XC MTB 29 inch wheels for a gravel bike build

The spirit of Grav-lo-cross. No but seriously, cyclocross and gravel go here!

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mattr
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Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

MikeD wrote:Mattr, why do you use hookless rims? What are the advantages for gravel or road use over hooked rims?
Who said i use hookless rims for any specific reason? I just use whatever fits my requirements at the time. Hookless Vs hooked makes no difference with Gravel, CX or MTB sized tyres, at suitable pressures.

If you want to run gravel/large volume tyres at significant pressures. You might need to add requirements to your purchase, like hooked rims.

But the op is asking for advice about MTB rims for gravel/cx use, which would suggest larger tyres at suitable pressures.

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jeroenfl
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:45 pm

by jeroenfl

I have a set of mavic crossmax slr 29ers with bruce gordon's rock 'n' roads for my rlt9 steel.

I run them tubeless, but hit a rock or root real hard (singletrack dowhill) and they'll burp.
Also use the pacenti cl25 which also is an xc rim, i think.
So still looking for a set of real tough tubeless tyres for downhill and really rough surfaces.
Besides that, i have a few sets with tubulars i built with shimano xt MTB hubs (cheap).
Actually, my favorite wheels are these XT's with ambrosio nemesis rims and chicane tubs (have tubeless clement las tubulars ready to replace them - chicanes are fragile). Looking forward to Vittoria's new Terreno dry.

.

leicaman
Posts: 129
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:55 pm

by leicaman

That's for all the info guys. I went with the mavic xc421 rims on hope hubs. I've ordered 38mm schwalbe g-one tyres (although I'm not actually sure if they are 38mm or 40mm as it isn't clear in the description, but either width will be fine) and will be running them tubeless with the mavic rim strips most probably around 35psi so I can't foresee any problems with the hookless rims.

emotive
Posts: 613
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 10:40 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

by emotive

mattr wrote:I don't know of any road rims that are hookless. That should tell you something. (Someone is sure to come out of the woodwork and mention one though :-))

With the move to road disc, wider tyres, and now wider wheels are the trend. Aside from Enve, the new Roval CLX 50 from Specilaized are also Hookless. I purchased a set of Light Bicycle RR36C02 hookless wheels for road use, 22C inner, 28mm outer. Wheels are rated to 80psi, but I've never run tyres that hard since i moved from 25 to 28C tyres. I'm running 28C Compass Tyres at 45 to 60psi depending on if it is a commute, gravel, or fast group road ride. 3000km done in 6 months, no issues, plenty of comfort, speed, and grip.

euka
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:35 pm

by euka

Lelandjt wrote:For carbon MTB rims you need to ask the manufacturer the max pressure rating. Whether it's because they're hookless or due to the thickness of the rim bed most don't authorize over 40psi.

Also the force pulling the rim apart depends on tire width and pressure: https://www.eastoncycling.com/media/Eas ... essure.pdf

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the_marsbar
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by the_marsbar

MikeD wrote:Very few people are using tubeless road tires because basically they suck. 80 psi is too low for me.


You do realize you're in the CX section, right?

I use a Notubes Valor on my CX bike, and they've been great so far. I don't feel any major differences between them and the tubular setup that I was running with my previous bike.

MikeD
Posts: 1000
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:55 pm

by MikeD

emotive wrote:
mattr wrote:I don't know of any road rims that are hookless. That should tell you something. (Someone is sure to come out of the woodwork and mention one though :-))

With the move to road disc, wider tyres, and now wider wheels are the trend. Aside from Enve, the new Roval CLX 50 from Specilaized are also Hookless. I purchased a set of Light Bicycle RR36C02 hookless wheels for road use, 22C inner, 28mm outer. Wheels are rated to 80psi, but I've never run tyres that hard since i moved from 25 to 28C tyres. I'm running 28C Compass Tyres at 45 to 60psi depending on if it is a commute, gravel, or fast group road ride. 3000km done in 6 months, no issues, plenty of comfort, speed, and grip.


