Looking to build the ultimate rear wheel... any suggestions?

All,

I've broken 8 freehub bodies in the past 5 years (Shimano Deore, LX,
XTR). I'm tired of that.

So, I've decided to build the ultimate rear wheel, and just wanted
to get some feedback on components.

I'm 6'4", 250#, and the wheel is for my mountain bike - I ride
mostly single track trails and small drops (2' max). Weight is
not a concern. My current set up is:

RIM Mavic X223, 26"
REAR HUB Shimano M-525 Disc, 32 hole
SPOKES DT Swiss 1.8mm stainless, alloy nipples


I've decided on a PhillWood rear hub because they're built
strong and are guaranteed for life.
http://www.philwood.com/webcatolog/page1.htm
The only question here is 32 or 36 holes?

Would standard DT spokes 1.8-1.6-1.8 be best?
That seems to be the concensus (after reading all the FAQ)

The big question:
What rim would you recommend?
All I know about rims is that I don't want annodized or machined...



Thanks,

BFW

"bigfaceworm" wrote in message
m...
All,

I've broken 8 freehub bodies in the past 5 years (Shimano Deore, LX,
XTR). I'm tired of that.

So, I've decided to build the ultimate rear wheel, and just wanted
to get some feedback on components.

I'm 6'4", 250#, and the wheel is for my mountain bike - I ride
mostly single track trails and small drops (2' max). Weight is
not a concern. My current set up is:

RIM Mavic X223, 26"
REAR HUB Shimano M-525 Disc, 32 hole
SPOKES DT Swiss 1.8mm stainless, alloy nipples


I've decided on a PhillWood rear hub because they're built
strong and are guaranteed for life.
http://www.philwood.com/webcatolog/page1.htm
The only question here is 32 or 36 holes?

Would standard DT spokes 1.8-1.6-1.8 be best?
That seems to be the concensus (after reading all the FAQ)

The big question:
What rim would you recommend?
All I know about rims is that I don't want annodized or machined...



Thanks,

BFW



Read what Sheldon has to say about triple butted spokes. Also I believe
that I've read that a 36 hole is a stronger wheel.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#spokes

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest I've just wasted.

"bigfaceworm" wrote in message
m...
snip
The big question:
What rim would you recommend?

A round one?
--
Westie
(Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

bigfaceworm wrote:

I'm 6'4", 250#, and the wheel is for my mountain bike - I ride
mostly single track trails and small drops (2' max). Weight is
not a concern. My current set up is:

RIM Mavic X223, 26"
REAR HUB Shimano M-525 Disc, 32 hole
SPOKES DT Swiss 1.8mm stainless, alloy nipples


I've decided on a PhillWood rear hub because they're built
strong and are guaranteed for life.
http://www.philwood.com/webcatolog/page1.htm
The only question here is 32 or 36 holes?

Would standard DT spokes 1.8-1.6-1.8 be best?
That seems to be the concensus (after reading all the FAQ)

The big question:
What rim would you recommend?
All I know about rims is that I don't want annodized or machined...

The group's current favourite rim seems to be the Mavic X618CD. A nice
combination of strength and moderate weight. The Freak recommends it,
so it'll be tough enough for you.

36h is obviously going to be stronger, but heavier. 32h should be
enough for your needs. Just make sure that it's built by a good
wheelbuilder.

Standard double-butted spokes will be fine, but get them with brass
nipples rather than alloy - they won't strip or round off so easily.

Phil Wood hubs are nice, but expensive. Have a look at the offerings
from Chris King (also expensive), Hugi and Hope.

"bomba" wrote in message
...
bigfaceworm wrote:

I'm 6'4", 250#, and the wheel is for my mountain bike - I ride
mostly single track trails and small drops (2' max). Weight is
not a concern. My current set up is:

RIM Mavic X223, 26"
REAR HUB Shimano M-525 Disc, 32 hole
SPOKES DT Swiss 1.8mm stainless, alloy nipples


I've decided on a PhillWood rear hub because they're built
strong and are guaranteed for life.
http://www.philwood.com/webcatolog/page1.htm
The only question here is 32 or 36 holes?

Would standard DT spokes 1.8-1.6-1.8 be best?
That seems to be the concensus (after reading all the FAQ)

The big question:
What rim would you recommend?
All I know about rims is that I don't want annodized or machined...

The group's current favourite rim seems to be the Mavic X618CD. A nice
combination of strength and moderate weight. The Freak recommends it,
so it'll be tough enough for you.

Yup. Mine only dented instead of broke! Did I mention I weigh 135?

36h is obviously going to be stronger, but heavier. 32h should be
enough for your needs. Just make sure that it's built by a good
wheelbuilder.

Standard double-butted spokes will be fine, but get them with brass
nipples rather than alloy - they won't strip or round off so easily.

def.

Phil Wood hubs are nice, but expensive. Have a look at the offerings
from Chris King (also expensive), Hugi and Hope.

Seconded.

