When road wheels are too lightweight for cross...

[garth]

I recently sold off my carbon wheels. Why you might ask? Well I don't race and felt like a tool riding single track with them. Anyways...

I have a spare set of wheels: 20h/24h Tune Mig70/Mag180 hubs - DT Aerolites 2x - Kinlin XR-300 rims.
Total wheelset weight is 1398g.

I was thinking about swapping them over to my cross bike but now I'm wondering if they are going to be too "lightweight" for single track and fireroads. They feel quite stiff on my road bike but don't know if that will translate to dirt roads.

Any input?

[Rikc]

It kinda depends on your body weight. If you're pretty light it should be allright to race them on single track. I've raced with wheels much lighter on cyclocross and mtb. If you're a smooth rider it won't be a problem.

[rustychain]

I agree with the above but.......... It's fun as hell to have a bomb proof set of wheels. You can get real stupid without concern that you will toast your wheels. Can you say "Major Tom"

[PinnacleWheelWorks]

I would think that build would hold up fine for you. How much do you weigh? The Kinlin XR-300 is a really durable rim. I raced my road training wheels in cross last year and they held up fine. They were Kinlin XR-270, Revolution Spokes, Token hubs. Also rode rooty technical singletrack. I am only 140lbs and very good about unweighting the bike going over roots and stuff though. Depends on your weight, riding style, and singletrack but I'd guess they would be ok.

[garth]

Thanks for the posts. I ended up going with a more robust albeit heavier wheelset.

Chris King Classic cross hubs - 32h
Stan's 355 29er rims
Sapim CX-Ray spokes
Total weight: 1540g

Not lightweight but at least I can bomb down single track without worrying too much. Here's a pic...

[bikewithnoname]

Nice ride!