Sourcing out 80-100mm wide rims for FatBike with 36h

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Mar 29, 2016
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Hi,
Searching ES about this topic found outdated info.
Searching Google sends you to many happy shops with "Item no longer in Stock".
So I open a new thread...

I look for two Fat-bike rims:
One 80mm(+-) wide and the second 100mm(+-).

So far I only found those in Weinmann:
http://www.weinmanntek.com/Products/CHOPPER/List.htm
and the 80mm version can be bought via lunacycle:
https://lunacycle.com/weinmann-dhl80-26x4-36h-fat-bike-rim/
After getting used to Grin's complete spec, the fact that Lunacycle (or Weinmann) doens't provide the ERD looks a bit strange...
I never bought at Lunacycle and don't know if it's a reputable shop or not.

Do you know where I can get 100mm 36h rim somewhere (Google gives only outdated info and out of stock shops), and more options for 80mm rims?
If you happen to know the ERD of the 80mm rim I found it would be a bliss. (Google couldn't find it...)

Why hub-motors are still being produced in 36h pattern? This is making it harder and harder to source compatible rims. (Grin's Grinhub is the only exception I know of)
Do you think I can be fine by taking a 100mm rim 32h, and just leaving each 9th hole on the hub motor blank? It's a Fat-bike so there is MUCH less stress on the spokes, since the entire bike mass is sprung mass.
 
I have four 36-hole 100mm 4 inch Fat rims from Pedego bikes. If You're interested Pm me. Don't know where you live. There are all black. So whatever pedicle quality they used that's the ones I have they like a double rim and on the inside they're not a high-speed rim as most fat 4 inch tires aren't meant for high speed.
 
Try Niagra Cycle; I got a 36h, 100 mm wide Weimann rim for < $50 a year or so ago.
 
2old said:
Try Niagra Cycle; I got a 36h, 100 mm wide Weimann rim for < $50 a year or so ago.

Niagra cycle is one of those annoying shops you find through Google: Google will link to their shop after searching for "36h" holes, they will be very happy to show you all kinds of 36h options, but none of those in stock!
This is one of reasons Google-searching has become less effective in the recent years.
 
I've got an almost new DHL101 orange 26" 36h rim rim drilled for 12g spokes you can have for nothing. Had a mxus 3000 on a fat bike. Didn't like the bike. Used motor on another bike. Come get it.
 
I thought also to ask about recommend fat tire/rim combinations.
I mount on the motorized wheel Bontrager Barbagezi 4.7inch tire, which stretches to only 4.2inches on it's current 82mm rim (without motor). This is why I assume it is meant for 100mm rim and would perform better.
What do you think?
Do manufacturers rate their fat-tire widths according to the recommended rim width? The problem is that most companies don't give such advice. Neither Bontrager.

I was also told that regardless of the recommendation, if I take the above 4.7inch tire, it would have more sprung action with 82mm rims due to the sidewalls being more flex allowing them to contribute to the springy action. This is counter-intuitive to the impression that the wider contact patch thanks to the 100rim would give more cushion and therefore more sprung action.
What is your opinion about this?
 
Generally speaking, tires ride better on narrower rims at any given pressure. However, on wider rims they are more stable and can be run at lower pressures. Lower pressures provide more cushioning, but also more rolling resistance and at some point, adverse handling characteristics. "Self steer" is a behavior that most fatbike tires display as pressure is lowered beyond a certain point.

If you're going to ride off road with tire pressure in the 5 psi range, then using a rim wider than 80mm might be of some benefit. If you use higher pressure than that and ride on improved surfaces (streets, paths, gravel trails), then you probably won't notice any improvement at all.

Understand the contact patch of the tire to be a flat spot whose area supports weight by using the pressure inside the tire. No matter the tire's size or profile, its contact patch size is approximated by dividing the weight carried on the wheel by the pressure inside the tire.

