STAN'S NoTubes ZTR Crest 29er performance

[Paul Ruinaard]

Wrong side of 100kg on Arch Ex and been riding them for 18 months during which iv'e had plenty "mishaps" but never had issues with them.

 

Regards the whole "terrain" and " how you ride" thing, surely you want wheels that you are confident you can ride any terrain at your best without having to worry if your wheel will become a pretzel.

Agreed,

 

Invariably if i saw a line and wanted to hit it I was always thinking "will this break the wheels, and will i make a flying W as I plough the ground with my face after the front or rear has collapsed?". With the ARch EX's I have faith that they will hold up, so ride a lot more aggressive.

 

I am over this weight weenie thing on the bikes, mainly because the only lightweight thing involved in my riding is the bike.

[Paul Ruinaard]

We talking buffalo wheels here and cutting back on the buffalo wings right?

So OT: I had a conversation the Club Cycle lab folks and was wanting to rejoin the club, however was embarrassed by corporeal bulk at the moment and that I would need XL or XXL cycle gear (which was not the case in the past). So I asked Ali McLean if they made the kit in those sizes. Her response was that about 70% of the kit ordered is XL and that the general run of the mill guy needs larger sizes.

 

Buffaloes of the world unite.

[BarHugger]

Did some further investigation and found the following:

 

“These wheels are recommended for riders that weigh up to 190 pounds. I am 20 pounds over that recommendation and our other testers that spent time on them are under that number. One 20 pounds under, the other 55 pounds under that number. Riding in an aggressive XC style, literally, every other ride, the spokes completely de-tensioned, and were flopping around in the wind. I had as many as 8 spokes loosen up to this degree during one ride. We got the wheel re-tensioned 3 times and thread lock designed for spoke nipples put on. That improved things from 8 loose spokes to 4 at a time. After going through this process, I threw in the towel on these wheels. In my opinion, I was asking nothing out of these wheels that that they should not have been able to deliver on – wheels should not de-tension regardless of rider weight.

 

To be fair, our 135 pound rider thought nothing bad about them. Myself and the 170 pound rider couldn’t get past the wiggle felt in the back from the wheel flexing. It is our opinion that the weight penalty of 100 grams or so on similar wheels offered by other companies is worth the stiffness and reliability gained. Best case scenario is that the wheels were poorly built or manufacturing tolerances are not great. Either way, they can’t really get our recommendation until they prove more reliable.

 

So the verdict: if you are a light rider with a finesse riding style, these wheels may work fine. I would recommend riding them for a couple of days, then bringing them into a shop with an excellent wheel builder and having them re-tension the wheel. Another option is to use them as a dedicated race day wheelset on smooth race courses. Everyone else, look elsewhere.”

(http://www.29eronlin...heelset-review/ )

 

Problem is that I am seriously in the market for a new bike (or two, wife also needs one…..doing B&B end of October). Not being brand loyal, I stumbled across the 2014 Siverback Sola 1 which seems like good value for money (<R15,000). Some decent components and reliable set-up. However, the Crest rims are standard equipment. Considering the rider weight issue I contacted Silverback SA to determine if the Crest rim can be substituted by them for an Arch EX (Shimano SLX hub) because the rims are apparently purpose built for the bike. Not the case and cannot be done. Need to sort it out with the LBS where the bike will be bought from (further expense).

 

Sola is currently disappearing from my radar screen as an option as it seems the bike (because of the rims) might give "heavy riders" (weight and terrain features) some headaches. Contacted LBS where order for bike will be placed about the possibility of exchanging (swopping) the rims while keeping the rest standard.....awaiting their reply.

 

Any recommendations....????

[BarHugger]

So OT: I had a conversation the Club Cycle lab folks and was wanting to rejoin the club, however was embarrassed by corporeal bulk at the moment and that I would need XL or XXL cycle gear (which was not the case in the past). So I asked Ali McLean if they made the kit in those sizes. Her response was that about 70% of the kit ordered is XL and that the general run of the mill guy needs larger sizes.

