Rail (625Wh) "Cheap" wheels for Trek Rail

[ragnor]

A bit of background. Sometimes these days I can't really be bothered driving for an hour or two getting wet & cold and then driving home again. It's an age thing. So I often just have a wee tootle around near home. It's mostly on track with some road. Sometimes I use my wifes bike (Still for sale incidentally) but I prefer really to use the Trek. Yes I know that it's a waste but whatever.

The trouble is that it's a bit hard on the tyres & I'm reluctant to wear them out. I'd prefer to wear them out on surfaces that they were made for. So I'm thinking that a spare set of wheels with more gravel orientated tyres would be nice. There is a slight problem though. Last time that I tried to change tyres (on the original rims) I had eventually to give up & take them to the bike shop. Even they wre muttering about the difficulties of changing tyres on the Bontrager wheels.

As regards the wheels I definitely don't need carbon. Not bothered about tubeless ready. The most important requirement is that tyre changing be easy. Alloy of some description would be fine. I know that you get what you pay for but I don't really want to spend a lot on some wheels just for the road.

Has anyone any specific suggestions in this regard? Has anyone bought a spare set of wheels that they can recommend? Please remember only those where it's easy to change tyres.

 

[maynard]

Sounds like mechanic bullshit to me . Just change tryes

 

[SquireRides]

On all the rims I’ve had, I find Maxxis tyres the easiest to both fit and remove. For gravel/XC tyres you could also look at Teravail, which were also easy to fit.

Had both brands on Spesh’ Roval, Hope Fortus and some on AlexRims. I tend to find a difficult fit is more down to the tyre than the rim…

 

[ragnor]

Thanks for the replies but that's not what I asked. Not interested in these tyres are great or I should have tried harder. If you have a suggestion on WHEELS then that's great.

 

[Stihldog]

It seems to me that an extra pair of wheel sets would be easier than changing tires each time. Since I upgraded my wheel sets on my eMTB I have spares that could be easily be installed on my bike if I choose to ride on different surfaces. A road/trail tire rolls easier than a nobby Assigia, and I wouldn’t want to wear out my nice Maxxis Assigia’s on the pavement.

Changing tires can be problematic but changing wheels is fairly easy. I would have two sets and lockout the shock when I don’t need it. My road set of wheels would be fairly cheap though because I would rarely use them.

 

[Doomanic]

Nukeproof wheels are fairly cheap and not completely terrible.

 

[Doomanic]

Don't forget another magnet and pair of discs. Probably a cassette too.

 

[Stihldog]

Don't forget another magnet and pair of discs. Probably a cassette too.

Yeah that’s true, but sometimes we have old used ones laying around garage. Save the good stuff for our serious eMTB trails.

 

[ragnor]

Don't forget another magnet and pair of discs. Probably a cassette too.

Thanks. Not forgotten. No problem there. Got any specifics on Nukeproof?

 

[ragnor]

It seems to me that an extra pair of wheel sets would be easier than changing tires each time. Since I upgraded my wheel sets on my eMTB I have spares that could be easily be installed on my bike if I choose to ride on different surfaces. A road/trail tire rolls easier than a nobby Assigia, and I wouldn’t want to wear out my nice Maxxis Assigia’s on the pavement.

Changing tires can be problematic but changing wheels is fairly easy. I would have two sets and lockout the shock when I don’t need it. My road set of wheels would be fairly cheap though because I would rarely use them.

My thoughts exactly. Spares would be good as I could just grab a set and take off rather than waste at least half a day faffing about with tyres.

 

[Zed.]

muttering about the difficulties of changing tyres on the Bontrager wheels.

sounds odd, my mrs repaired a punctured 'tube on my rail5's front tyre & that was bontrager wheel / tyre combo and didn't say it was a hard job

Nukeproof wheels are fairly cheap and not completely terrible.

I've just bought a set (from Wiggle) for my rail5 so hopefully goodenough

Rich.

 

[Kimmoi]

There’s always someone yelling ”Maxxis!”. What ever is the subject.
What’s about them? Poor tires. Just tested Assegai and DHR2: useless garbage in Finnish woods.
And i.e. Schwalbe and Spesh are easier to put on rim.

