29er wheel and tyre choice

[slarge]

Ok, so it's a "what tyre" thread, so apologies in advance, but I am moving from 26 inch wheels to 29 inch wheels, and am at the point of choosing wheels and tyres.

My requirements for the wheels are: light (1500g for the pair), and serviceable hubs. I think I am after Crest rims as they are light and look good, and not sure about hubs (hope hubs are good as they are easy to service). Then the spokes - not sure what to go for here. The wheels are for racing and bike packing and general riding (Peak District a trail centres etc) but not jumps Or big stuff.
Budget around £300-400.

Tyres - I like Racing Ralph and Nobby Nic tyres in 26" flavour, but have noticed a lot of Maxxis fans for 29". What is a good tyre ( fast rolling on the road and grippy off road with a fairly tough carcass). What tyres would I like?

Cheers

[composite]

I went through this exactly, about 3 months ago.

Rims - I went with the light bicycle carbon wider 29er rims. They seem to have been replaced in the range by these. http://www.light-bicycle.com/bead-hook- ... sL90Rh5_6E
These rims are vaguely exciting, they are the same weight range as the stans but far stiffer. Like loads. Of course they cost more though and you have to pay for shipping. I got them to go up tubeless just using gorilla tape and stans valves.

Hubs - I debated Hope or DT Swiss 350 for a while and went with the DT Swiss. They are like a perpetual motion machine and just keep rolling. The rear hub is nice and quiet as well which is in direct opposition to Hope's football rattle of a noise. Look up the DT240 as it's the same internals (uses a ratchet system instead of sprung pawls) just cheaper slightly heavier shells. I went with the centre lock over 6 bolt which brings weight down to almost the same as the 6 bolt 240's.

Tyres - I went with Maxxis Aspen for dry weather. Light weight and fast rolling. On the other end of the scale I went with On One Smorgasbord for winter as I just like how they feel and I find they give me confidence as an all rounder. They are a bit heavy at 2.2inch width (although large volume) and they are pretty big but very grippy. I got them to run tubeless easily enough.

Spokes - I went with DT Swiss competition, double butted with DT brass nipples.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/dt-s ... /aid:47917
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/dt-s ... aid:164010

EDIT - Forgot to add that I built them myself so that saved me some cash.

[ianfitz]

I'm not sure you can beat hope hoops for value. I think they use sapim spokes? hope hubs aren't the lightest but they're not too heavy either really.

so far on 29er I've ridden Maxxis ASpens - very light, quick and surprisingly grippy. Conti X-kings, bit more grip but still reasonably quick rolling. Still using one as a rear tyre now in the peak district mud. I have a 2.35 hans Dampf on the front now which has crazy amounts of grip, but is somewhat slower rolling!

I have some on one tryes to try for winter too, they are in the post...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Conti' 2.2 Race Kings here, some folk swear they won't grip in the wet ... but these people can't ride very well

[johnnystorm]

I find the crests are fine in my full Susser but on a laden Fargo they wobble a bit down rocky steps.

I'll second the Race Kings recommendation. I liked Ikons to begin with but they're fragile and pretty easily cut up. Bontrager 29.1 are nice and fast with beefier sidewalls & go up tubeless easily.

[AdMan]

Conti cross kings :D

[johnnystorm]

Oh on the wheels front I've been very happy with my Superstar Switch Evo Crest Wheels, I'd probably rather have flows or Arches on my Fargo.

[Dyffers]

You're unlikely to get down to 1500g for a reliable set of bikepacking wheels.

I have Stans 3.30 hubs on Crests at 1575g and Hope Hoops Crests at 1700g. I'm 85kg and pringled the front Stans on a steep descent.

As for tyres, I used to like Ralphs until I got Ikons. Remortgage for Exo sidewalls and they're not too fragile.

[FLV]

I use stans rims (arch for me) so crests should be a good choice.
I struggle to justify more money than hope hubs as they work so well and and reliable and light enough.

Spokes. You could go superlight but I'm told hey can get a bit flexy. I've had success with sapim d-lights. Just riding along has them and the use standard nips, which id stick with brass personally but you could go alu but I've been put off by them corroding on (plenty of light wheel sets use them tho)

Tyres, I like maxxis ikons but the Exo ones with better protection are pricy. I also like specialized tyres as proper tubeless are 30 quid. They seem tough enough too. The fast track 2.2 is 620g on my scale and the 2.0 is 545g

[99percentchimp]

Hope hubs for me and Mavic rims for my first wheel build a few years ago... all have stood up well until a snapped nipple (brass) last year in Coed Y Brenin. Hubs were only serviced after a couple of years and were fine. I'm pretty hefty so been really pleased with the whole durability of the wheels.
Been on Racing Ralphs in the summer and Nobby Nicks in the winter - both have been good but little to compare them to in 29er flavour - recommended but not cheapest.

[Ray Young]

I went for hope straight pull hubs with stans crest rims topped off with onza lynx tubeless tyres and i'm very happy with them.

[slarge]

Cheers all. I think I am going for Stan's 3.30 hubs on crest rims at £400 a pair from Clee Cycles. Just need tyres next.....

[ZeroDarkBivi]

As its's been a year since the last debate on tyre choice, does anybody have more advice based on recent experiences or new products on the market?

I need new 29" rubber for general bikepacking on my HT bike, and specifically focussed on the demands of HTR type events. I always run tubeless to minimise punctures, with plugs ready for the cuts that sealant can't cope with. Being a lightweight rider I hate heavy tyres, especially having only converted from 26 to 29 this year, I really notice the extra inertia. I Don't like wasting money but content to spend top dollar on something that will not let me down on a multi-day event; too much time and money invested in these rides to risk failure from bad rubber...

My own experiences have been inconclusive, particularly in the key area of durability; hard to assess objectively as luck is such a huge factor.

Maxxis Ikon 3C Maxx Speed TR 2.2 - fast and reasonable grip, but too many punctures. Perhaps I need to EXO version

Schwalbe:
Racing Ralph Evo pace star TR 2.1 - used these loads in 26" (and have a 27.5" set ready for that build) and like the way they ride, but possibly too racey for Bikepacking, although they did survive a week in Breckenridge without any punctures on my FS XC bike.
Rocket Ron 2.25 - a great front tyre for XC, but had some snags in thorny terrain that defeated the sealant.
Noby Nic 2.1 / Dirty Dan 2.0 - muddy trail F/R combo.

Maxxis High Roller 2.35 - mostly just slow!

Conti X King 2.2 - Almost impossible to run tubeless - binned!

Very keen to know what you have found succes with. Are people riding Different size/tread Front to Rear, or keeping it simple?

[johnnystorm]

I've bought 2 sets of Onzas recently as they were on offer at Evans. Nice tough feeling sidewalls and reasonable weight. Good grip and no problems yet. Went up tubeless easily too.

[ScotRoutes]

I just use Ardent 2.25s on Arch EX rims. That's a nice, high volume combination which takes much of the sting off rougher terrain. I fitted a Crossmark on the rear just before the snow arrived so haven't had a chance to try that yet.

[ianfitz]

Ikon exo in the summer. 2.35 front 2.1 rear (would go bigger at rear but no space) and hand dampf front various rear for winter.