I'm in the process of building up a single-speed dirt jump/street bike and the only part(s) I'm hung up on are the wheels. First of all, are 36h rims that much stronger than 32h rims? Secondly, I'm having trouble deciding on hub/rim combos. I'm currently looking at a Hope Pro II SS rear hub and Pro II 20mm front hub laced to either Mavic EX 721s or Sun MTXs. I'm also thinking about using a DMR Revolver SS rear hub to save some money. Any suggestions? I'm fairly new to the dirt jump riding, but I ride about 3 times a week at Ray's Indoor MTB Park and am quickly progressing. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
wheel-building questions
- Thread starter ClevelandRiot
- Start date
to me the 32vs 36 question is a matter of how much you weigh and how much you case. Great choices on rims both either are tried and true and will hold up great, cant go wrong with either. I am a hope guy myself, hubs are light and hold up well, great for the money. Have no experience with the DMR myself but have heard great things.
3 days a week at rays, im a jealous that place is amazing
3 days a week at rays, im a jealous that place is amazing
Thanks for the input Mikey_C. I only weigh between 150-155 lbs. I'm not the smoothest just yet, so I do case every now and again. Do you run dedicated SS hubs? I'm asking because my other option is purchasing a cheap factory built set like the Azonic Outlaws and just using a conversion kit. Don't know how much better a dedicated single-speed hub will feel.
A dedicated SS rear hub will create a stronger wheel using the same parts spec vs a hub that has the drive side flange pushed in to allow for a cassette. If youre building up a wheel set and know you want SS, then get an SS hub. Its cleaner looking and a stronger build. Admittedly at your weight, strength might not be much of an issue....
the strength is negligable. sure the rim is not dished perfectly but a decent wheel is a decent wheel.
i swear by azonic outlaws as a great wheelset for the cash, much cheaper than building up custom and can take a pounding. I have a full season of outlaws on my FR bike and will be using that same set on my winter dj/park/urban ride( with a trip planned for rays!!) stil straight and true. I plan to build up a set of higher end wheels but in the mean time they wil do just fine.
Most guys are gonna be running single speed setups but i happen to run 9 speed road cassette cuz i do like to his the ds/4x courses not to mention the urban in my area involves lots of hills to get from spot to spot. Any decent ss conversion kit is a good bet plus you can fine tune your chainline if needed. what bike you running, i ask to see what dropouts you have.
Also with the hope ss hub you can actually run about 6 gears on it if you decide you want gears down the road. Its really just a pro 2 with a shorter cassette body.
i swear by azonic outlaws as a great wheelset for the cash, much cheaper than building up custom and can take a pounding. I have a full season of outlaws on my FR bike and will be using that same set on my winter dj/park/urban ride( with a trip planned for rays!!) stil straight and true. I plan to build up a set of higher end wheels but in the mean time they wil do just fine.
Most guys are gonna be running single speed setups but i happen to run 9 speed road cassette cuz i do like to his the ds/4x courses not to mention the urban in my area involves lots of hills to get from spot to spot. Any decent ss conversion kit is a good bet plus you can fine tune your chainline if needed. what bike you running, i ask to see what dropouts you have.
Also with the hope ss hub you can actually run about 6 gears on it if you decide you want gears down the road. Its really just a pro 2 with a shorter cassette body.
I work for a company that builds wheels. If you know you're going to be SS only, go with a dedicated hub. Your wheel will stay in true much better. If you're doing any kind of spinning tricks that will be important. Personally I don't notice much difference between 32 and 36. If you're not good at truing/tensioning wheels more spokes always helps account for lesser build quality.
Edit: missed a point. Hope hubs are great, but I'd save the money if i were you. Wait until you really know what you want/need before dropping that kind of coin.
Edit: missed a point. Hope hubs are great, but I'd save the money if i were you. Wait until you really know what you want/need before dropping that kind of coin.
Thanks for all of your replies thus far. They are definitely helping me zero in on my final build specs. I've only heard good things about the Hope Pro II hubs, but I've read mixed reviews about the Revolvers--namely, riders have complained about the bearings wearing quickly. Any experience with this? I know every product has its drawbacks and considering my novice status it might be better to start with cheaper products, but I might as well make a good investment. Thanks again.
Mikey_C: I'm building up an '08 Blk Mrkt Riot with horizontal dropouts. My order is in, I'm just waiting for the frame to arrive at my lbs. Also, I don't know when you're planning a trip to Ray's or how close you are but tomorrow (Sat.) is the official re-opening. Gregg Watts, Aaron Chase and Jeff Lenosky are supposed to be in attendance, among others. Should be a good time.
Mikey_C: I'm building up an '08 Blk Mrkt Riot with horizontal dropouts. My order is in, I'm just waiting for the frame to arrive at my lbs. Also, I don't know when you're planning a trip to Ray's or how close you are but tomorrow (Sat.) is the official re-opening. Gregg Watts, Aaron Chase and Jeff Lenosky are supposed to be in attendance, among others. Should be a good time.
Hey man drop me a PM I am local to rays too. What nights do you ride there? I shoot for Wednesday nights and Some on Sat and Sun.
I ride a usb molly.
Scott
*edit*
Did you get the riot on the wall at Rays? Spin?
Like boxxer and woody already stated a dedicated SS rear hub stronger wheel using the same components spec vs a hub that has the drive side flange indented for a cassette set up. Unless you're a thrasher/basher type rider though, the outlaws are a good bang for the buck though I would reccomend stress releiving them and re truing them before you ride them as they are machine and not hand built. www.sunrims.com has some great wheelsets like the ADD and rims as well.
