[StunZeeD]

I am building my current AM bike to be more of a Mini-DH bike and am wondering if I will really feel much of a difference with a true heavier duty DH wheelset. I am running DT Swiss XR500's which are AM wheels and I am about 160lbs and ride. I have never had any issues breaking wheels, bending rims or anything with this wheelset or any of the wheelsets I have ever owned.

I am not a big jumper or dropper, so just trying to see if I would really feel much of a difference

 

[4130biker]

Why go heavier (stronger) if you don't have trouble with the dt rims? Sounds like you're one of the lucky ones who can get away with lighter wheels, so why not?

To answer your question, yes, you will feel heavier wheels. Some like a little rotational mass for stability through rough sections of trail/ over high speed jumps, others like less for a more nimble ride.

I think you can do either by just changing tires, and light wheels are a nice starting point. If you're not having trouble, stick with the AM wheels

 

[iRider]

Light wheels + 2-ply tires = win!

 

[ROTFLMAO]

I'm with iRider. Light wheels plus some stiff sidewall 2-plys and and you're golden. Then you have the option to run light tires for trail days if you like.

StunZeeD, diggin the avatar.

 

[slowitdown]

Every bike you have to pedal for at least a short bit feels better with a lighter wheel, as light as you can get away with, while adjusting tires for the terrain. Light wheels spin up faster and simply respond better in every way.

For DH bikes on never-pedal courses a heavier wheel might help those who are good at carrying speed, a heavier wheel will hold speed better but be harder to get back to speed.

I've always run the lightest rims I could. In the hucker days of the early and mid 00s, my friends always mocked me for running such light wheels. I've only destroyed one rear wheel in all my riding days (20 years!). I guess I'm lucky that way. I weigh 150 lbs and have never been a plow rider. I hate riding plow style, it feels like an idiot's or non-athlete's style of riding.

The heaviest rims I used were Arrow FRX on my big huckin'/DH bikes last decade. I hated pedaling with those things but they were a lot easier to pedal than most of my friends' bikes with StupidWides etc.

I would stick with the current wheels and adjust tire casing thickness as the terrain requires. I am able to get away with Maxxis singleply EXO casings 95% of the time and when I need to go to a 2-ply casing usually I do it only on the rear tire. I tend to run my tires on the higher PSI side (33-35 psi rear tire) though since I hate destroying rims and wheels. Hey maybe that explains my track record!

Yesterday I did my first long ride of the year, 5 hrs. I ran a singleply 2.1 Aspen as a rear tire. My legs thanked me when I got home! Lots of climbing, lots of pedaling = lighter wheel & tire = longer ride = happier rider! The wheel's not superlight though - Hadley bolt-on 10mm rear hub, 14ga spokes, WTB Laser Disc Trail rim, standard XC tube, and Aspen 2.1 tire.

 

[roel_koel]

I've had no problems running Stans ZTR Flow rims on my all-mountain bike, which also does double-duty for uplift days to DH specific venues here in the UK - specifically the Welsh centres like Cwm Carn and Forest of Dean, and occasional DH races at Aston Hills and PORC


the trick? I change my tires from lighter All-Mtn tires (Specialized Control Eskar 1ply) to heavier duty DH tires (Specialized Clutch SX 1.5 ply), this makes a massive difference to the performance and durability of the wheelset with the DH tires making the bike feel slower, but adding alot of protection to the rims and grip on rougher terrain

I am running Stans No-Tubes (tubeless conversion) on both tire setups, and have never had any issues with pinch flat, tire roll or loss of pressure...