Heavy duty wheels for 26" MTB with BBSHD

mtdandy

10 µW
Joined
Mar 28, 2016
Messages
5
G'day. I have a flat spot in a rear rim after 4000km on my BBSHD powered 26" MTB. Im now looking at heavy duty spoked wheels to replace the existing ones. (Ive read that the 3-6 spoked wheels are not that heavy duty and may be detrimental if used for the type of hard riding i do (weight carrying and many hills and bush tracks and unsealed roads) Is there any heavy duty wheel rims others have found to be worthy of some heavy duty use carrying a trailer and often used on unsealed (often rocky) roadways. Any pair at around $250 aussie dollars would be good. Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks n cheers.
Tags: None
 
Fatter tires and proper inflation will protect you better against flat spotting than any change of rims will. Mag wheels are no help at all in this regard, having much longer unsupported spans. Keep in mind you can't true them when (not if) they get bent.

My go-to recommendation for a cost effective heavy duty rim, the Alex DM24, now seems to be out of production. But I have heard there are still some left in Australia. Get a couple of those if you can, and have a competent wheelbuilder lace them to no-bullshit hubs of your liking.
 
Might look at some wheels intended for cargo bikes. Not the lightest racing wheel you find in the mtbs stuff, but not steel heavy. Generally the nipples will have the eyelets. Something similar to the alex, if you cant find them.
 
Sometimes even a decent rim and bigger tire/etc doesn't save you, if the wrong thing happens at teh wrong moment, like today's pothole:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67833&start=650#p1359023
file.php
 
Pics would help.

If the only damage to your wheel was a flat spot, then your rim was beyond heavy duty enough for the tire you were running. The failure point was the tire. Flat spots happen when when the tire fails to hold up under impact. This happens when the tire is too small, under inflated, or to thin walled for the bike's weight, power, and riding conditions, or if the tire is the wrong width for the rim.

Basically, if you didn't break or pull out spokes, crack the rim, or bend it into a taco, then it's not the rim's fault. It's the tire's.

If we knew what tire and wheel combo you had, we could make better suggestions.
 
Back
Top