anyone own them? i can get a good deal on a pair but don't know much about them as far as how they hold up.
crank bros wheels
- Thread starter maddog17
- Start date
Haven't heard anything bad, other than the fact that they're kinda heavy.
there are some reviews on mtbr. always to be taken with a grain of salt of course.
i'm not so worried about weight Woody as much as them lasting and taking a beating without much maintenance
that's probably what i'll end up doing, but figured i'd ask about the Crank bros since i can get a good deal on them.
so on that point, who's hubs do i go with? i'd probably stick with Mavic hoops since i've always had good luck with their hoops.
so on that point, who's hubs do i go with? i'd probably stick with Mavic hoops since i've always had good luck with their hoops.
How much are you looking to spend? What attributes are most important? On a budget, you can't beat the newer generation XTs. People bitch and moan about them being loose bearing because they're too lazy or too incompetent to maintain them (and it doesn't take much at all), but you won't find anything that's as smooth as a properly set up loose bearing hub, the engagement is good, they're quiet, they hold up well, and they're dirt cheap. If you want something fancier, DT 240s are light and strong but the engagement isn't as crisp and they're expensive. Hope is a good, pretty light, easy to work on and fairly sturdy option. I've had a couple pairs, no complaints at all. Mid range price point. Hadley is a win for bulletproof, fine engagement, but they're on the heavy side. Kings are fine too, but I don't see any reason to take them over Hadley (and I do own a pair of Kings). I'd do one of the above, depending on what you want.
not really sure on the budget yet. what i'd want is bulletproof, little maintenance. i'm no good at truing so the spoke count will be 32/36. plus i'm over 200lbs. i don't care about the weight either. i was thinking of I9 or kings. i'll look into the Hadley's. also found another company called Loaded so i'll look into them too. either Mavic or maybe DT Swiss hoops. i'll spend a bit more because i'll use these rims on both my rides
go with kings and regular ss spokes. i've heard good things about i9's, but the spokes can break just like any other wheel, leaving you up shlt creek without a paddle for a week or however long it takes to get a new spoke from them. you'll have the kings for the rest of your life
1. I9 sends extra spokes with their wheels.
2. I9 makes normal flanged hubs that use standard j bend stainless spokes.
I9 does make a j bend hub, i think it's called the classic or something like that. if they didn't i probably would go with the kings or maybe DT's.
hadleys ftw. yea they're expensive, yea, there's lighter options available. over the years i've acquired several sets. my oldest set is going on 10 years, with nothing more than annual maintenance (twice a year if i've been riding in a lot of mud). no issues. I've had to replace pawls, but a quick call to Hadley got me a baggie of them, so I'm set for a while.
Great company to deal with. A nice bonus is that their hubs are convertible, so if you change frames there's a good chance you can swap the hubs too (on my rear hub you can do 135 qr, 135 bolt on, and 135 x 12 - I've run all 3). Also, the hub shell for the 150mm spaced hub (9spd) is also used for the 135mm single speed, just gotta switch freehub body and axle kit).
Great company to deal with. A nice bonus is that their hubs are convertible, so if you change frames there's a good chance you can swap the hubs too (on my rear hub you can do 135 qr, 135 bolt on, and 135 x 12 - I've run all 3). Also, the hub shell for the 150mm spaced hub (9spd) is also used for the 135mm single speed, just gotta switch freehub body and axle kit).
I have the downhill set and LOVE how they feel. Super stiff - I would go as far to say they are the best wheel set I've ever ridden!!!
HOWEVER!!!!!
They are a race wheelset - CB didn't design these to be able to take a beating CB designed them to be light and fast - so if you aren't the smoothest rider around (I'm not) you will dent them up. I've folded the sidewalls on mine a few times - but I'll give the rims credit - used a vice to straighten the sidewall and poof was able to mount my tubless tire without a problem.
Hope this helps
HOWEVER!!!!!
They are a race wheelset - CB didn't design these to be able to take a beating CB designed them to be light and fast - so if you aren't the smoothest rider around (I'm not) you will dent them up. I've folded the sidewalls on mine a few times - but I'll give the rims credit - used a vice to straighten the sidewall and poof was able to mount my tubless tire without a problem.
Hope this helps
Call dave thomas...he built my I-9 / Stanz wheelset. Talk about quality bombproof wheels!! http://speeddream.com/
I have I-9 Hadley DT and soon a set of Kings, The DT with the 36t ratchets are light and stupid simple, my favorite design, I9 just has the best engagement, I haven't pulled them apart completely yet, but they are nice given that almost every axle design they can convert to. King is cool, they do some great colors, and they have a solid design. Hadley seem to be super solid, I would probably have all Hadleys if I was to buy them all over again.
well i pulled the trigger and got a set of I9's on ebay for what i think is a good deal, and they are the classic set so they take normal spokes. now i need some hoops, spokes etc and someone to build them
I'm riding a pair of CB Cobalts since september '10, no problems so far. Even though it's a XC wheelset I ride marathons and light AM with them with 2.2 to 2.4 tires mounted. They're not the laterally stiffest wheels I've ridden, but that's to be expected from a lightweight wheelset I guess?
