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DH wheels

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wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
I seem to have a problem with wheels. I have a stash of blown up rims in the basement. big dents, flat spots, cracks.

I ride like a big ape, i look like one too. Bontragers, mavic 823's, american classics. Should i be treating rims like tires? disposable and need to be replaced after a time period? learn to ride? find better options?

I thought about the enve rims but I dont have a spare grand laying around. Anyone have any luck with the chineese knock offs?
 
gnarbar

gnarbar

Monkey
Oct 22, 2011
136
3
wiscodh said:
I seem to have a problem with wheels. I have a stash of blown up rims in the basement. big dents, flat spots, cracks.

I ride like a big ape, i look like one too. Bontragers, mavic 823's, american classics. Should i be treating rims like tires? disposable and need to be replaced after a time period? learn to ride? find better options?

I thought about the enve rims but I dont have a spare grand laying around. Anyone have any luck with the chineese knock offs?
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nooooo

ride something tuff and nasty

823's, ruin them, throw them away after 2-3 years, repeat

sure try to get smoother, but really, just live with it and roll with the best (strongest) you can get
 
W

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
i would love to get 2-3 years out of a set... its been 3-4 months for me lately.....

823's were the best so far. I absoutly hated taking tires off thoes. I run tubes, and only tubes.
 
W

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
200lbs, not afraid to case, and like high speed techy stuff with square edges :)

i will try higher pressures in whistler this weekend, see how that goes. I normally run 32-33 in the rear. I check spoke tension after every day. that helped in the short term.

after re reading what i posted. If i do keep smashing rocks and casing landings, i shouldnt be suprised if my gear is disposable at that point. sometimes you just need to say it before the brain clicks.
 
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mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
If you're smashing 823's, yeah, it's most likely something with your riding style.

Personally, I've found Mavic rims to be very durable, both 823's and Deemax. My rear Deemax had two full laps down Angel Fire on flat tires from two Final Descent races....and barely had any dents.
 
gnarbar

gnarbar

Monkey
Oct 22, 2011
136
3
wiscodh said:
200lbs, not afraid to case, and like high speed techy stuff with square edges :)

i will try higher pressures in whistler this weekend, see how that goes. I normally run 32-33 in the rear. I check spoke tension after every day. that helped in the short term.

after re reading what i posted. If i do keep smashing rocks and casing landings, i shouldnt be suprised if my gear is disposable at that point. sometimes you just need to say it before the brain clicks.
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210lb plus gear, loads of rocks, haggard, steep, fast, gnarchunder, roots.

run 823's tubeless for three seasons, running about 33-37psi varying, front and rear usually same pressure

not much damage, barely a dent in the rear just one very small one. stayed true for three years with just the odd tweak here and there
 
W

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
so bascily, i need to stop sucking!

Looks like i should try out some 823's again and get over the fact of having to use a 5ft pole for a tire lever.

deemaxes look to be 721's??
 
gnarbar

gnarbar

Monkey
Oct 22, 2011
136
3
wiscodh said:
so bascily, i need to stop sucking!

Looks like i should try out some 823's again and get over the fact of having to use a 5ft pole for a tire lever.

deemaxes look to be 721's??
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try a UST Minion run at decently high pressure. FWIW maybe just try a UST tire, can't hurt, can it. they're super beefy.

2c
 
W

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
Nick said:
Who is building your wheels?
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factory built, bontragers and american classics.

the 823's that lasted longer were built by a guy who is supposedly good with wheels.

Granted I am not tacoing them, the wheels stay pretty true, without hops, until they flatspot dent or crack :P. I stay up with keeping them true and try to keep correct tension in them.
 
kazlx

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
I'm 6'1" 225 without gear. I have had Hadley's/823s on my last bike for the last two years. The front wheel is good, the back could use a new hoop at some point. I taco'd two factory built wheels in a week before deciding to get the 823s.

Quite a bit has to do with the build and maintenance. You have to get a good build to start out with and then make sure they are trued after the first ride or two. After the tension gets wonky, and you keep riding, the wheel will go to hell in short order.

If that still doesn't work, you really need to work on your style. 823s can handle going big, but no rim is going to handle repeated rock bashings. I only run about 25 psi and never have an issue.
 
dfinn

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
You live in Whistler? I could see going through a rear wheel every 3 - 4 months (or every bike park season) if not more often. I killed a rear wheel after about 15 days in the park, it was so square that I couldn't even keep a tire on it.
 
kazlx

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
dfinn said:
You live in Whistler? I could see going through a rear wheel every 3 - 4 months (or every bike park season) if not more often. I killed a rear wheel after about 15 days in the park, it was so square that I couldn't even keep a tire on it.
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If that's the case, I would probably go through wheels like toilet paper too.
 