Wheels:
DT Swiss E1900 Spline. No need to pay more for durable wheels. Imo.
I have used them soon 10K, no problems. Original bearings, no dents, still straight.

 

[Stihldog]

There’s always someone yelling ”Maxxis!”. What ever is the subject.
What’s about them? Poor tires. Just tested Assegai and DHR2: useless garbage in Finnish woods.
And i.e. Schwalbe and Spesh are easier to put on rim.

Wheels:
DT Swiss E1900 Spline. No need to pay more for durable wheels. Imo.
I have used them soon 10K, no problems. Original bearings, no dents, still straight.

Maybe this guy could still cancel his order and get something more practical.

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

@ragnor I think you have a good approach building a second wheelset so you can easily swap your wheels based on the terrain you'll be riding on.

I did something similar and always keep a second wheelset ready to go, in case I badly damage a rim or detroy a few spokes. I just don't want to deal with the downtime or miss a good ride!

For affordable, quality wheels, I would recommend the DT Swiss H 1900 Spline. For less than 300€, you get a very good set of aluminum wheels, 370 hub, ratchet freehub, 150kg max weight, ASTM 4 rating. Worth considering in my opinion!

 

[ragnor]

Thanks for the replies. I've looked at the Nukeproof Neutron & the Horizon . Seem fairly reasonably priced. I've just been looking at various sites to see if there are any reviews.

Looking at DT Swiss wheels is next on the to do list.

 

[Emilio-Trek rail 9.7]

My Trek came with Bontrager Line Comp 30 wheels pretty cheap and if your plan i sto take it easy on them they work great!

 

[Wilbur]

Thanks for the replies. I've looked at the Nukeproof Neutron & the Horizon . Seem fairly reasonably priced. I've just been looking at various sites to see if there are any reviews.

Looking at DT Swiss wheels is next on the to do list.

Had a set of Horizon v2 for 6 months and they've held up very well. Would absolutely buy again.

 

[Huckleberry's]

I have both top of the line and entry level industry nine wheels and they have both been used, abused and put away wet. No issues of any kind. Not sure if these fall into the "cheap" category, but they are built to last. Made in USA and great customer service. Plus you cannot beat the sound of those hydra hubs. I would recommend you compare on your shopping.

 

[Stihldog]

I occasionally ride with a couple of guys who have the iNine Hydra hubs. One has alloy rims and the other carbon. I’m not sure about the “angry-bee” sound but man! …those are nice hubs. 590 POE.

I have Project 321 hubs (220 POE) with Raceface Offset alloy wheels and keep the Bontrager stuff as spares. Some day I’ll get the silent hubs.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

There are always bonty wheels on the second hand market around here - esp rears!!. Nearly as many as the bonty se tyres they came with. I'm pretty sure you pick up an as new 2nd hand set if you looked for not much money if you just want a set for gravel riding.
They are a bugger to change tyres with while they still have the plastic strip in the middle of the rim. Get rid of that & its a hell of a lot easier. I just love changing my tyres - esp to Maxxis assegai & DHRs - so much so I want to scream it out as I'm changing them.

 

[NETTA17]

A bit of background. Sometimes these days I can't really be bothered driving for an hour or two getting wet & cold and then driving home again. It's an age thing. So I often just have a wee tootle around near home. It's mostly on track with some road. Sometimes I use my wifes bike (Still for sale incidentally) but I prefer really to use the Trek. Yes I know that it's a waste but whatever.

The trouble is that it's a bit hard on the tyres & I'm reluctant to wear them out. I'd prefer to wear them out on surfaces that they were made for. So I'm thinking that a spare set of wheels with more gravel orientated tyres would be nice. There is a slight problem though. Last time that I tried to change tyres (on the original rims) I had eventually to give up & take them to the bike shop. Even they wre muttering about the difficulties of changing tyres on the Bontrager wheels.

As regards the wheels I definitely don't need carbon. Not bothered about tubeless ready. The most important requirement is that tyre changing be easy. Alloy of some description would be fine. I know that you get what you pay for but I don't really want to spend a lot on some wheels just for the road.

