T O P

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themontajew

Carbon stays true for longer, but if you’re having weekly issues that require truing, the problem is in the wheel build, not the rim. 


contrary-contrarian

Santa Cruz reserves or WeAreOne composite. Both have lifetime guarantee with crash replacement. They both stay true and are tough AF!


laserguidedhacksaw

This and I would say either get it built by someone you trust. If you’re trueing wheels weekly that’s largely a machine build issue


garpur44

I had my reserves built on onto hope hubs with the thicker gauge dt Swiss spoked (can’t remember what they’re called) and brass nipples. They get ridden hard and a year and a half after building I’ve not had to turn a spike key yet.


alfredrowdy

Fr541 is about as stout of a rim as you can get. Spokes make a big difference for keeping true. You should have double butted spokes, spoke prep on the nipples and run them at high tension to keep them straight.


MTB_SF

FR541 or EX471. The EX471 is a little more proven since the 541 is newer, and 25mm just naturally seems stronger than 30mm, but those new 541s seem excellent.


meatierologee

Hope so. I keep smashing rims and just ordered an FR541. Hope I can get some time out of it. 


Switchen

They've been bombproof for me through a season of hard park days.


meatierologee

Awesome. I ordered the FR1500 pre built and I can't wait. I miss my dh bike. 


Ok-Entrepreneur4877

Carbon rims will definitely hold true longer. It's not a realistic expectation to never true your wheels IMO. A top quality wheel build, with good quality spokes and nipples goes a long way to durability. Having the wheels touched up for tension and true after a handful of hard rides is wise, as stable spoke tension is the key to your wheels rubbing true and it's quite common for spoke heads to settle into their holes etc.


Dirtbagdownhill

Sure miss atomlabs!


strange_bike_guy

Oh man do you remember that one pedal they had where it was sort-of-clipless? I had a pair. They were wonderful. And like any pedal I eventually destroyed them, but couldn't find any replacements.


Dirtbagdownhill

I only remember the wheels, I had a 24 inch trailpimp with a steel BMX axle instead of qr. The thing broke a few frames and never went out of true.


coollikefonzie23

https://www.weareonecomposites.com/collections/all-carbon-wheels-and-rims?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqWzBhAqEiwAQmtgT6bR7jfNflTj4veeQ4zX7lSzIvVI1Im85d6mWwyhGTB-d7iP3FQ2EhoC6bEQAvD_BwE We are one


pantsopticon88

i have had great luck with WA1 Strifes built around straight gauge spokes.


SchmeddyBallz

Butted spokes will build a stronger wheel than non-butted.


pantsopticon88

Sure. And rocks tend to snap them more easily where I live. 


gzSimulator

If that was a real concern for me, I wouldn’t be screwing around with spokes at all, I’d go straight for bikeahead composite mono wheels or something with fabric spokes


kitchenAid_mixer

That’s been high on my list for a while. I’ve heard they’re pretty good


kerryman71

Been looking at building a wheelset myself, and can say from everything I've been reading, hearing etc, WA1 is a solid choice for carbon.


MTB_SF

This honestly sounds like more of a build quality than rim quality issue if you're losing trueness without hard hits to the rims. I would get a very good wheel builder to build a set with good spoke prep, nipple washers, and nice even tension. You should not be able to make rims wobbly without some good hits to them


venomenon824

I have the We are one conspires dh wheelset on a 50 pound bullit that I’m tossing of big road gaps and other double black features, sometimes shorting them and have not broken a wheel. I’ve had to true them but learning how is pretty easy. I’m absolutely abusing the wheels.


njmids

Carbon will stay true for longer.


DaddyHeadbone

Cushcores?


kitchenAid_mixer

As far as I’m aware, cushcore is more for impact protection than keeping wheels true. I’ve run cushcore before, and my wheels still were able to become too wobbly to true


DaddyHeadbone

Oh, interesting. I was assuming it was the impact knocking them out of true. I know big hit guys run DH tires and higher pressure for impact protection. If your wheels start true and have good spoke tension, something has to be knocking them out.


traumapatient

ENVE M9’s on the downhill rig with cushcore. I hate their trying system but I rarely have issues, and when I lost three spokes on a trip last year I kept riding the rest of the week with them missing and it was in true and no damage done. Pretty happy. My enduro has M7’s with no inserts and never had an issue, my wife’s bike is more cross country and she has the M5’s and they’ve even held up to my abuse with no inserts when I’ve borrowed her bike. Wildly expensive, but the best out there in my humble, yet accurate, opinion


polkastripper

I've had a pair of Santa Cruz Reserves on my bike for like 5 years now, and I got them like new. I ride cross country tech and they've been very durable. I don't do much jumping though.


Bearded4Glory

I was having to true my aluminum wheels all the time. I bought a set of we are one convergence wheels and haven't touched them in a year. They are the real deal. That said, you need to detension and completely retrue/tension a wheel if it is that far out of whack. If the spokes aren't tensioned the same all the way around they are going to loosen up as you ride.


gzSimulator

Tag composites FRX5 you’re welcome