Best Emtb Wheelset?.

[Alex Ebiker]

Strongly considering upgrading the stock wheelset on my rail 5. What has worked for you and is it even worth the upgrade?.

 

[Cb750stu]

I run Halo Vapour 35's on my 22 Levo , have a set on my Hightower V2 and they have been punished and are still straight and true bearings still good ,
I was less than £500 for the set so good value in my opinion

 

[BrentD]

Light Bicycle AM933 (32 spoke) on DT350 hubs. The equivalent of GBP 600 shipped and problem free for over 18 months so far.

 

[Spaceballz]

Was wondering the same here, just a few days ago I blew up the rear hub on my DT H1900 wheels.

 

[jbrown15]

I’m a little bias because I own two sets, and have a buddy that works there but WeAreOne has some amazing carbon wheels with a no questions asked life time warranty.

I live about 3hrs from the factory, they are 100% made in Canada. And there’s a ton of top pros running them too. There’s a dealer in the UK from the looks of it. I have allot of hard miles on mine and they’re still perfect.

Weareone

Rims you can depend one hand laid in Canada

www.cycleaddicts.co.uk

 

[Orangie]

I9 305s. Indestructible

 

[Husky430]

Have had no dramas in the last 4000kms with my DT Swiss 1501's that come standard on mine and many emtb's. I've tightened the spokes a couple of times but that's it. Figure they must be doing something right and worth a thumbs up.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

Strongly considering upgrading the stock wheelset on my rail 5. What has worked for you and is it even worth the upgrade?.

First ask yourself why you want to change them.

I had line comp 30's on my 9.8xt. The back rim lasted one DH day and Trek don't sell replacements to customers. I was advised by two local dealers to send the wheel to them and they would rebuild the wheel for me as that was Treks policy.

I don't buy into that crap. I actually had no problem with the hubs, they're basic but functional and have lasted well even though I'm still not sold on 28 spokes. I rebuilt them with silver sapim spokes, red alloy DT nips and DT E532 rims. They've been perfect for over a year. I still have the spoke details in my wheel book if you want them.

 

[Alex Ebiker]

I run Halo Vapour 35's on my 22 Levo , have a set on my Hightower V2 and they have been punished and are still straight and true bearings still good ,
I was less than £500 for the set so good value in my opinion

Do you have a weight for them?.

 

[Nakiri]

I'll ask for some help too:

I don't have too much options around here (very f expensive)...

Some options I found:
- Sun Ringle Duroc 35
- Ethirteen TRS Plus

Any of these rims are good for e-bikes and Enduro riding ? Better to keep looking ?

 

[Cb750stu]

Do you have a weight for them?.

I can certainly do that for you when I get home

 

[VWsurfbum]

I'll ask for some help too:

I don't have too much options around here (very f expensive)...

Some options I found:
- Sun Ringle Duroc 35
- Ethirteen TRS Plus

Any of these rims are good for e-bikes and Enduro riding ? Better to keep looking ?

Personal experience, the hubs on the Duroc's won't last under the hard load of the Ebikes (3 pawl design) rims are OK but nothing special. Cheap if you buy through Decathlon, I think I paid £129 for the pair including tyres, cassette and rotors.
E13 wheels with the big flange hubs break spokes. same problem with the 3 pawl free hub.

 

[Cb750stu]

Do you have a weight for them?.

Hi weights are just bare wheels , XD driver , obviously heavier weight is the rear

 

[Stihldog]

WeAreOne has some amazing carbon wheels with a no questions asked life time warranty….
100% made in Canada. And there’s a ton of top pros running them too.

Weareone

Rims you can depend one hand laid in Canada

www.cycleaddicts.co.uk

You had me at “pros”
I’m definitely gonna give those a look when I change to carbon rims. The Tairen Hub has caught my interest also.

Tairin Wheels | Handlaced Bicycle Wheels and Hubs in Vancouver

Designed and Engineered in Canada, Tairin Wheels brings you top spec hubs, rims, and wheels handlaced in Vancouver, BC Canada.

www.tairinwheels.ca

Silent hub, eBike “ready”(shrugs), designed and assembled locally. I saw these at a bike show last month and the rep answered every question I could throw at him.

 

[Nakiri]

Personal experience, the hubs on the Duroc's won't last under the hard load of the Ebikes (3 pawl design) rims are OK but nothing special. Cheap if you buy through Decathlon, I think I paid £129 for the pair including tyres, cassette and rotors.
E13 wheels with the big flange hubs break spokes. same problem with the 3 pawl free hub.

Hummmm... good to know. I'll check if I can find it in some Decathlon around here. Never saw this kind of parts there. But nothing in Brazil is cheap... lol

My intention is to buy only the rims (my ROVALs are dented) and mount them in the original SPZ hubs. Probably get new spokes too.


Thanks !

 

[Alex Ebiker]

cheers so there around 2kg for both which is reasonable

 

[Rich-EMTB-UK]

As always depends on your budget. Personally I wouldn't touch anything under £1500 RRP for carbon and would stick with top notch alloy instead. Just ordered a set of ENVE AM30 on I9 1/1 6 bolt hubs with Sapim Force spokes for just under £2k. Similar build on M730 rims around £2650. Was also considering the DTS HXC1501's which are around the £1500 mark. Crank Brothers also get good reviews.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

As always depends on your budget. Personally I wouldn't touch anything under £1500 RRP for carbon and would stick with top notch alloy instead. Just ordered a set of ENVE AM30 on I9 1/1 6 bolt hubs with Sapim Force spokes for just under £2k. Similar build on M730 rims around £2650. Was also considering the DTS HXC1501's which are around the £1500 mark. Crank Brothers also get good reviews.