But when the tire's profile changes, how much vertical displacement it takes to establish a contact patch of that size can change a lot. The flatter the tire's cross-section when it's mounted on the rim, the less it squishes down before the contact patch grows big enough to support the applied weight. So all else equal, you get less suspension travel (so to speak) when you spread the same tire wider on a wider rim. You have to use lower tire pressure to get the same vertical displacement you could get with higher pressure on a narrower rim.
 
I am running a Fatbike with the combinations you are talking about.. 80mm wide front rim, with a 100mm rear rim, both 36hole, fitted26x4.9 Chaoyang tyres..
The bike came as standard with 80mm 36hole rims front and rear, but when I decided to convert to electric power, I luckily found ChangZhou SuRing Motor Technology Company Ltd on Aliexpress. Their Jack Chen responded to my enquiry and managed to source a matching 100mm wide, 36hole rim from the same manufacturer as my OEM bike wheels, Jinhua Powercircle rims in China.
They supplied this rim, laced to a Mxus 3000w, 4T V2 motor, with 190mm Fatbike axle to fit my bike at a very good price.
I recommend you contact Jack Chen for assistance, he is very helpful and provides excellent, knowledgeable service.
 

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I should also mention on my bike, it would be impossible to fit a 26x4.9 tyre fitted onto a 100mm wide rim into the front suspension fork, with its 135mm wide dropout.
The 26x4.9 Tyre just fits with a few mm's clearance on the 80mm wide rim.. It would not fit on any wider rim. On the rear of my bike, the 100mm wide rim and 26x4.9 Tyre fits without problem.
Clearly, this is why the bikes manufacturer specifies and supplies 80mm wide rims to be able to fit the 4.9" tyre size on the front.
 
I found a gold mine!
Lunacycle didn't know their Weinmann DHL80's ERD, so they referred me to this excellent site:
http://wheelbuilder.jmoore.me/rim/print

You can find there the ERD and spoke offset for many rims!
 
Does anyone know of another place on planet Earth, with responsive and good customer service (like GrinTech), where I can get 82mm fat rim with 36h?
Otherwise I guess I will just have to go with leaving every 1/9th hole empty on my TC4080 hub motor. (I will lace it on 32h rim).
Did anyone done it before, and am I expected the spoke length to be varied enough between the spoke so I need to order multi-lengthed spokes? (due to the non consistent lacing angles which will be formed)
 
Just google "Origin8 DAT Pro 101 36H" or Weinmann DHL101 36H, and also "Weinmann DHL80 36H"

FYI, Weinmann and Origin8 are identical rims, as far as I can tell.
 
teslanv said:
Just google "Origin8 DAT Pro 101 36H" or Weinmann DHL101 36H, and also "Weinmann DHL80 36H"

FYI, Weinmann and Origin8 are identical rims, as far as I can tell.

Do you really think I didn't "Google" it? :D
 
You need to put Israel in your profile location so people know your delima. See Need Advice in sig for instructions.
 
wesnewell said:
You need to put Israel in your profile location so people know your delima. See Need Advice in sig for instructions.

I agree that if I lived in the USA, I could buy everything more easily, but I dont mind the extra shipping cost. Still , The location doesnt matter much: I couldnt find any online shop that sells 80mm rim besides LunaCycle, and they flawed. Anyway I will add my signature as you suggested.
 
thunderstorm80 said:
teslanv said:
Just google "Origin8 DAT Pro 101 36H" or Weinmann DHL101 36H, and also "Weinmann DHL80 36H"

FYI, Weinmann and Origin8 are identical rims, as far as I can tell.

Do you really think I didn't "Google" it? :D

Actually, I was specifically providing rim models that I know meet your requirements, in the event you were not familiar with them.

I assume most people know how to do a google search...
 
teslanv said:
thunderstorm80 said:
teslanv said:
Just google "Origin8 DAT Pro 101 36H" or Weinmann DHL101 36H, and also "Weinmann DHL80 36H"

FYI, Weinmann and Origin8 are identical rims, as far as I can tell.