Jon Bond

Jon Bond wrote:
"bomba" wrote in message
...

bigfaceworm wrote:


I'm 6'4", 250#, and the wheel is for my mountain bike - I ride
mostly single track trails and small drops (2' max). Weight is
not a concern. My current set up is:

RIM Mavic X223, 26"
REAR HUB Shimano M-525 Disc, 32 hole
SPOKES DT Swiss 1.8mm stainless, alloy nipples


I've decided on a PhillWood rear hub because they're built
strong and are guaranteed for life.
http://www.philwood.com/webcatolog/page1.htm
The only question here is 32 or 36 holes?

Would standard DT spokes 1.8-1.6-1.8 be best?
That seems to be the concensus (after reading all the FAQ)

The big question:
What rim would you recommend?
All I know about rims is that I don't want annodized or machined...

The group's current favourite rim seems to be the Mavic X618CD. A nice
combination of strength and moderate weight. The Freak recommends it,
so it'll be tough enough for you.


Yup. Mine only dented instead of broke! Did I mention I weigh 135?


36h is obviously going to be stronger, but heavier. 32h should be
enough for your needs. Just make sure that it's built by a good
wheelbuilder.

Standard double-butted spokes will be fine, but get them with brass
nipples rather than alloy - they won't strip or round off so easily.


def.


Phil Wood hubs are nice, but expensive. Have a look at the offerings
from Chris King (also expensive), Hugi and Hope.


Seconded.

Jon Bond



I'm not as tall as you, but almost the same weight (230#). My rear hub
experience is similar. The run of the mill hub's just not strong enough
for me.

I agree with the hub choices. When I kept trashing hubs, I went to
Chris King and haven't had a problem since. Hugi and Phil Wood were
also high on my list. At that time, Hugi had just changed their pawl
design to lighten the hub a little and were having problems with
breakage -- I understand that's no longer an issue.

Rims. I've had continued problems with various Mavic rims stress
cracking (including the "strong" ones, but I never tried the 618). Made
tight, they stress crack at the spoke holes, made slightly looser, they
stress crack under the rim tape. I believe that it's because they use a
stiff alloy that's a little more brittle. I'd recommend something a
little softer, like the Sun Rhino Lite.

If I had it to do again ($$$ for the Chris King ), I'd go with 36
hole. I doubt that I'd have the stress crack problem. And, the 4 extra
spokes don't weigh enough to worry about -- especially when ballanced
against the annoyance of building a new wheel once or twice a season!

I'd also recommend brass nipples. Better tensioning control and they
won't corrode themselves to the spokes over time making truing
impossible. I also wouldn't use spoke lock -- you don't need it if the
rim's built right and it makes truing harder later.

If your builder doesn't stress relieve, find another -- or at least do
it yourself. I haven't broken a spoke since I started doing that. See
Sheldon Brown's page.

Tripple butted DT Swiss spokes are working great here .

David

David Kunz wrote:

Jon Bond wrote:
"bomba" wrote in message

36h is obviously going to be stronger, but heavier. 32h should be
enough for your needs. Just make sure that it's built by a good
wheelbuilder.

If I had it to do again ($$$ for the Chris King ), I'd go with 36
hole. I doubt that I'd have the stress crack problem. And, the 4 extra
spokes don't weigh enough to worry about -- especially when ballanced
against the annoyance of building a new wheel once or twice a season!

To put everything in perspective, the extra four spokes would add a
whopping 20 grams or so... that's just over 2/3 of an ounce, or
1/23rd of a pound (are y'all starting to see why everyone else uses
metric?). ;-) I agree that it's pretty cheap insurance.

I'd also recommend brass nipples. Better tensioning control and they
won't corrode themselves to the spokes over time making truing
impossible. I also wouldn't use spoke lock -- you don't need it if the
rim's built right and it makes truing harder later.

If your builder doesn't stress relieve, find another -- or at least do
it yourself. I haven't broken a spoke since I started doing that. See
Sheldon Brown's page.

Absolutely on all counts. Great components and a marginal build will
yield a wheel that won't last.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

King,Hope,for hubs. Mavic in 500 and above range. But
you may want to slim down on what your carry on that 76 inch frame. I
put on 10 lbs sitting around for two month with a snapped collarbone.
I've been riding a month now and I lost that extra pounds and looking
at taking off 10 more on this 72 inch frame.

Fire up MTB 03

I'm 208 lbs standing on the scale in the nude. That
means true weight.

Fire up MTB 03

D T W .../\... wrote:
"bigfaceworm" wrote

I've broken 8 freehub bodies in the past 5 years (Shimano Deore, LX,
XTR). I'm tired of that.

So, I've decided to build the ultimate rear wheel, and just wanted
to get some feedback on components.

I'm 6'4", 250#, and the wheel is for my mountain bike - I ride
mostly single track trails and small drops (2' max). Weight is
not a concern.

Read what Sheldon has to say about triple butted spokes. Also I believe
that I've read that a 36 hole is a stronger wheel.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#spokes

HUB Hugi, King or Wood
RIM: Sun-Ringle RhynoLiteXL
SPOKES: DT Swiss AlpineIII (tripple swaged) spokes
NIPPLES: brass

I build my MTB wheels @ 32 Holes, My road wheels @ 36