Ultra low maintenance bicycle wheels ?

Does such a critter exist?


I remember purchasing a childs bicycle with heavy cast aluminum wheels
almost 20 years ago, and this product proved truly bulletproof. In
constrast, my college aged son can't seem to get any wheels to last on his
mountain bike - even when he babies them.

Surely a wheel option exists which would permit reliability optimization -
instead of of performance?


Your comments would be most appreciated...................


Thank you,

AD




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On Sun, 10 Aug 2003 22:38:17 -0500, "AD"
wrote:

Does such a critter exist?


I remember purchasing a childs bicycle with heavy cast aluminum wheels
almost 20 years ago, and this product proved truly bulletproof. In
constrast, my college aged son can't seem to get any wheels to last on his
mountain bike - even when he babies them.

Surely a wheel option exists which would permit reliability optimization -
instead of of performance?


There are some wheels out there that are solid cast, but I would think
they would be quite heavy. Alternatively, you should consider what is
going on with the wheels he has.

I cannot imagine a wheel "not lasting" under normal usage. What does
he consider babying? Only jumping off 4 foot cliffs instead of 6?
smile. Really, a well built wheel should last a good long time even
under tough conditions. What is breaking? Spokes? Rims? Tires? Hubs?

Dan

"AD" wrote in message
...
Does such a critter exist?

I remember purchasing a childs bicycle with heavy cast aluminum wheels
almost 20 years ago, and this product proved truly bulletproof. In
constrast, my college aged son can't seem to get any wheels to last on his
mountain bike - even when he babies them.

Surely a wheel option exists which would permit reliability optimization -
instead of of performance?

Absolutely! There are wheels out there that are designed for the most
extreme use imaginable. I have no idea what your son does to his wheels; but
I guarantee you that if he survives the rides, so can his wheels. He's
probably buying "weight weenie" superlight wheels and abusing them. That's a
prescription for high maintenance and frequent replacement.

I don't know what kind of bike he rides, so I'm going to assume "mountain
bike." (Noting that there are many sub-classes of MTB's.)

Get him a professionally hand-built set of wheels with 36 spokes, Shimano XT
hubs and Sun Rhyno Lite rims. If he breaks those, then he's quite
definitely *not* babying his wheels. The build quality is at least as
important as the components. Spoke tension must be high, and perfectly even.
Off-the-shelf machine-built wheels can't (or don't) provide optimum
durability.

Actually, there are probably lighter rims than the Rhyno Lite's that would
perform admirably. I've heard good things about Mavic 521, Velocity Aero
Heat and Bontrager Mustang rims. They're all in the reasonably-light weight
range; but still have plenty of strength. Not quite as bombproof as
downhill-specific rims; but considerably lighter.

If you have truckloads of money, and you want the best wheels possible, get
some Chris King hubs and lace them to Mavic 521's. They should be
indestructible. They'll run you $450-ish; but your son won't have to replace
them for a long time.

-Barry

"AD" wrote:

Surely a wheel option exists which would permit reliability optimization -
instead of of performance?

For the market segments who are hardest on their wheels-- that's
freestyle/dirt jumping riders and tandemists-- 48 spoke wheels are the
most certain approach to getting trouble-free wheels. This assumes
that suitably sturdy individual components are used, and that the
wheels are well assembled by an expert wheelbuilder.

Wheels built without dish (symmetrically one side to the other) are
stronger and more reliable by far than those which are dished to allow
use of multi-gear clusters in the rear or disc brakes in the front.

If your son is of normal size and weight, and if he rides for
transportation rather than for thrills, there remains the question of
what he may be doing to unduly tax his wheels. He should take some
care not to side-load his wheels heavily upon mounting his bike, and
he should stand up out of the saddle when he is able to anticipate
large bumps. He should also take care to keep his tires inflated to a
proper level for his weight and riding conditions.

There is the possibility that he has not yet tried a pair of wheels
which has been handbuilt or at least tensioned and stress-relieved by
hand. Most machine-built wheels fail to live up to the durability
potential of their components because of compromises in their
assembly.

Bicycle wheels are not a "one size fits all" commodity due to the
range of demands placed upon them. If your son imposes demands on his
wheels that are out of the ordinary, he may require extraordinary
wheels to meet those demands reliably.

Chalo Colina