Alex rims- to convert to tubeless or not

[Dustyman]

I bought my wife a new scott spart and she was complaining that while she was going around corners it seemed like the tyres were moving on the rims (Alex xc-44). I thought it may be the rocket rons that were fitted, so tried some kenda nevegals that were lying around and has the same response. Not sure if this is due to the narrow internal width of the rim (I think it is 17mm (ETRTO 559x17mm) or the rims weren't stiff enough.

 

We looking at converting her bike to tubeless for Sani, is it worth converting these rims, or should we replace them for something with a wider internal width. She has had quite a few crashes, so wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of weight for more stability

[Flowta]

Take it to a wheelbuilder and get him to rebuild/check those wheels.

 

Often factory wheels aren't tightened correctly, etc.

[madvics]

I have alex rims with tubeless,monorail in front and crossmarx rear, the front I run on 1.6psi and the rear 1.8psi and haven't had any problems.

[Motard660]

I have tubeless on my Merida that have Alex rims. Kenda tyres with no problems at all. The only problem was me not doing it earlier!

[Dustyman]

I have heard that rims with a narrower internal width (below 19mm) have more lateral tyre movement which

1) causes this instability

2) causes the tyre to burp on occation

Glad people are happy with the alex rims, but not too sure what the internal width is on these. Don't want to do something just before Sani and its a complete stuffup. Thanks for the feedback!

[LukeV-2]

I really am not a fan of alex rims.. I have folded some in half and broken a spoke on my racing bike!!! I have got rid of both the sets i used to have..

[dirtrider]

Alex rims are one of the easiest to convert to toobeless . I luv Alex rims , they are cheap and my first set on hardtail shows no signs of the tough life they have .

[PhilipV]

Convert them.

I reckon the tyre is rolling because it is not inflated enough. Check on the sidewall. If there are crisscross lines it means the tyre is bending too much under lateral force (cornering) inflating it more will help. Wider rim will help as well, but it is much of a muchness to be honest.

[Motard660]

Alex rims are one of the easiest to convert to toobeless . I luv Alex rims , they are cheap and my first set on hardtail shows no signs of the tough life they have .

 

 

+1

[HandH]

I have them on my spark 29er, converted to tubeless with Maxxis Icon rubber.

Personally think they are k@k soft rims & also feels like they wobble if you take a

corner (as if the tyre were flat) & I pump them up veeeeerrrry hard.

Hit a ridge in a bend on a single track & folded the front wheel around the fork !!?!!!

Imo, change wheels..

Will be putting my Eastons on today

[Dustyman]

I tried googling the narrow rims thing and the only thing I found was the below link:

 

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday--Wider-Rims-Are-Better-and-Why-Tubeless-Tires-Burp-.html

 

He used the below diagram to show why wider rims are better

 

http://ap1.pinkbike.org/p4pb7486955/p4pb7486955.jpg

[Dustyman]

Convert them.

I reckon the tyre is rolling because it is not inflated enough. Check on the sidewall. If there are crisscross lines it means the tyre is bending too much under lateral force (cornering) inflating it more will help. Wider rim will help as well, but it is much of a muchness to be honest.

 

Thanks Philip...we have been running them at about 2psi. No crisscross lines on the sidewall (but still really new).

[Musashi]

Well, I bent the rim on my brand new Scott Spark 29r within the first three weeks. And it wasn't a hard impact at all. Now I have Hope hubs and Crest rims and couldn't be happier. My personal experience, I hope it helps somehow.

[covie]

I bought my wife a new scott spart and she was complaining that while she was going around corners it seemed like the tyres were moving on the rims (Alex xc-44). I thought it may be the rocket rons that were fitted, so tried some kenda nevegals that were lying around and has the same response. Not sure if this is due to the narrow internal width of the rim (I think it is 17mm (ETRTO 559x17mm) or the rims weren't stiff enough.

 

We looking at converting her bike to tubeless for Sani, is it worth converting these rims, or should we replace them for something with a wider internal width. She has had quite a few crashes, so wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of weight for more stability

 

Theres been a million conversions on Alex rims, I use them as my training wheels as they are nice and heavy though i use the dp20's.

 

If it feels unstable, its either your running her tyre pressures too low for tubed tyres, or there might be a wobble in the wheel itself? What pressures you running the misses, and how much damage does she do to the scale?

[Dustyman]

Theres been a million conversions on Alex rims, I use them as my training wheels as they are nice and heavy though i use the dp20's.

 

If it feels unstable, its either your running her tyre pressures too low for tubed tyres, or there might be a wobble in the wheel itself? What pressures you running the misses, and how much damage does she do to the scale?

 

Answer 1: We run her tyres quite hard on her spark...2psi on our gauge...harder than I run on my trance 1.8psi. But she says that she is always checking to see if the tyres are flat

Answer 2: Not as much damage as she does to herself flying off it ...she is a lot more cautious these days so not hitting anything big, a few rocks as normal in karkloof & howick

[Flowta]

I have them on my spark 29er, converted to tubeless with Maxxis Icon rubber.

Personally think they are k@k soft rims & also feels like they wobble if you take a

corner (as if the tyre were flat) & I pump them up veeeeerrrry hard.

Hit a ridge in a bend on a single track & folded the front wheel around the fork !!?!!!

Imo, change wheels..

Will be putting my Eastons on today

 

Sounds like a bad WHEELBUILD, spokes not tensioned properly.