Do you really think I didn't "Google" it? :D

Actually, I was specifically providing rim models that I know meet your requirements, in the event you were not familiar with them.

I assume most people know how to do a google search...

Thanks for referring them, but I already knew them.
When I "Googled" them, google came up with several shop options, but all them are out of stock for 36h options.
 
In case you want to read:
I found only one place around the internet that sells 80mm 36h rims: Lunacycle.
But their customer service and behaviour was (and still!) a very bad experience. I paid for a product which hasn't been shipped for more than 10 days:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=89167
 
Yeah, 80mm 36h are kinda rare. All fat wheels/rims seem pretty pricey too. Maybe because they're an idiotic fad? :p

FYI, the mongoose 'hitch' bike comes with 36h 100mm rims. 225 for the entire bike. The rims have 'vanity' holes and are unwelded but still seem plenty sturdy. I did a little drilling and grinding for the 12g nipples when one-cross lacing the hub motors (pita). It's also a shame, the ebay 1kw kit's spokes were about 6mm too short, so I did have to buy spokes. If I could roll 12g spokes I'd consider reusing for radial swapped lacing.
I guess I will just have to go with leaving every 1/9th hole empty
Hmmm. Really?
I wonder if the hub flanges could be redrilled @ 32h. Redrilling the rim @ 36h would be a pain.

At least it sounds like you found a rim and ordered. +10 days before shipping isn't the end of the world. Only egregious at all if they're breaking promises, lying, or blowing smoke.
 
nutspecial said:
Yeah, 80mm 36h are kinda rare. All fat wheels/rims seem pretty pricey too. Maybe because they're an idiotic fad? :p

FYI, the mongoose 'hitch' bike comes with 36h 100mm rims. 225 for the entire bike. The rims have 'vanity' holes and are unwelded but still seem plenty sturdy. I did a little drilling and grinding for the 12g nipples when one-cross lacing the hub motors (pita). It's also a shame, the ebay 1kw kit's spokes were about 6mm too short, so I did have to buy spokes. If I could roll 12g spokes I'd consider reusing for radial swapped lacing.
I guess I will just have to go with leaving every 1/9th hole empty
Hmmm. Really?
I wonder if the hub flanges could be redrilled @ 32h. Redrilling the rim @ 36h would be a pain.

At least it sounds like you found a rim and ordered. +10 days before shipping isn't the end of the world. Only egregious at all if they're breaking promises, lying, or blowing smoke.

No thanks. I prefer buying just the rim and not an entire bike. Not only because I don't need to pay extra for parts I will not use, the shipping cost would be terrifying...
If I will have to go with the 32h=36h spoke lacing, I will not redrill anything. I will leave every 9th hole on the TC4080 blank, and will calculate the very different expected angles of each spokes group due to the rotational-angle mismatch. Do you happen to know of such calculator or a tool? The Grin spoke-calculator assume a match between the hub's # spokes and the rim.

And regarding Lunacycle - YES, that's the point - They keep lying and breaking promises every time. This is my first and last experience with them, and I am surprised how they are so well-known out there, with their so poor customer service. There would not even be a first time if I could find a 36h 80mm rim somewhere else - I feel like a captive customer here...

I even made an attempt to contact Weinmann directly, and was even able to get their email response! I was surprised a chinese company would answer emails at all and with good english, but I got back to reality when they stopped answering after few emails when we were about to finalize the deal.
 
Try lacemine; this guy is a well known wheel builder in the US and does all sorts of bikes and sends them all over the world. Like I said, I have a 36h, 4" rim, but it seems prohibitively expensive to send to you. Anybody in OC, CA want it to send or whatever, $25, local pick up.
 
Not everybody loves the idea of using carbon fiber rims with hub motors, but I've had no problems as long as I use nipple washers. It's also -- relatively -- easy to get fat CF rims in 36H. My preferred supplier is Nextie, eg., https://www.nextie.net/premium-fatbike-wild-dragon-90mm-NXT90WD


s.
 
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