You could buy some Hope Hoops for £450, and new rubber, and a new rear shock, and then go on a riding holiday?

Crank Brothers make some of the most aesthetically pleasing dog turds on the market. Do not buy their rubbish. They have a long history of producing shiny things that simply break or don't perform.

Seriously though, good wheels do not cost a fortune. And let's be realistic, when you're mounting them to a 25kg e-bike with DH rubber who cares about the weight savings of carbon?

 

[Rich-EMTB-UK]

You could buy some Hope Hoops for £450, and new rubber, and a new rear shock, and then go on a riding holiday?

Crank Brothers make some of the most aesthetically pleasing dog turds on the market. Do not buy their rubbish. They have a long history of producing shiny things that simply break or don't perform.

Seriously though, good wheels do not cost a fortune. And let's be realistic, when you're mounting them to a 25kg e-bike with DH rubber who cares about the weight savings of carbon?

Much more to carbon components and frames than just weight saving.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

Much more to carbon components and frames than just weight saving.

I know, my bike's carbon.

 

[Bomble]

I have blue flow carbon wheels, can’t recommend them enough. Made a big difference to the feel of the bike.
I ride Peak District , Calderdale, Yorkshire , Lakes etc, have the line choice of a blind hippo and they still run perfectly true.

 

[Endoguru]

I'll ask for some help too:

I don't have too much options around here (very f expensive)...

Some options I found:
- Sun Ringle Duroc 35
- Ethirteen TRS Plus

Any of these rims are good for e-bikes and Enduro riding ? Better to keep looking ?

I’ve had the e13 wheels. The rims held up great, but the e13 hubs are junk. Quite difficult to rebuild with lots of goofy parts, especially if you’ve ever had to rebuild DT Swiss or i9 which are very easy to work on.

 

[jbrown15]

I’ve had the e13 wheels. The rims held up great, but the e13 hubs are junk. Quite difficult to rebuild with lots of goofy parts, especially if you’ve ever had to rebuild DT Swiss or i9 which are very easy to work on.

e13 alloy or carbon wheels? From what I’ve seen and heard the e13 alloy wheels seem quite soft?

 

[Madmountainman]

Not a mention, as yet, of Mavic's E-Deemax S Series wheels - probably due to lack of availability. I have two sets that I picked up during lockdown on sale.
They are truly tubeless, having dual chambers that keep the spoke ends separate from the tyres. The black finish on the rims appears durable so far with a high standard of finish to the whole wheelset. The spokes are flat with Mavic's own spoke wrench and extra spokes sent with each wheel and they have an absolutely bomb proof 180kg weight limit! I don't believe that carbon wheels are worth paying astronomical amounts of money on for riding e-mtb's and, if you're on a tight budget and can't afford the S version, Mavic now do an affordable E-Deemax too.

 

[Peter1979]

The best wheels I've ever had were DT Swiss ex1501 which were light and very strong. They came stock on a canyon strive and I loved them. Should have kept them but a new canyon a couple of years ago came with a Reynolds carbon wheelset so I got rid of the DT Swiss. To be totally honest I really don't see any benefit of the carbon wheels and think top end alloy wheels are probably better.
I'd love to have a set of the DT Swiss ex1501 on my ebike, but I've got stock DT Swiss H552 which weigh a ton but have been pretty strong so far, so I'll keep them until I wreck them.

 

[jbrown15]

My non judgemental argument for anyone saying carbon isn’t worth it is; if you end up replacing basically even one rim a year due to bending or break a rim carbon becomes a serious option.

In 2020 I broke or bent two alloy rims, I have yet to damage one of my WeAreOne rims yet. And they almost never even have spokes come loose.

once you factor in the cost of rebuilding a wheel once or maybe even twice year depending on how much you ride carbon really comes into play as being a affordable option.

Of course if someone doesn’t ride hard or allot then it might not make sense to spend the one on carbon.
The cost is definitely more upfront but I think over a few years the cost of ownership could definitely be less than an alloy option.

 

[lumpy]

Hunt wheels

 

[Slapbassmunky]

once you factor in the cost of rebuilding a wheel once or maybe even twice year depending on how much you ride carbon really comes into play as being a affordable option.

I've found DT E532's to be extremely durable when built and tensioned properly, by hand, with a quality (Hope etc) hub and quality J bend spokes + brass nipples. They're £60 a pop.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Roger Musson's wheel building book and having a go yourself. Once you've learnt to build a decent set of wheels yourself you'll see how much marketing BS is involved in wheels. Being able to 'chuck another rim on' and not have to rely on shops is really liberating, and you become really popular with all your riding buddies

 

[thread]

I just picked up a pair of almost new Bontrager Line Comp 30s for my wife’s Rail 5. Upgraded the hub to 108 POE. This is what the bike should have had on it to start with.

Never liked the Alex Rims it came with.

 

[Stihldog]

I've found M532's to be extremely durable when built and tensioned properly, by hand, with a quality (Hope etc) hub and quality J bend spokes + brass nipples. They're £60 a pop.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Roger Musson's wheel building book and having a go yourself. Once you've learnt to build a decent set of wheels yourself you'll see how much marketing BS is involved in wheels.

What’s your opinion on 2-cross-3-cross combination?
I haven’t laced a set yet but I’m gonna give it a try when I change the hub(s).