ZTR Rims vs Body Weight

[Troskie C]

Hi Hubs, i recently bought a new Silverback Vida2. Bike is awsome but a friend of mine suggested that i should look into changing my rims. I am a big boy, 115kg. I am also the tipe that likes the rougher the better. I only just got into the sport and i layed out some big tom recently getting everything i need, the last thing i need now is to stuff up a rim. My question is this, can i go rough it up on these ZTR Crest (slx) rims taking by body weight into consideration? Any suggestions welcome.

 

Regards,

Fat Cobra!

[EVOBIKES ONLINE STORE]

Nope you better get rid of those Crest's ASAP!!

 

They gonna Pretzel on the first rock you hit...

[HowellingWulf]

Hi FC. I weigh just over 90 and I did not even bother with the Crest's on my 29er. If I want to save weight I'll cut down on the beer and red meat. Not going to happen so I settled for the Flow's. Tough as nails. At 115kg's I would not even worry about the couple of extra grammes saved the Crest's would offer you. At my weight I would not settle for the Crests - specially in 29er guise. If you are looking at 26" wheels, rather go for the 355's if you are a bit concerned about weight. Strong wheels but not as heavy as the Flow's and will survive anything a xc race will throw at you. I have them on my 26er and am very happy with them. If you are not keen on the ZTR's, have a look at the Shimano XT or SLX wheels. Replacement spokes on the Shimano's can be expensive and difficult to find. Good luck!

[HowellingWulf]

Nope you better get rid of those Crest's ASAP!!

 

They gonna Pretzel on the first rock you hit...

+1

 

Go with the Flow!

[NotSoBigBen]

So ...... if you're 'just under' 90 are they ok?

[arendoog]

I weigh 95kg and have used crest wheels on a Ht for 9months with no problems .I ride carefully mostly .For your riding style they are too weak . Try and swop them on the hub .You can swop for my excellent giant set if interested. For rough terrain I use a mavic set ,but the giant wheels are super strong and reliable and not much heavier than the mavic set

[arendoog]

So ...... if you're 'just under' 90 are they ok?

Rated for 220pounds 99.5kg

[Goodbadugly]

You will see that the established brands like Cannondale, Giant and Scott fight shy of superlight rims like Crests. Because they KNOW that bigger (I did not say fat) guys and gals will purchase their bikes. And they do not want law suits. They will spec Arch. The smaller brands will through in these wheels to boost sales and hope that the riders finesse them because they know of their limitations.

[HowellingWulf]

So ...... if you're 'just under' 90 are they ok?

Hmm. I'm no wheel specialist but I believe that stronga is betta. Suppose if they lasted you up to now then they are 100's. Usually drop down to 86 when I'm a bit fitter but will stick to the Flows... Like I said - sronga is betta (well for me at least).

[HowellingWulf]

Rated for 220pounds 99.5kg

....but what happens if you do a bit of a drop off and the impact force is more than 99.5kgs. Stronga is betta!

[arendoog]

I am tall and do not ride big drop offs often .Have gone over the handlebars too often.I ride groenkloof regularly and fast . I ride all the difficult single tract without problems and even the really rocky 4x4 sections .I reckon if the wheels have been well built ,they can take punishment. Drop offs and rocky downhills don't come much more difficult than groenkloof .So far I rate them highly

[scotty]

Great bike but i would change the wheels, Crest are built for light trail use and MTB review's by users has them as a problem for heavier riders. I have the slightly heavier Arch and so far after 8 months of use iv'e experienced no issues.

[Goodbadugly]

I don't get it. What can a 99.92kg (BMI>30) guy possibly gain by riding a wheelset rated for MAX 85kg's. For 200 grams more you can get a set rated for your weight.

You don't see Golf GTI's comming out with SR rated tires(for up to 180km/h). They come out with VR ratings(up to 210km/h)

I am 75kg's. I nearly DUMPED the 29er project because of stupid light wheels(1.54 kg). As a last effort, I bought a set of Giant OEM P-XC2 wheels off the hub (1.9 kg). The whole nature of the bike changed. I took them to Mankele this weekend an let them have it. This was what I was looking for. I prefer solid wheels. I will keep the Crests for something like the Crater Cruise. Horses for courses.

[SwissVan]

Hi Hubs, i recently bought a new Silverback Vida2. Bike is awsome but a friend of mine suggested that i should look into changing my rims. I am a big boy, 115kg. I am also the tipe that likes the rougher the better. I only just got into the sport and i layed out some big tom recently getting everything i need, the last thing i need now is to stuff up a rim. My question is this, can i go rough it up on these ZTR Crest (slx) rims taking by body weight into consideration? Any suggestions welcome.

 

Regards,

Fat Cobra!

 

 

I say try them out gradualy starting on easy rough stuff first, if they pretzel then you buy something stronger (and we cause you will give us feedback.....) will know that 115kg's is to much. In the mean time start saving $ for some stronger wheels and maybe lean up a bit.

 

I've been riding ZTR Alpines for over 2 years now with zero defect, not even a wobble but then my riding weight in this time was in the 80 - 88 kg range (includes camelbak )

Edited August 13, 2012 by SwissVan

[Johan Bornman]

Hi Hubs, i recently bought a new Silverback Vida2. Bike is awsome but a friend of mine suggested that i should look into changing my rims. I am a big boy, 115kg. I am also the tipe that likes the rougher the better. I only just got into the sport and i layed out some big tom recently getting everything i need, the last thing i need now is to stuff up a rim. My question is this, can i go rough it up on these ZTR Crest (slx) rims taking by body weight into consideration? Any suggestions welcome.

 

Regards,

Fat Cobra!

 

The short answer is no.

 

However, so many other suggestions were made that I have to explain my negative answer.

 

Crest rims are ultra lightweight rims. Like all rims they're made from aluminium and the only way to get them lighter is to use less aluminium Use less and the rims are thinner and hence, weaker.

 

Weakness/strength needs some definition too. The first test would be if they could withstand a reasonable spoke tension. Yes they can and they threrefore won't "pretzel" as was suggested.

 

The second type of strength is really strength over time and that is called durabililty. Are they durable enough to withstand millions of revolutions where spoke tension is cycled? Yes, their fatigue life is very good.

 

The third type of strength we look at is how the rims perform on impact. Here they perform very poorly. For two reasons: 1), The shallow bead (they called it Bead Socket Technology or BST but I abbreviate it to BS) doesn't absorb impact by bending but transfers the impact into the rim cavity. This is usually fatal and it happens very, very often. For this reason alone I don't recomomend these rims.

 

If you're heavy, don't bother. Get heavy rims and don't play the silly how-low-can-you-go tyre pressure game.

[Johan Bornman]

I am tall and do not ride big drop offs often .Have gone over the handlebars too often.I ride groenkloof regularly and fast . I ride all the difficult single tract without problems and even the really rocky 4x4 sections .I reckon if the wheels have been well built ,they can take punishment. Drop offs and rocky downhills don't come much more difficult than groenkloof .So far I rate them highly

I am tall and do not ride big drop offs often .Have gone over the handlebars too often.I ride groenkloof regularly and fast . I ride all the difficult single tract without problems and even the really rocky 4x4 sections .I reckon if the wheels have been well built ,they can take punishment. Drop offs and rocky downhills don't come much more difficult than groenkloof .So far I rate them highly

 

Counter-intuitively, drop-offs and rocky sections don't increase stress on a rim but reduces it. The examples you cite are not good ones unless the bump is a sharp one and the rim bottoms out through the tyre. Only then does rim strength come into play in "rough riding".