W

wiscodh

Monkey
Jun 21, 2007
833
121
303
no I live in OR. Lived in VT before this.

My american classics were fine in OR, until I went to whistler 2x this year. They are toast right now, and I am heading back up there this weekend...... maybe its don’t try to ride whistler so hard :P

Trails in OR are so smooth compared to the east and up north. Or should i say the shuttle trails are smooth. I haven’t tried skibowl yet.
 
frorider

frorider

Monkey
Jul 21, 2004
971
20
cali
surprised no one has mentioned tire casing volume. i've found that to be a big factor. w/ a 2.5 DHF on the rear, i found i had a significant tradeoff between rim hits vs traction, whereas with a clutch 2.5 or michelin 2.6 (both much bigger in sidewall height and overall volume than the DHF), rims are getting less abuse.

i weigh 195 w/o any gear.
 
atrokz

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
Something is amiss. Like you, I’m about 200lbs+ in my underwear, and I have point and shoot style of riding. I’ve raced the east coast of Canada, and ride DH at places like Bromont and St Anne. A set of 729’s with Maxxis 2.5’s running at 24-28psi last me about 1 season with some hard riding in there, so there’s something wrong that you’re not capturing. Sure I get some dings and dents along the way, but nothing that renders the wheel useless, and as fast as whistler is, after years of riding the east coast, that place is smooth as glass in comparison.

Could be your style, your bike set up, or the wheel builder, but unless your name is Nathan Rennie you shouldn’t be running through rims that fast.
 
Y

yetihenry

Monkey
Aug 9, 2009
241
1
Whistler, BC
I live in Whistler and my ex721s are fine, built strong and not dented badly enough to roll a tyre. However I do treat rims as disposable and am not bothered if I write one of in a weekend and am just grateful when it's not that often, wheels get smashed into stuff all the time, 2-3 years is a ridiculous expectation for an off road bike in my opinion.
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
823, straight gauge spokes, chris king hubs (or something premium, hopes are solid for a lower price). That combo will keep you running unless something is drastically wrong w your riding.

The premium prebuilts are pretty damn good, im a huge fan of i9 on my trail bike but for my dh i wouldnt go that route unless someone else is paying. It's also nice to be able to throw a spoke in if you are traveling or whatever...
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
atrokz said:
Something is amiss. Like you, I’m about 200lbs+ in my underwear, and I have point and shoot style of riding. I’ve raced the east coast of Canada, and ride DH at places like Bromont and St Anne. A set of 729’s with Maxxis 2.5’s running at 24-28psi last me about 1 season with some hard riding in there, so there’s something wrong that you’re not capturing. Sure I get some dings and dents along the way, but nothing that renders the wheel useless, and as fast as whistler is, after years of riding the east coast, that place is smooth as glass in comparison.
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I am with you on this, i run VERY low pressure basically as low as I can get away with. Run the bike, if i hear ding's i up the psi. I usually get 3 seasons out of a rim.
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
yetihenry said:
2-3 years is a ridiculous expectation for an off road bike in my opinion.
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Sort of but it really depends on your local terrain. I just got back from 9 days at whis, and it def puts summer worth of riding on a bike in most places...esp with the smashed conditions up there right now.:shocked:
 
Uncle Cliffy

Uncle Cliffy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 28, 2008
4,490
42
Southern Oregon
wiscodh said:
I absoutly hated taking tires off thoes. I run tubes, and only tubes.
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You're doing it wrong.

gnarbar said:
try a UST Minion run at decently high pressure. FWIW maybe just try a UST tire, can't hurt, can it. they're super beefy.

2c
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No no no... UST downhill Maxxis tires are near worthless. I ripped the bead off 2 different UST Minions using 823's. The design of the UST bead is very weak.

If you run standard wire bead Minions with Stans, they're WAY tougher...
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
Uncle Cliffy said:
You're doing it wrong.


No no no... UST downhill Maxxis tires are near worthless. I ripped the bead off 2 different UST Minions using 823's. The design of the UST bead is very weak.

If you run standard wire bead Minions with Stans, they're WAY tougher...
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or Schwables.

To be honest if you want something really cheap as other people suggest I would try dartmoor rims. I assume us prices are higher since the Dartmoor parent company distributes them here(lower margins) but they still should be crazy cheap. They are also soft and dent instead of cracking so you will probably flat a bit less than on 823's if you run tubes.
 
ocelot

ocelot

Monkey
Mar 8, 2009
395
10
Canadastan
I can't imagine running anything near 40 psi!!! I ride at Bromont and I can get away with pressures a little lower than 30 psi. I do hit the rim from time to time, but I have only had 2 dents on my 729 (front) after 2 seasons of riding. Also, I'm a hack and like to plow into rocks hahah
 
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