[kec123]

Hello fellow Cannondale riders. I would like to upgrade my wheelset on my 06 Rush 800. Right now I'm riding on the original Mavic XM117 disc rims with the Shimano m475 rear hub. They have been fine but I'm trying to lighten up the bike some. Some things about me:

* I weigh 160 lbs
* Enjoy longer rides (have done a couple of 100k events + 6 and 12 hr events this year)
* I don't do huge drops and 'sick tricks' mostly just single track in its various forms
* I do ride on rocky trails sometimes and enjoy moderately technical singletrack

I want the wheelset to be light but not crazy light if that means fragile. I'm willing to spend up to $1000. Any thoughts or opinions on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[kec123]

Forgot to mention that I want to be tubeless. Also I now see there is a wheel forum so maybe I should take this question over there? Of course they may not understand the lefty hub requirement? Let me know if I should take my question elsewhere.

 

[nathanbal]

Crossmax SLR, I9 Ultralite or custom setup with Stans rims (Olympic or 355).

 

[NS2000X]

Crossmax SLR, I9 Ultralite or custom setup with Stans rims (Olympic or 355).

Second.
I use I9's Ultralite's for exactly that usage profile. Rock on.

 

[kec123]

thanks guys for the recommendations. I'm looking at the I9 website now. Those wheels look great. I guess somewhere I'll need to specify the lefty hub requirement. Now I will reveal my ignorance are there different versions of the lefty hub and if so which one should I be asking for?

 

[thunderbolt413]

I9 makes their own lefty hub and there's only one version.

Unlike other guys here, I use I9 all mountain. It's not as light as ultralite, but a little bit stronger. I never had any problem with mine and I weight 157lb with very similar riding style. My rims are DT Swiss 4.2, but you can specify any rim you want, such as ZTR 355, for easier tubeless setup.

 

[jiar577]

Stay away from Mavic wheels, highly overrated IMO. Their rims are ok

Either I9 or a nice set of custom wheels

 

[kec123]

Excellent thanks. I have noticed a few mixed reviews on the Mavic wheels (mostly hub complaints). The only downside from getting this new light wheelset is now I can no longer blame my performance on my boat-anchor wheels. Guess I'll have to suck it up and try to improve the motor. Thanks again

 

[amillmtb]

I love my Notubes Olympic wheelset. I got two light olympic rims...332g, and 333g with dt revolution and a lefty hub up front with a ringle dirty flea in the rear. Its a great light wheelset. It came in at 1390g, which is great. I highly reccomend stans. You can pick everything you want for your custom wheel build.

Notubes.com

 

[kec123]

amillmtb - thanks now I'm thoroughly confused After checking out the notubes site I'm now leaning towards the ztr olympic wheelset instead of I9. Curious if you don't mind me asking how much do you weigh? Also somewhat related I noticed on the website them recommending running really low tire pressure. Am I going to feel it wiggling around in the turns running mid to upper 20s? This tubeless thing is new to me so pardon the dumb questions.

 

[Sghost]

Im 150, mid - upper 20's no, teens - lower 20s yeah

 

[amillmtb]

amillmtb - thanks now I'm thoroughly confused After checking out the notubes site I'm now leaning towards the ztr olympic wheelset instead of I9. Curious if you don't mind me asking how much do you weigh? Also somewhat related I noticed on the website them recommending running really low tire pressure. Am I going to feel it wiggling around in the turns running mid to upper 20s? This tubeless thing is new to me so pardon the dumb questions.

Nope, not at all....I'm 5'10'', 155 with a helmet and camelbak. No such thing as a dumb question...

The Olympic is a great rim, with a Specialized Captain S-Works 2Bliss I run 25 psi no problem. Never burped a single psi. I have tried to roll a tire to burp in turns, and on rocks and have failed...with 4 tires. The Maxxis Crossmark 2.1, the Maxxis Larsen TT, the Captain sworks, and the captain control...never burped or flatted. On all the tires I have run, I think they run stiffer than a tubed tire, no wiggling at all. I built these as a wheelset to be light, tough enough to be a primary wheelset, and get into racing. I've done a few team 24 hr races, and the rims are fabulous. This wheelset has become my primary and only wheeset, as I sold the stock xm117 with lefty and shimano m475 hubs. I am yet to find a problem with this rim.

The thing about I9 is that some of them are light, and they are a great wheel, but their price is astronomical. An I9 wheelset that would match my Olympic in weight is like $800 dollars....But if its color you want, I9 is the way to go.

Keep in mind there are two Olympic rims...the 347g which is guarenteed under 352g but the recent batch is ranging from 330g to 340g. The other is slightly heavier at around 350g-360g. The under 347 is $85, and the heavier is $75...I'd say its worth the extra $20.

Here ya go!

