Advantages of "upgrading wheels"

[martinsnyman]

Hi There,

 

So I am pretty new to Mtbing, have been riding for about a yer now and see a lot of guys recommend upgrading the wheels on your bike as one of the best upgrades. I currently have a Scott Spark 950 with the standard alexrims xc 49 wheels on. I know most people say these are not very good rims, but they have served me well. What I would like to know is - what would the advantages be of changing to say Stans ZTR rims? I would go for the Arch as I weigh 95kgs.

 

Is it all about weight/ strength?

What would be the difference between the Stans 3.30 hubs and my standard deore hubs?

 

Thank you

[Lone_Ranger]

The standard rims on Scotts definitely worth an upgrade. Had a buddy come off badly on a technical section cos his standard Scott rims buckled. Think head over handlebars, hitting ground. Happened to him twice, then he upgraded.

 

He got Stans ZTR, not sure which one.

[martinsnyman]

Thank you Lone Ranger, but besides the risk of breaking these rims - what are the advantages of better hubs etc?

[Muzzarati]

Weight lighter rims and tyres make a huge difference to the way the bike handles as this mass is rotating!

[Johan Bornman]

Weight lighter rims and tyres make a huge difference to the way the bike handles as this mass is rotating!

 

Would you care to explain and quantify this "huge" difference?

[Dustbug]

At 95kg you have to go to the arch , crests are at their limit at 90kg arch are at their limit at 105kg but don't waste your time is you don't change the hubs, the stans 330hd11 are excellent hubs and are extremely fast these hubs and rims with the right tyres will easly take 1kg off your bike weight which will make a difference. other good hubs are hope2 and sunringle .

change to tubeless at the same time it makes a big difference.

good luck and enjoy your riding.

[Muzzarati]

Would you care to explain and quantify this "huge" difference?

 

Wikipedia does a fairly good right up on Moments of inertia.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_of_inertia

[LazyTrailRider]

Wikipedia does a fairly good right up on Moments of inertia.

 

https://en.wikipedia...ment_of_inertia

 

Oh no, here we go again...

[flymango]

Would you care to explain and quantify this "huge" difference?

 

Do you disagree or agree? I've always valued your input. Onthou, ek weeg n goeie 97kg's, en wil ook graag "upgrade".

[martinsnyman]

At 95kg you have to go to the arch , crests are at their limit at 90kg arch are at their limit at 105kg but don't waste your time is you don't change the hubs, the stans 330hd11 are excellent hubs and are extremely fast these hubs and rims with the right tyres will easly take 1kg off your bike weight which will make a difference. other good hubs are hope2 and sunringle .

change to tubeless at the same time it makes a big difference.

good luck and enjoy your riding.

Thank you!

[Craigwt]

I have always wondered about this "wheel weight is the most important" thing. As far as I can see, heavier wheels have advantages. i.e. Momentum. When up to speed, the heavier wheel should roll better/easier/faster than the lighter wheel?

 

If you take this into account, the difference between wheel weight (being a part that rotates), and normal bike weight (parts that don't rotate), should be insignificant...

 

Anyways, I went from riding heavy wheels, to light wheels, and back to heavy wheels just recently, and I think I prefer the heavier wheels. I feel the loss in momentum when switching to light wheels much more than I feel the benefit in acceleration.

[Mountain Bru]

Wouldn't the rolling resistance of the tire on the trail have a much bigger influence on slowing you down than the inertia of a heavy or light wheel? If I look at road bikes, they have super light wheels and don't seem to struggle with momentum.

 

Also, inertia is good when you want to keep going, but sometimes stopping is important. Won't your brakes perform much better if they're slowing down a lighter mass? I figure I can always pedal harder to gain momentum, but there's not much you can do to loose momentum apart from braking and relying on friction.

 

I have no experience on this though, so I'm just guessing. I'm also looking to upgrade my wheels, so any feedback would be appreciated

[Ceres]

I have always wondered about this "wheel weight is the most important" thing. As far as I can see, heavier wheels have advantages. i.e. Momentum. When up to speed, the heavier wheel should roll better/easier/faster than the lighter wheel?

 

If you take this into account, the difference between wheel weight (being a part that rotates), and normal bike weight (parts that don't rotate), should be insignificant...

 

Anyways, I went from riding heavy wheels, to light wheels, and back to heavy wheels just recently, and I think I prefer the heavier wheels. I feel the loss in momentum when switching to light wheels much more than I feel the benefit in acceleration.

 

Sorry don't agree with this. Reading one of the bike mags it stated that for every kilometre of climbing you can make up 20 seconds for every 500grams you are lighter (sorry don't know what gradient they were taking about). Now I can't see you making that kind of time up on a down hill. I have race wheels AC Race and the standard Syncros that came with my spark 910 its a 1kg saving and I can tell you there is a huge difference. Routes that I normally ride I see a big difference in my times and that's all the proof I need.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Ceres

[NotSoBigBen]

Wouldn't the rolling resistance of the tire on the trail have a much bigger influence on slowing you down than the inertia of a heavy or light wheel? If I look at road bikes, they have super light wheels and don't seem to struggle with momentum.

 

Also, inertia is good when you want to keep going, but sometimes stopping is important. Won't your brakes perform much better if they're slowing down a lighter mass? I figure I can always pedal harder to gain momentum, but there's not much you can do to loose momentum apart from braking and relying on friction.

 

I have no experience on this though, so I'm just guessing. I'm also looking to upgrade my wheels, so any feedback would be appreciated

 

I guess disc 'breaks' on a road bike will be beneficial for you

[Slowbee]

I have always wondered about this "wheel weight is the most important" thing. As far as I can see, heavier wheels have advantages. i.e. Momentum. When up to speed, the heavier wheel should roll better/easier/faster than the lighter wheel?

 

If you take this into account, the difference between wheel weight (being a part that rotates), and normal bike weight (parts that don't rotate), should be insignificant...

 

Anyways, I went from riding heavy wheels, to light wheels, and back to heavy wheels just recently, and I think I prefer the heavier wheels. I feel the loss in momentum when switching to light wheels much more than I feel the benefit in acceleration.

 

I like this post. It speaks to human emotion. It is all hidden in the word feels. No amount of scientific evidence will change the way one feels about something. All marketing companies play on this.

 

If the wheel set you have feels faster, then it is faster. Of course it will make you ride faster.

 

An example, I am way faster than my Sani2C partner on the flats and down hills, I pedal a lot less than he does, and I feel that this is due to my wheels been better than his. It just is, it just feels that way and I feel fast on the bike (as those who know me, fast is a relative term). The fact that he whips my butt on the up hills and is 15 kg lighter than me has nothing to do with my feeling that my wheels are better than his and make me faster

[DJ84]

Every little bit makes a difference as they say,

the biggest difference in a wheel comes from the tyres (rolling resistance and then weight).

 

As for a wheel I like a solid rim and a good quality hub and I am light at 75kg's.

I don't believe that 50 grams on a rim will make a big enough difference to me (not a pro) to sacrifice strength (especially when I lose talent and hit something a bit too hard).

 

The wheels mentioned above (stans) are great and popular for a reason.

If it makes you more comfortable and ride your bike more then do it.