XC wheels for big/aggressive rider?

[ridetoofast]

im 5 10 and 220 and i ride hard...not a total bruiser but damnit if im going bust my ass going up i AM going to BOMB down. any recommendations out there for xc wheels?
thanks!!

[dmvprof]

tioga dh1 2.1 should fit that bill. Probably closer to 2.2 actually, but it's not too much rubber kill your climbing.

[Toshi]

You can't go wrong with XT hubs (except for their weight, or if you need 20 mm). Lace them up with 14 g spokes and brass nips. As for the rim, don't go crazy. I'm sure some people will recommend heavy dh/freeride rims, but imo, those are overkill unless you are thrashing your current wheelset. On the heavy end you could go with Sun Singletracks, or for light weight you could run Mavic 517 hoops.

[mr_dove]

I have always been told that heavier riders should go with 36 spokes instead of 32, along with 14guage double butted spokes.

I'm not sure how much difference this makes, but it's what I've been told.

[MikeD]

If I were you, I'd look at Mavic 519s. Never used them, but they're xc light and supposedly strong...kinda like the Ryno Lites, which would also be good, no matter what the naysayers, er, say about them (those I have used in the XL version).

The Mavic 618 is expensive, but supposed to be a tougher rim than the 517. However, why get them when the 519 is cheaper and close in weight?

You outweigh me by like 55 lbs, but I personally run Mavic 521 DH rims on my trailbike b/c I'm an aggressive and sloppy rider. I think they're great...with some mid-weight tires like Conti Verts, they're still fast (at least compared to anything else I ride) AND tough enough for world cup DH.

[WTGPhoben]

ok, well I'm not sure what rim was used with the mavic crosslink series (discontinued in 1999 or 2000), but lemme tell you they were pretty damn close to invincible. I say "were" because I finally killed the front one the second time I botched a drop and ended up doing this (http://140.247.135.42/images/humba/june%2025,%202002%20Fells%20ride/Images/1.jpg). here's the wheel after i finally killed it. (http://140.247.135.42/images/humba/june%2025,%202002%20Fells%20ride/Images/10.jpg)

but before this, I almost never had to true these wheels and they were nice and stiff and strong. in fact, If anyone knows from the pic what this rim was, let me know, as I am clearly in the maket for a new one.

[crazybastard]

sun rino lites with the XY hubs will help you out with your problem

[Zonic Man]

What I'm using as a 215lbs. rider:

King hubs, DT double butted Competition spokes, Mavic x3.1 tubeless rims. Built up nice and strong.

You CAN get a lighter set of XC wheels, no problem. Just go 519s, double butted spokes, king hubs, DT comps...you'll be fine.

For tires, look into the WTB series of larger trail tires.

Weirwolf 2.5, Mutano 2.24 or 2.4 are ALL solid choices in the "laser" casing...about 750 grams per tires. WAY lighter than DH tires.

[Henkman]

For a bang around wheelset: Rhyno lite, Shimano hubs, 14 gauge spokes 3x, brass nipples.
For racing: Mavic rims, Hugi hubs, 14 gauge spokes 3x brass nipples.
The Hugi hubs are really light and the mavic rims are light and strong.
The best advice is to get whatever parts you choose built by the best builder that you can find. I've never had trouble with hand built and I've never had any luck with machine built.