 

Buffaloes of the world unite.

 

Taking it one step further.....rugby......the heavy, bulky, slow, thight five is what makes the rest (read: light weight wingers) look good!

[scotty]

Did some further investigation and found the following:

 

“These wheels are recommended for riders that weigh up to 190 pounds. I am 20 pounds over that recommendation and our other testers that spent time on them are under that number. One 20 pounds under, the other 55 pounds under that number. Riding in an aggressive XC style, literally, every other ride, the spokes completely de-tensioned, and were flopping around in the wind. I had as many as 8 spokes loosen up to this degree during one ride. We got the wheel re-tensioned 3 times and thread lock designed for spoke nipples put on. That improved things from 8 loose spokes to 4 at a time. After going through this process, I threw in the towel on these wheels. In my opinion, I was asking nothing out of these wheels that that they should not have been able to deliver on – wheels should not de-tension regardless of rider weight.

 

To be fair, our 135 pound rider thought nothing bad about them. Myself and the 170 pound rider couldn’t get past the wiggle felt in the back from the wheel flexing. It is our opinion that the weight penalty of 100 grams or so on similar wheels offered by other companies is worth the stiffness and reliability gained. Best case scenario is that the wheels were poorly built or manufacturing tolerances are not great. Either way, they can’t really get our recommendation until they prove more reliable.

 

So the verdict: if you are a light rider with a finesse riding style, these wheels may work fine. I would recommend riding them for a couple of days, then bringing them into a shop with an excellent wheel builder and having them re-tension the wheel. Another option is to use them as a dedicated race day wheelset on smooth race courses. Everyone else, look elsewhere.”

(http://www.29eronlin...heelset-review/ )

 

Problem is that I am seriously in the market for a new bike (or two, wife also needs one…..doing B&B end of October). Not being brand loyal, I stumbled across the 2014 Siverback Sola 1 which seems like good value for money (<R15,000). Some decent components and reliable set-up. However, the Crest rims are standard equipment. Considering the rider weight issue I contacted Silverback SA to determine if the Crest rim can be substituted by them for an Arch EX (Shimano SLX hub) because the rims are apparently purpose built for the bike. Not the case and cannot be done. Need to sort it out with the LBS where the bike will be bought from (further expense).

 

Sola is currently disappearing from my radar screen as an option as it seems the bike (because of the rims) might give "heavy riders" (weight and terrain features) some headaches. Contacted LBS where order for bike will be placed about the possibility of exchanging (swopping) the rims while keeping the rest standard.....awaiting their reply.

 

Any recommendations....????

Chat to your LBS, with my road bike i got them to swap the wheels the bike came out with as they had a weight limit, the swapped wheels were better quality and although more expensive i did not pay in.

[Hairy]

Taking it one step further.....rugby......the heavy, bulky, slow, thight five is what makes the rest (read: light weight wingers) look good!

And then who also help them out when they get grounded or in trouble on the field ... all the back line is good for is standing around and kicking the ball away before they get close to being tackled!

[Breezer]

I ride my crests hard over rocks and bumps on a hardtail and never had any problem with them. Today my crest front wheel could not take the impact that was coming it's way. I hit a dog at 30km / hour and it got bent. The impact was so hard that the rotor also got busted. So if you do not plan on riding over dogs get the crests and replace them if they break with something stronger.

[Lefty V]

I ride my crests hard over rocks and bumps on a hardtail and never had any problem with them. Today my crest front wheel could not take the impact that was coming it's way. I hit a dog at 30km / hour and it got bent. The impact was so hard that the rotor also got busted. So if you do not plan on riding over dogs get the crests and replace them if they break with something stronger.

Dog ok?

[Lefty V]

A difficult one to judge since wheel build plays a big role, but in theory will Crests flex more than Arches?

Edited October 5, 2013 by Lefty V

[Breezer]

Well

Dog ok?

Well, he ran away after the collision.