duty, or lighter, or both, or with faster engagement, but they're way expensive and it may not make sense to upgrade. If you've been happy with your wheels, just ride 'em.keen said:
How much do you weigh and what type of riding do you do? If you're light and your wheels never leave the ground then the wheels you've got are probably heavier than you need. If you're a bigger guy and/or do drops, jumps and high-speed rough stuff then be assured that you've got solid wheels underneath you.
Patrick
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The rear hub's freewheel uses a ratchet system. There are little notches on the hub and little pawls that fit into the those notches on the freewheel. Moving backward, the pawls slip over the notches; but moving forward, those pawls engage the notches and, consequently, the entire wheel. What matters is how many pawls and how many notches a freewheel has. The more notches and more pawls it has, the less rotation your freewheel has to move before it engages and starts to move the wheel forward.d365 said:
Ever notice how there are about 5-10 degrees of rotation your cranks make before you feel tension on the rear wheel? That's not a desirable trait. More expensive hubs use more pawls and notches to reduce the amount of rotation before the freewheel engages. With a very nice hub, the engagement is almost instantaneous.
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That is a nice wheelset! I was wishing for those (the 729s specifically) yesterday at Keystone. They are heavy, but would work great for mounting big, fat dh tires.keen said:
I'm riding f519s, with 2.35 or 2.4 tires, they took the abuse at Keystone just fine (The front is the first wheel I ever built, and it survived!
) I weigh 190 lbs, rode the blacks, did smaller jumps... They only weigh 450g, and I've seen 'em being closed out for $29. The reviews on this site are very good. Thats about 1/2 lb per rim difference. If your running less than 2.5s, the 729s might be overkill unless you are a very abusive rider.If I were going for one all purpose wheelset, I'd want something wider than the 519s, like the 823s. If I had 2 wheelsets the 729s would be perfect for dh/big tire use, and the 519s would be good for trails. If you don't want your 729 wheelset anymore, let me know
Also, I'd agree about the xt rear hub, I don't like mine...
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I was there also
I was riding king/hadley hubs built with D321's (same as 729's) for years. Since I only weigh 150lbs, they were on the overbuilt, heavy side. I decided to switch to 823's because people told me they were a little lighter. I barely noticed the difference. I finally switched to Crossmax XL's and different tires and the combo made a huge difference. Bike weight dropped a couple of pounds. I've heard Crossmax's have hub issues but I haven't experienced it yet. Just my $.02.
I was riding king/hadley hubs built with D321's (same as 729's) for years. Since I only weigh 150lbs, they were on the overbuilt, heavy side. I decided to switch to 823's because people told me they were a little lighter. I barely noticed the difference. I finally switched to Crossmax XL's and different tires and the combo made a huge difference. Bike weight dropped a couple of pounds. I've heard Crossmax's have hub issues but I haven't experienced it yet. Just my $.02.
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