 

[kec123]

amillmtb - your bike looks great. It is now clear to me that Santa is going to bring me a notubes olympic wheelset. I don't expect to be much faster but surely I will notice some different handling characteristics right? I guess since I'm about to throw money down on these I want to hear someone tell me that there is a big difference! I'll post up a picture of my bike once I get them switched over. Thanks again for the info.

 

[amillmtb]

amillmtb - your bike looks great. It is now clear to me that Santa is going to bring me a notubes olympic wheelset. I don't expect to be much faster but surely I will notice some different handling characteristics right? I guess since I'm about to throw money down on these I want to hear someone tell me that there is a big difference! I'll post up a picture of my bike once I get them switched over. Thanks again for the info.

Definetly, feel a difference in handling. But I thought the biggest difference was in the acceleration. When you get them, weigh them on an acurite gram scale, then weigh the stock XM117 wheelset. There is a huge difference. That difference is all rotational weight, which can attribute to much faster acceleration. Cutting rotational weight is very important to a good racers bag o tricks. Another thing that I noticed when I made the switch was how easy the wheels spin compaired to the other hubs. The lefty hub was the same because it is the same hub, but the difference between the free ball bearings in the shimano compaired to the carteridge bearings in all the hubs on stans website was incredable. The wheel spins for so much longer than a traditional bearing set up, its very nice to know that you never have to repack the bearings either.

Which hub will you be getting for the rear wheel?

When you get em be sure to post pics!

Glad I could help!

 

[kec123]

right now I've got this in my cart:

ZTR Olympic 347 Disc Wheelset
- Accessory Front Rubber Rim Strip with Yellow Tape & Valve Installed
- Accessory Rear Rubber Rim Strip with Yellow Tape & Valve Installed
- Front Pattern 2-3 Cross (Not Rec'd over 170Lbs)
- Front Wheel Cannondale Lefty Hub 32 Hole
- Nipples Front Black Nipples
- Nipples Rear Black Nipples
- Rear Pattern 2-3 Cross (Not Rec'd over 170Lbs)
- Rear Wheel DT Swiss 240s (6 bolt)
- Spoke Front 2.0/1.5 Black Double Butted Not Rec'd over 175Lbs (3X Only)
- Spoke Rear 2.0/1.5 Black Double Butted Not Rec'd over 175Lbs (3X Only)
- Weight 161 - 175

Anything obviously wrong that I'm missing with this setup? I'm researching rear-hub information before I proceed to check-out because that DT Swiss 240 has a substantial price tag so not sure if it is worth it or not. I do know that I want a quiet hub (is it hope that makes the clicking sounds?). Thanks for the rotational weight and acceleration thoughts that makes perfect sense to me.

 

[amillmtb]

right now I've got this in my cart:

ZTR Olympic 347 Disc Wheelset
- Accessory Front Rubber Rim Strip with Yellow Tape & Valve Installed
- Accessory Rear Rubber Rim Strip with Yellow Tape & Valve Installed
- Front Pattern 2-3 Cross (Not Rec'd over 170Lbs)
- Front Wheel Cannondale Lefty Hub 32 Hole
- Nipples Front Black Nipples
- Nipples Rear Black Nipples
- Rear Pattern 2-3 Cross (Not Rec'd over 170Lbs)
- Rear Wheel DT Swiss 240s (6 bolt)
- Spoke Front 2.0/1.5 Black Double Butted Not Rec'd over 175Lbs (3X Only)
- Spoke Rear 2.0/1.5 Black Double Butted Not Rec'd over 175Lbs (3X Only)
- Weight 161 - 175

Anything obviously wrong that I'm missing with this setup? I'm researching rear-hub information before I proceed to check-out because that DT Swiss 240 has a substantial price tag so not sure if it is worth it or not. I do know that I want a quiet hub (is it hope that makes the clicking sounds?). Thanks for the rotational weight and acceleration thoughts that makes perfect sense to me.

You dont need the rubber rim tape along with the stans yellow tape. The yellow tape is all you need to seal with any stans rim. Looks like a really great wheel build. From what I have heard, the 240s is a great hub. I know someone who runs the 190 ceramic and says its fantastic. The DT hubs use their ratchet system, which has a nice click.

 

[NS2000X]

Enjoy your soon to be yours Stans Olympic wheels. I hear only great things.
Here is a pic of my I9 Ultralite's with Stans 355's, your Olympics will be even sweeter I'm sure.

 

[RiskEverything]

I'm planning on some Chris King hubs with Stans Flow rims for a more all-mountain oriented bike. For XC I'd say look into the Flow rims.

 

[amillmtb]

I'm planning on some Chris King hubs with Stans Flow rims for a more all-mountain oriented bike. For XC I'd say look into the Flow rims.

The Flow 26'' is pretty beefy for XC at 470g, about 120-130g heavier than the Olympic.

 

[nathanbal]

I run the Arch's on my 6" trail bike and they are plenty tough... Flow's are probably a bit overkill - they are meant for downhill. If the Olympics are too light then def look at the 355's or the Arch's.

King, I9, DT or Hope hubs are good choices.