nick_the_wheelbuilder

Whatever works in the conditions. Personally I'd not go deeper than 50mm on the front, but up to 60mm at the rear is cool. 45/45 or 45/55 would be my choice. Shallower than 45 and you lose aero advantage.

The Nextie RX rims have a 25mm outer width hat the bead area, so is ideal for 25 or 28c tyres.

Darkhorse is a good option if your budget is R17k. I wouldn't consider the Bitex hubs an upgrade though, compared to the Mavics, if I'm honest. If you stretch your budget to R25k you can get premium hubs with superb tubeless ready rims that handle great in crosswinds, hand-built with bladed spokes and brass nipples. If it was my money, I'd get DT Swiss 350 hubs with Nextie 45RX rims. I can't express strongly enough how awesome these rims are from a quality point of view. They're impeccable. Their rim cross-section shape makes them very stable in cross winds.

Don't get carbon wheels if: You can't afford R20k+ for the set See reason above. You're upgrading to disc brakes soon. See first point above. Get carbon wheels if: You like the way they look. You want more aero speed. You have the cash. You plan on keeping that bike for a while (your new bike will have disc brakes) You might try tubeless at some point. Be very careful with 2nd hand wheels as they've already had "adventures" that you know nothing about. Invest in the right wheels - 45mm rims with the right "shape" for best crosswind handling, high-quality braking surface that won't delaminate or warp. Hubs that don't use proprietary spokes and are easy to maintain anywhere in the world. My personal recommendation: Nextie 45RX rims on DT Swiss 350 hubs, laced with light bladed spokes and brass nipples. Approx 1500g at approx R25k

If you're not in sales, you should be.

Bargain. As with all Rovals, remove the rim tape and look inside at the nipples. If they've become white (corrosion) then replace the nipples with brass. I see corroded nipple heads popping of on a regular basis - you think a spoke's broken, but it's actually the nipple.

The warranty is on manufacturing defects. These will show quickly. Even a lifetime warranty is meaningless if the rim doesn't break due to a quality issue, or does break due to a massive rider impact. Damage from a square-edge impact is only covered by the crash replacement discount, not the warranty.

There's a definite benefit with carbon rims vs. alloy. Same strength, lower weight. Also, carbon rims don't go out of true like alloy. Metal bends and stays bent. Carbon bounces back or breaks. For me the main selling point is the weight saving, which influences handling and acceleration. Like for like, a 30mm inner width alloy rim weighs 450g+, while there are now 30mm inner width carbon rims available at 280g per rim. Imagine saving 170g per wheel, 340g per set, just by changing your rims - going from a 1900g+ wheelset to a 1560g set. You feel that difference for sure. With regards to "stiffness", I'd be surprised if you could tell the difference between a well-built alloy set compared to a well-built carbon set. Rim shape also influences "compliance". Deeper section rims are "stiffer" or more rigid than very shallow rims. Spank, for instance, has honed in on shallow rims for better radial compliance, which helps directional tracking through rocky terrain. Check this article: https://spank-ind.com/blogs/news/possibly-one-of-the-biggest-innovations-in-rime-engineering-in-recent-years

The quality of many carbon products from China these days is incredible - remember that most big brand carbon parts are made there anyways. Like I've said for Nextie: super quality, very responsive service and a great product at a very affordable price compared to bigger brands.

Nope, their rims come from China - I know this to be a fact as Alex from cSixx told me in person. Would I push for South versus a Chinese product at the same price? Yes I would. CSixx rims are great, don't get me wrong, but handmade rims from Cape Town would be my pick for the money.

Nextie are super. Like really superb. The quality of fit and finish is perfect and very consistent. Variations in published weight is +/- 15g normally. (I'm the nominated SA representative / distributor for the brand) The model in the link you shared is 420 per rim - heavy, but strong for enduro-type riding. They have super-light options for marathon / XC coming in at 280g for a 30mm inner width version. And everything in between - see nextie.com Their quality control and warranty, although only 3 years, is great and they give outstanding service. When I order from them, the rims arrive in 4-5 weeks and cost between R7000 - 8000 per rim, depending on the model. Custom graphics are also available, or you can choose standard graphics, or no graphics.

