29er Wheelsets?
July 17th, 2006 by Tim GrahlI am trying to figure out what wheelset to purchase for my 29er. What do people think about the American Classic and Stans No tubes wheelsets?
– Ryan
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You’re definitely onto something there. It’s been my choice of wheels for the last few years and for the most part i’ve had good luck with them. The AC hubs are just the lightest things out there. You must however understand that they have a delicate axle and take a light hand and some knowledge to work on. They are fully serviceable, you will need to replace bearings periodically if you ride often or in incliment weather.
The stans rims are the cat’s ass IMO. They’re much more durable than the AC hurricane style rims. Stans rims are also wider than the AC which is key for 29er tire profile. I have no experience with wheels built by stans inhouse so i can offer no opinion on their pre-built wheelsets. If you have an lbs that’s near and dear to you should ask them to build and service the wheels for you.
AC’s hubs are hit n miss, i just had to send the rear wheel back but my
brother has had no issues. i also have a stans wheel. while stans ztr rim
is 24.4mm wide the inside dim is 19mm, my AC rim is 23mm wide and
inside dim is 19mm, so there really is no difference as inside dim is whats important. 1 of my crows would not seal on stans rims either so i am back to latex tubes which i feel give the tire more support anyways.
my preference is the Velocity rims with DT Huegi Swiss hubs and spokes…have them on my 29 Orbea hardtail with 1.85 tires…really fast and light…
Isn’t the ac hub the same as the WTB laser disc lite hub? If so maintainence ie pretty easy. But know that you have to use a cassette with a wide base. Sram cassettes will eat into the shell.
-M
I have a set of AC wheels that I have given a pretty hard life since I got them on my One Niner / SIR 9. I ride every day [weather permitting] and don’t spare the wheels in any way, on a rigid SS.
I have to true them up a little sometimes, but it’s never bad, just a tweak with a spoke wrench. I did replace the standard AC bearings in the wheels with the good Enduro bearings after six months of hard usage, and re-greased the freewheel pawls while I had the bearings out.
Apart from that, there have been no big drama’s, the wheelset is still going strongly. Surprising for such a lightweight wheelset.
The bottom line……Would I buy another set of AC wheels?
No.
I would buy a set of stronger, stiffer wheels if I was doing it all over again.
The AC wheels are beautifully light, but they flex a little too much for me. I would prefer slightly heavier and stronger/stiffer wheels.
Something like…….Industry Nine…
R.
Thanks for the replies! How much do the Velocity rims with DT Huegi Swiss weight? Also, the post before this one talks about a controversy over tubeless 29ers, does anybody know anything about that?
I was leaning towards the Stans No Tubes, but wasn’t sure how well they worked. Matt, are the rims worth it, are they stiff etc?
Thanks Again!
stans rims are good, it is the only rim i have used where the nanos “pop”
when they seat on. i use the AC’s all the time because of the weight, but
my backups are ztr rims/xtr hubs/ suoercomp spokes. these wheels are
noticeably stiffer and heavier. if i only had 1 wheelset i would not do AC’s. for 1 wheelset i would do ztr rims/hugi 240 hubs/ sapim cx ray spokes. i weigh 160 and ride light. only certain tires can be used tubeless, others the beads break.
I have used the Stans Olympic ZTR Rims with a DT Swiss Hub since late April.
If you are racing, these rims are a must to make your bike XC competitive. I have mounted standard Kenda Karmas(folding) on the rims with just the yellow rim tape that Stans sells.
Some people have been skeptical about the tires holding onto the rims, but so far so good. I have raced 9 times and many rides without any problems. I weight about 170lbs.
I normally train with the Bontrager Race Lites that came with my bike. When I switch to the Stans rims, the bike weighs about 2 1/2 lbs less and really accelerates quickly.
I also just bought rims strips for the Race Lites and “Stansed” up a pair of Bonty Jones 1.8s with no issues whatsoever.
I am in the process of looking to build up a twenty niner project (looking to get a monocog flight 29er) and the one thing I have been looking for reviews of are 29er rims!! Could you do a comparison of available 29er rims?!? I have a pair of Chris King disc Single speed hubs 32hole I want to build just not sure which rims to go with although I am leaning towards the velocity VXC 29ers, WTB SPEED DISC TRAIL 29er 32H do to being able to get either at a great price! I would love to see a review on your web site…
PS I tried to email but it got kicked back??
Talk to Mike Garcia at http://www.oddsandendos.com. WTB/Velocity/DT Comp wheels are very light and a fantastic value. The new Hope XC hubs in place of the WTB if they are exposed to water regularly.
I have a set of Can Creek Zonos Disc 29’s on my rigid Air Nine. I run them tubeless with NanoRaptors and while they are not the lightest, they are definitely in the ballpark and score high points on the cool scale with the torque transfer hub flanges, asymetric rim profile, hub centric spoke nipples, custome cane creek skewers and a radial lace pattern on one side of the front wheel.
Another bonus is Cane Creek ships them with thier own tubeless rim strip installed.
They have proven to be very durable (I’m 215) and low maintenance.
What do you think of the DT Swiss TK 7.1s or the Velocity VXC rims?