What makes a strong wheel?

wkkie

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
All things being equal on the build quality, what makes a strong wheel?

Number of spokes? Rim inner width? Rim outter width? Rim depth? Type of spoke? Type of nipple? UST rim stronger than conventional drilled rim? Anything else I've missed?

I'm looking at a new rear wheel and just don't want to stuff around getting it trued / rebuilt every other week. Thanks burners....
 
moman

moman

Likes Dirt
The actual brand of rim?

Had some stans which were pretty soft. Now on Dt Swiss which are about the same weight but are so much more dent resistant.
 
Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
Part of bike maintenance should be to check the spoke tension every so often not every week though. Always on new wheels I do a retension or check of the spoke tension after the first 100km mark after everything has settle in. It's a bit of an open question as rider weight and the type of discipline of riding should be factored for variations of different types of wheel builds. If you use good quality parts suitable to your intended use and keep the maintenance up, I can't see you going wrong.
 
josh_psyosphere

josh_psyosphere

Likes Bikes
pretty much to make a strong wheel your looking at rim type and inside box section of the rims construction and width. Spokes are a big part and the more spokes make strong a rim is as theirs more points of supporting the rim, but more spokes = weight. type of nipples e.g. brass, titanium or aluminum. Hubs play apart
The most important thing is who builds the wheel

i use Mavic ex721 which are the same as D521 26` rims, 36H with hope pro2 FR&RR hubs, brass nipples and dt swiss alpine 3 spokes with roadie inner tubes to save weight ill save about 110grams from standard 2.1 inner tubes
I had Andy @ Bike Pro in the Box Hill to build them
 
JTmofo

JTmofo

XC Enthusiast
Type of lacing also has a bearing on the strength of the wheel build. Radial, 1 cross, 2 cross, 3 cross etc.
 
S

schred

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The old 'what do you mean by strong' question, lateral, torsion, radial etc.

Presume you mean rear wheel generally carrying more load, narrower & asymmetrical spacing and in a fixed position unable to deflect on impact etc.

Def needs to be boost. The evidence is clear on that.

I recall a spoked wheel needs a certain amount of tension (in total) to carry the load, which varies by individual and application. The more spokes you have, the less tension they need to be at for it to do its job, and conversely less spokes = more tension required on each one. Spokes that are at lower tension are at less risk routinely or catastrophically sh1tting themselves, or damaging your rim, so the more the merrier, but then they weigh more.

And if you have fewer spokes, you prob need a burlier rim to compensate for lack of load supporting spokes, unless you run carbon. Choice and consequence.

I am guessing to achieve a given 'strength' target the relative importance of rim/spoke/hub/execution system is different between carbon & aluminium builds i.e. decent carbon reducing the emphasis you need to place on the other parts, but just guessing.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
moman said:
The actual brand of rim?

Had some stans which were pretty soft. Now on Dt Swiss which are about the same weight but are so much more dent resistant.
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moorey said:
I'm pretty sure it's not Opposite Day, is it?
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I'll bake Moman kn the dt swiss call. I've got a fr600 that is close to 7 years old. It gets ridden fairly hard very regularly for that entire time. Not a ding in it. I've also got some ex500 rims that are a few years old and also in great condition. That particular rim had a reputation for being soft, but mine has been otherwise. I'm not the most extreme rider on the forum, but I certainly put my gear to work through a combination of clumsy freight train ride style and occasional spurts of big gonad syndrome.

josh_psyosphere said:
pretty much to make a strong wheel your looking at rim type and inside box section of the rims construction and width. Spokes are a big part and the more spokes make strong a rim is as theirs more points of supporting the rim, but more spokes = weight. type of nipples e.g. brass, titanium or aluminum. Hubs play apart
The most important thing is who builds the wheel

i use Mavic ex721 which are the same as D521 26` rims, 36H with hope pro2 FR&RR hubs, brass nipples and dt swiss alpine 3 spokes with roadie inner tubes to save weight ill save about 110grams from standard 2.1 inner tubes
I had Andy @ Bike Pro in the Box Hill to build them
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The ex721 is one of the few rims I have dinged. I did it a few months ago riding over a root on an otherwise smooth trail. I was very unimpressed.

wkkie said:
Which is stronger out of those?
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Obviously direct pull. Can't you read?

If you are more concerned about strength than weight, put on a light dh/fr oriented rim. You'll ride with more confidence knowing your rim cam take a pounding.

As for who builds it...the machine built crc wheels have never let me down. A few shop built wheels have.
 
S

schred

Likes Bikes and Dirt
redbruce said:
As above, define "stronger"? Disagree boost component and evidence, but not rest).
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Can't convey the sarc sorry.

IMO, boost exists because the old s-curve for hubs & wheels is nearly maxed as is, and companies are always looking at ways to 'boost' their bottom line via new product lines with new dominant designs and saw an opportunity to invent (in the metaphorical sense) by redesign a technology discontinuity by introducing hubs & forks with a larger waistline, but not demonstrably superfine. Same can be said for metric shocks, and other bike 'innovations'. Some are good; many are not and should die fast unnatural deaths.
 
H

haulrs

Likes Bikes
I ride trials with a 32 hole hub... rims with 14 mm holes in them
Actually all my wheels are 32 hole... I'm 90 kg I think quality is the answer.. dt spokes but tell the wheel builder what your planning to do ride style wise... spoke choice can make a massive difference and a good rim suitable for purpose


Sent from my 3geesus using Tapatalk( it's ifail)
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
schred said:
Can't convey the sarc sorry.

IMO, boost exists because the old s-curve for hubs & wheels is nearly maxed as is, and companies are always looking at ways to 'boost' their bottom line via new product lines with new dominant designs and saw an opportunity to invent (in the metaphorical sense) by redesign a technology discontinuity by introducing hubs & forks with a larger waistline, but not demonstrably superfine. Same can be said for metric shocks, and other bike 'innovations'. Some are good; many are not and should die fast unnatural deaths.
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I'll give you 29 reasons why you're wrong.
 
S

schred

Likes Bikes and Dirt
pink poodle said:
I'll give you 29 reasons why you're wrong.
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You got me, I was thinking selflishly as a non-29 rider.

Well I guess there's no agendas being pushed onto punters afterall and I'm pretty sure this will be the last we see of minor platform-level changes to bike design that render all previous models and significant parts obsolete.
 
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