28mm tires at 45-60 psi is ridiculously low pressure. You must be a light rider. To run that low a pressure risks pinch flatting, rim damage, crappy cornering, and high rolling resistance. Tires on my wheels measure 27.5mm and I run 80 front, 95 rear and I weigh 195 lbs. This is the recommended pressure from the Frank Berto curves for a 15% tire drop.

CallumRD1
Posts: 151
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2017 2:54 pm

by CallumRD1

I'm 150 lbs (68kg) and I run 28mm tires at 60psi all day. There is absolutely no squirm when cornering hard, I've never pinch flatted even though I have a propensity for jumping up and down curbs on my commute, and the rolling resistance is negligibly higher than at 80 psi. They are very comfortable at that pressure and I notice a distinct increase in harshness when inflating them to more than 60 psi. I have tried riding them at 45-50 psi but I found that too low for me and thought that they felt sluggish while cornering. Note that I'm running these tires on wheels with a 19mm internal width, so there is little to no lightbulb effect. When I ran 28mm tires on a very narrow set of rims I found that I needed slightly higher pressures to maintain good feel while cornering.

simoncx
Posts: 223
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:27 am

by simoncx

I run Easton ea90xc wheels on my disc cx bike with either cross or 25-28 road tires without any problems, just make sure the cassette body will take a 11 spd road cassette because some mtb wheels will not fit a road cassette. Hope hubs can be used with mtb and road cassette if that's what you go with.

MikeD
Posts: 1000
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:55 pm

by MikeD

the_marsbar wrote:
MikeD wrote:Very few people are using tubeless road tires because basically they suck. 80 psi is too low for me.


You do realize you're in the CX section, right?


No, it isn't. It's Cyclocross / Gravel / Touring. The OP asked about a gravel bike wheel build, not CX. CX courses bear little resemblance to gravel road riding. I would say that people that own a gravel bike ride it on pavement a lot too.

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ms6073
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by ms6073

Probably overkill, but I have enjoyed using a first gen Enve M60 wheelset purchased off Ebay and paired with a set of Schwalbe G One tubeless tires for gravel/all-conditions riding.
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

emotive
Posts: 613
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 10:40 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

by emotive

MikeD wrote:
28mm tires at 45-60 psi is ridiculously low pressure. You must be a light rider.
82kg

To run that low a pressure risks pinch flatting, rim damage, crappy cornering, and high rolling resistance.
i've done 14,000km on 28mm tyres and haven't had a pinch flat or rim damage yet. I can descend most segments in the top 10% on Strava, having confidence in the level of tyre grip helps here. The rolling resistance penalty for 60psi vs 80psi is about 4w per tyre, according to https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.co ... i-23-25-28. I'll happily pay that price for better cornering and ride quality.

Tires on my wheels measure 27.5mm and I run 80 front, 95 rear and I weigh 195 lbs. This is the recommended pressure from the Frank Berto curves for a 15% tire drop.
my 28mm Conti GP4000 measured 32mm, and my current Compass 28mm tyres measure 30mm on my 22C (28mm outer width) wheels. Wide tyres work better with wide wheels to support them.

simplemind
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 11:06 pm

by simplemind

Don't overlook the I9 wheelsets. Particularly the UL235.

SpeedyChix
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Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:34 pm
Location: Midwest USA

by SpeedyChix

Using Bontager XXX TLR mtb wheels for my gravel setup. I don't run pressures above 40psi on them.
adrenaline junkie

justaute
Posts: 282
Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:17 pm
Location: UT/TX/PA, USA

by justaute

FWIW...I run IRC RBCC 28mm tubeless (28mm measured) on my road bike and usually run ~65-70 psi front and ~75-80 psi rear. I weigh 93-95kg and have a muscular built; and, am hopeful will be 90kg or so in the not-too-distant future. Trying to lose some fat and muscle...not easy. :)

I push my bike hard in cornering (mtb/BMX background) and the tires/handling are fine so far.

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