The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Ugh, so many optionnzzzzz...
Race/Trail Wheelset for NJ
- Thread starter The Heckler
- Start date
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
Spin the wheel of wheels blind folded and where ever it stops - do that one.
Delish
Well-Known Member
Another vote for hookless China Carbon hoops + BHS hubs. The BHS hubs are not exactly the same as the Stans 3.30 hubs...I actually like them a little better than the 3.30s but Stan's has new hubs out anyway. Wheels weight about the same as Crests but are so much stiffer. Point and go. I'm sure the Valors are way better but there is a pretty big cost difference.
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
Is ther such thing as too stiff?
soulchild
Well-Known Member
Yes, stiffness to the point of pain.
The original light bicycle design like I had and I think @jShort has were really stiff...Like when I would switch from my arches to them I would usually adjust my fork and shock pressures. I dont know if i would call them too stiff, but I would always soften up my fork when switching to them. The newer style like @Delish has seem to have a little more give. The valors flex in the Y direction and the difference I feel in my hands is very noticeable. The bike just feels so planted at choppy places...lewis morris is a great example. Plus they are 1360 grams which is ridiculous. I have popped a few rear spokes over the course of the year, but they have been taking a beating.
I think steel spokes is part of the equation. Aluminum spokes allow for very limited flex and a harsh ride. FS obviously makes this less of a concern.
Delish
Well-Known Member
the wheel goes where you point the handlebars. When going from carbons to Crests, I go from being the captain of the ship to strictly one voting member on a committee that decides where the ship goes. You definitely feel the trail more doe
soulchild
Well-Known Member
The lateral stiffness is the most noticeable attribute of my carbon wheels. It is substantially different between wheel sets. So much so, that when I first went back to my Arch's, I thought my thru axle wasn't completely torqued, that's how loose the rear on my Scalpel felt. The Arch EX is a really reall good wheel but the 2 don't compare in that regard.
At face value, I would expect the Valor's to have a little more flex because of the lower spoke count compounded by the amount of power @UtahJoe puts out.
thegock
Well-Known Member
This post is right in my wheelhouse 🙄
This this this and this. Like Jeremy said, the biggest thing that stood out to me was the overall stiffness of the wheel. It's literally night and day.
I have run Arch EX's exclusively the last couple of years and they were rock solid. In February I went and built up a set of Chinese carbon wheels that I absolutely love. I went back and forth a bunch on hubs and ultimately decided on Hopes.
Here's what I had built and some weights.
Light-Bicycle carbon wheels & Hope Pro 2 Evo's 32/32 set built with DT Comps and brass nipples. If I had to do it again, I'd use DT Race Comps that are about 70 grams lighter like I used for my CX race wheelset.
Weights without tape:
Rims 340 grams
Front w/Lefty - 690g
Rear w/ Hope P2E 40t - 870g
This.
I put a year's worth of miles on a set of the wide (thought the internal width was 35mm) Light Bicycle rims with Hope Evo Pro hubs with the same spokes. Jim built these.
http://www.light-bicycle.com/carbon-mountain-bike/carbon-mountain-bike-rim/29er
I don't see that width on their website above, though. Only drawback is that they take forever to arrive, like months.
The wheels have been flawless, though the spokes do de-tension occasionally. I ride mostly at Chimney Rock, so they are scratched up but no problems. I bought them after a year of research capped by running into a guy in the parking lot of Luther Woods who said he loved them but broke one after about two years "Riding downhill at Killington..." OMG
They were a good deal, too, but I don't remember the details.
soulchild
Well-Known Member
If I were you I would go as high as possible. I have gone low spoke count on wheels before (road) and will never do it again. These things aren't cheap so why not build them up to be as strong as possible? Light is great until they're sitting in the shop getting repaired. I'd rather sacrifice some grams for a wheel I know will make it out in one piece.
thegock
Well-Known Member
I have 32 on the back. This morning I weighed 180.5 but was up around 200 when I started abusing these wheels.
"the Valor’s carbon rim lay-up is engineered to absorb radial vibrations and impacts adding suspension to a bike, making the ZTR Valor Carbon the most advanced wheelset NoTubes has ever produced. Non-compliant heavy rims that deliver a harsh, abusive ride have become the standard from most companies producing carbon rims. The ZTR Valor utilizes a construction that is both elastic and strong. Stan's NoTubes has constructed a light weight carbon fiber rim design not just to be stronger than aluminum but also to perform better in real world riding conditions."
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
I never liked being the captain