An extra 2 days for delivery, come on South rims at R8995 per rim, and they're locally made, with lifetime warranty. cSixx rims are made in Asia like everything else, but price similar to the South. For everyone's info, here's what a build process looks like: Day 1: You pay the deposit. I order the parts. You pop your hubs in a PUDO locker. Day 3: I get the new parts and your hubs and start the build. Day 5: I pop your wheels in a box, and onto the courier. Day 7/8: You get your new wheels! If you choose a GP-based wheelbuilder, I can recommend Michael Maine from Bicycle Supply Chain or Dave Marshall at Spoke and Spanner.

Pillar PSR Xtra1420 bladed spokes with black brass Sapim Securelock nipples.

Just want to show off my latest build. Carbon gravel wheels, 25mm inner width, bladed spokes and brass nipples. 1095g before rim tape and valves.

These rims aren't terrible, they're from the Stan's "budget" line - read: heavy.

Thanks for catching my typo!

Here's the link to that article: https://wheelbuilder.co.za/mk4-rims/ ...and some pics of wheels I've built using the Mk4 range.

As far as I know, South Industries are the only guys who make rims in SA. cSixx import their rims.

I'll also weigh in here. Replacing the hub on an otherwise functional wheel isn't worth the time and expense, especially, as Dave points out above, if the original rim isn't anything special. If I were you I'd either ride the original wheels until they die and NEED replacement, or remove them and keep them as a spare set, and upgrade the whole wheel set. Doing it this way will allow you to replace the original wheels when you sell the bike, and move your good, special, light, strong and sexy hand-built wheels to your new bike in a year or 3. In terms of performance, hubs are less important than the rims. In other words, better rims make more of a difference to your riding than the hubs. The original wheels on your bike are neither light nor very durable, so a wheel set upgrade is the best thing you can do. (II have a pile of cracked WTB STi29 rims in my "broken" pile) Expect to pay anything between R10-15k for a decent set of hand-built wheels with good alloy rims and decent sealed-bearing hubs. My favourite would be Hope hubs on Stan's Arch Mk4 rims, for your bike.

Not a single instance of a crack at the spoke holes, that I'm aware of, since the Mk4 range was launched. Safe to say they've solved the problem. Also, from my perspective, they're one of the only brands who have a healthy rim stock-holding in SA in all 3 versions (Crest, Arch & Flow) in 28 and 32h versions. I'm busy with an article now explaining their rim range with specs, weights and recommended use cases. Seriously one of the best alloy rim options on the market right now. I'll post a link to the article here once I'm done writing it later today.

If air is coming through the spoke holes, it's normally because it's pushing past the valve grommet. Add sealant, rotate wheel so valve is at the bottom, inflate and bounce wheel on the floor to splash sealant onto the valve. Don't spin the wheel while doing this. Some rims don't have a great joint seal, so if the tape doesn't go up the rim wall 3-4mm, this may cause the same issue. Sealant will solve this too.

Big dudes need strong wheels. Buy whatever bike you like, but start saving for proper wheels. Most OEM wheels are put together to help hit a price point, not to be the most durable. If you're over 100kg and ride offroad, strong rims are a must. There are some nice options by Lyne, Zero, DT Swiss, Spank and Stan's available at the moment. Ride the original wheels until something breaks, then either replace just the rims and spokes, or buy new wheels which are designed and built to be more heavy duty.

Sure, there's that. Essentially, all the spokes on the same side of the wheel should have more or less the same tension, and if the wheel was built properly, shouldn't need adjustment. A good wheel builder knows how to "settle" the spokes and nipples during the build process. If the spokes came loose during a ride, they were not effectively tensioned to begin with.

A properly-built wheel will never have to be touched or adjusted once delivered to a customer. Pluck each spoke like a guitar string and if they all sound the same, on each side of the wheel, the tensions are even. If the pitch is all over the place, the wheel wasn’t built well.

Unless the spoke lacing pattern is weird, then yes, you can just buy new rims and have them built onto your hubs. If the rim depth isn't identical, you may need new spokes. Shout if you need help sourcing rims - I am the distributor for Nextie rims in South Africa and I can help if needed. I can obviously also rebuild the wheels for you.