Has anyone any specific suggestions in this regard? Has anyone bought a spare set of wheels that they can recommend? Please remember only those where it's easy to change tyres.

Hi Doug, I had the same problem with those Bontrager LINE 30 COMP wheelsets. So I went to the shop to mount the tire over. I asked the mechanic why I couldn't do it and he explained: "During the second edge mount on the rim you MUST locate the rest of the bead on the LOWER CENTER of the rim during the process, to free enough space to let it over the rim edge".
I did it a few times from then and it is working fine -not super easy, but okay.

Lately, I have moved to Chainies carbon wheelset (from a trusted store ) built to my specifications with 34mm inner and 40mm outer. asymmetric rim, HG 11S type free hub - Carbon rim is Hookless and doesn't have a bead grove so it's easy to mount any tire on.
But, you MUST use a tire insert to the rear wheel the reduce the chance of a crack at low pressure!

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Cheers

 

[NETTA17]

I occasionally ride with a couple of guys who have the iNine Hydra hubs. One has alloy rims and the other carbon. I’m not sure about the “angry-bee” sound but man! …those are nice hubs. 590 POE.

I have Project 321 hubs (220 POE) with Raceface Offset alloy wheels and keep the Bontrager stuff as spares. Some day I’ll get the silent hubs.

Hi, practically, POE is meaningless for e-MTB. the Engagement angel is determined by the motor!
the only difference is the sound while free-hub is free

 

[Stihldog]

Hi, practically, POE is meaningless for e-MTB. the Engagement angel is determined by the motor!
the only difference is the sound while free-hub is free

Where I noticed the increase difference was during technical climbs or climbing rock gardens. I was able to position my peddles to avoid rock or root strikes.

I find that the moment of pause between torque of the motor and slack of the wheel is faster with a higher POE. Therefore this gives me the best peddle and crank position. I don’t think I need 590 POE, but anything over 200 POE makes a difference …for me anyways. I don’t care about the sound either …but I would prefer a silent hub.

 

[Stihldog]

I agree that there is a POE for the motor (Bosch CX Gen4) and that there could be different between brands. It can have an overall affect on POE, but the added POE of a wheel hub has made a noticeable difference for me.

 

[fasterjason]

There are always bonty wheels on the second hand market around here - esp rears!!. Nearly as many as the bonty se tyres they came with. I'm pretty sure you pick up an as new 2nd hand set if you looked for not much money if you just want a set for gravel riding.
They are a bugger to change tyres with while they still have the plastic strip in the middle of the rim. Get rid of that & its a hell of a lot easier. I just love changing my tyres - esp to Maxxis assegai & DHRs - so much so I want to scream it out as I'm changing them.

This is the correct answer. Any Line 30 wheels I use with tubes I remove the Bontrager rimstrip and replace with gorilla tape. I can change the tires without a lever after that. I put 2oz of sealant in the tubes and rarely have to inflate or worry about thorns.

 

[outnabout]

Thanks for the replies but that's not what I asked. Not interested in these tyres are great or I should have tried harder. If you have a suggestion on WHEELS then that's great.

sorry didn't see what your wife was riding. Could you use the wheel set from hers?

 

[Third-Reef]

There is a trick for getting tires off the Bontrager rims. I found it on youbtube. Basically you do not let all the air out of the tire, then you grab the tire in one hand and the rim/spokes in the other and push the tire off the bead groove. I wrestled with tire irons last week for 20 min. Sat down and searched you tube for changing tires on bontalrager rims. Then tried it an it litterly took 2 min and it popped off the bead. I installed a WTB vigilante

 

[steve_sordy]

I lay down the wheel on something firm (workbench, tree stump, flat rock...). The tyre is already deflated. I press on the tyre as close as possible to the rim with something hard and straight (hammer shaft, mini-pump....). The bead normally just peels away from the rim.
Unless I have used Gorilla tape instead of rim tape!

 

[Third-Reef]

To be clear, the Bontrager wheels do not have any tape. They have a plastic wheel insert that has a bead groove the the tire pops into and needs to pop out of. After a tire change it takes 30+ psi even with soapy water lube to get the tire to seat. When it does seat it sounds like a gun going off