Added to the stiffness gripe, I've got three other remarks:
- the quickreleases are not very practical and don't close / open smoothly
- the axle cups that interface between the dropouts and bearing / hub on the rear wheel have a tendency to misalign on my bike (Lapierre zesty), which resulted in less than crisp shifting... Carefull insertion and fastening will avoid this issue though.
- when using a 9 speed XT casette, 4 spacer rings (included with wheels) need to be used to prevent the casette touching the hub body (which blocks the freewheel). This results in a less then favorable thread engagement on the casette lockring. No problems so far, but I'm being super carefull...
Added to the stiffness gripe, I've got three other remarks:
- the quickreleases are not very practical and don't close / open smoothly
- the axle cups that interface between the dropouts and bearing / hub on the rear wheel have a tendency to misalign on my bike (Lapierre zesty), which resulted in less than crisp shifting... Carefull insertion and fastening will avoid this issue though.
- when using a 9 speed XT casette, 4 spacer rings (included with wheels) need to be used to prevent the casette touching the hub body (which blocks the freewheel). This results in a less then favorable thread engagement on the casette lockring. No problems so far, but I'm being super carefull...
Same on the Opium. I wasn't comfortable with the lockring BARELY holding the cassette on so I made it an 8 speed setup.
diggity!
yeah, i'm looking forward to getting them. and a friend of mine will build them for me as soon as i get all the parts together. anyone know of a good place to get spokes and alloy nips? i prefer DT for the spokes, not sure on the nipples
Looks like you can get spokes off of universalcycles.com without having to buy a whole box. I'm not sure the price is much different than you'd get at the LBS, though.
Sure you want to go with alloy nipples? If you don't care about the weight so much and are worried about durability, then why not brass? They will hold up to more truing and are less likely to break. It could be the fact that the wheelset is just old, but I've been getting a good amount of alloy nipples breaking on my xc wheels. I think one or two broke on my road set as well, which is pretty new. I'm only 165 and would go brass if given the choice.
Sure you want to go with alloy nipples? If you don't care about the weight so much and are worried about durability, then why not brass? They will hold up to more truing and are less likely to break. It could be the fact that the wheelset is just old, but I've been getting a good amount of alloy nipples breaking on my xc wheels. I think one or two broke on my road set as well, which is pretty new. I'm only 165 and would go brass if given the choice.
don't factory wheels usually come with alloy nipples? basically i'm going for a look. blue hubs and nips with black spokes and hoops. the bike will be black and blue.
Eh, depends. Totally variable depending on the wheels.
Looks like you have settled on some I9s... great choice! I figured I would add my input on the CB wheels though, for future buyers. I have the Iodines on my Transition TransAM and absolutely love 'em. Not a single problem to date, although I have only had them for a couple months.
Pros:
Unique looks
Big fan of straight pull spokes and CB's got that covered
Super fast engagement
Sound nice (it quiets down a bit as they break in)
Stiff
Super easy to work on IF you know how to work on wheels.
The QRs work great!
tubeless (should you chose) out of the box
Cons:
Apparently there's an issue with some cassettes fitting, I've had no problem
Pricey (got a great deal that made it worth it to me)
Proprietary spokes
Pricey
First Generation had engagement issues but it was resolved immediately by CB
I was up in the air between a set of Enduro I9s, Crank Bros Iodines, and a couple other straight pull designs but got the best deal on CB and couldn't be happier! If you're willing to drop the cash on the wheels, you won't regret it.
Pros:
Unique looks
Big fan of straight pull spokes and CB's got that covered
Super fast engagement
Sound nice (it quiets down a bit as they break in)
Stiff
Super easy to work on IF you know how to work on wheels.
The QRs work great!
tubeless (should you chose) out of the box
Cons:
Apparently there's an issue with some cassettes fitting, I've had no problem
Pricey (got a great deal that made it worth it to me)
Proprietary spokes
Pricey
First Generation had engagement issues but it was resolved immediately by CB
I was up in the air between a set of Enduro I9s, Crank Bros Iodines, and a couple other straight pull designs but got the best deal on CB and couldn't be happier! If you're willing to drop the cash on the wheels, you won't regret it.
anyone have any experience with DT M480 hoops? need to get my wheels built and i'm interested in these. or is there another i should be looking at too either Mavic or WTB