Trail Talk
Well-known member
You’re right on both counts 😉 An XC-type bike may be the most suitable squishy for bikepacking with modest 100mm travel, narrower tires and lightweight.
Anyone riding MTB with drop bars?
- Thread starter Trail Talk
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Trail Talk
Well-known member
I’ve accepted the necessity of your advice and scored a used wheelset off FB. Finding a non-boost in 27.5 with the right rotor sizes was a minor miracle 🧐. Cosmetically they were very clean and had the same DT Swiss 350 hubs I have on my other wheels so servicing was familiar. I did seek the help of my LBS to re-dish the rear (it had been dished out for a boost conversion), also re-truing was needed all around (the tech described them a “nearly square”) and new bearings in front. All in all I ended up spending about half what a new set costs. Now I have a lightweight/narrow trail set and sturdy/wider bikepacking set 🥳. Just counting down until I talk myself into another cassette but I’m leery about going used?
rruff
Explorer
I used to build wheels (for a "living") and strong wheel takes a long time to build... 3 rounds of stress-relief, even and proper tension, true, dish, repeat. I've never met a bike shop employee who understood wheels worth a damn. The people who build them at the factories usually do a sloppy job too... even on $3k wheelsets.
A properly built wheel should stay true until the rim is bent or broken. There is no way to fix a bent rim, it needs to be replaced... since truing it can only be achieved with uneven tension, which makes it weak. Unlike caliper brakes though, disc wheels don't need to be as true.
A quick and dirty way to check is to pluck all the spokes. Each side will be different but all the spokes on a side should have the same tone.
A properly built wheel should stay true until the rim is bent or broken. There is no way to fix a bent rim, it needs to be replaced... since truing it can only be achieved with uneven tension, which makes it weak. Unlike caliper brakes though, disc wheels don't need to be as true.
A quick and dirty way to check is to pluck all the spokes. Each side will be different but all the spokes on a side should have the same tone.
Trail Talk
Well-known member
Interesting, thanks for the comments. I've tried tackling truing before and it never worked out; once or twice a year just isn't enough to keep the "touch". I recall the tech plucking the spokes as you describe and just listening before he told me they needed work. I like this guy more than most because he appreciates those who work on their own bikes and is free with advice. But horses for courses; I just took my vintage road bike to another shop for a tune-up because the owner was an original mechanic with the frame-builder and we can easily BS away an hour.
