I was curious if the front rim really matters. I mean, will ANY rim up front work out fine? I was thinkin like getting a REALLY light XC wheel, but then thought about durability issues. I as also thinkin about getting a really cheap front wheel of a LBS for like $12. No Name POS 26 replacement wheel with a Disc hub.... But then I thought, if the wheel doesn't matter, WTF are people buying front King hubs for? Does it really matter?
are you doing natty or urban? if you're doing natty you can get away with a bit lighter stuff. if you're doing hardcore urban i'd try to get a decent rim/ hub set up (although in natty wheels are still VERY important)
i have never even had to true a front wheel on a trials bike, and thats with doing some hard front wheel slaps. Just get something light. A lot of people prefer a wide front rim as well. Makes the bike very stable.
I'll be riding urban..... I already have cheapie rim/hub here, but seeing people with DX32 fronts or Rhynilites and King hubs make me wonder WTF it's needed for.....puzzled.....
i have a cheapy insanely lightweight, thin front wheel. if i did lots of crazy natty and used my front wheel alot then i'd go with a better setup, but i dont see any need. going to an uber-light front wheel setup added inches to my moves too :bigthumb:
So it doesn't matter? I figured it was less rotating mass, so it was something I was thinkin about.....not to mention, most of your time is spent on the rear, thought it might be an option......
What about drilling them....If you dril a rim, doesn't it make it weaker? So why not just get a cheapie, would the RL still be stronger?
drilling makes so little difference in the strength of a rim, especially the front. go with whatever yo uwant, i just feel that the rhyno is light and cheap enough... i have seen people ride with $20 front wheels too.
Tioga Factory DH rims are one of the best choices for the front. You can drill the crap out of them and they are strong.
i think my front rim is a single wall, my hub is some shitmano thing, i just changed axles from bolt on to quick release yesterday cause bolt on was giving me the shits. I have steel spokes which i coloured black and it looks sick, it is not a very good wheel, pretty light! i like nosehops and front wheel stuff and taps and wit running stupidly low pressure cause i could not be bothered pumping it up i have had no problems other than ink getting scratched off my spokes. pav
well i think that good front rims do matter . for example if you really screw something like a gap up and land front wheel first really heavy it matters, and a slightly wider rim and tire(drilled rim preferably) for more stable front wheel moves i guess, coz front wheel moves a da bom :bigthumb: and also the front chris king hub is for lightnessand looks, or moreso for people like me who love spending every last cent they have on getting the best bike the can possibly get . anyway, i suggest a sun rhyno lite rim on a nice disc hub with wide flanges and so on ... this is what i am running and i have never bent my front rim and i have done some heavy front wheel landings a few times ...
Intresting. yeah, obviously you always want the security of things like that, the question doesn't become if your rim can handle something like that, it's more of a question of how often it happens.
The front wheel is about the only part still intact from my X-Lite that I got in September 2001. I'm not even sure if I've had to true it. It is an Ot Pi edition Monty rim (drilled) and the generic Monty bolt on hub. So I would say that if a thrasher like myself can keep a lightweight set up intact for that long, strength probably isn't crucial. For instance, I've snapped three forks, a frame, cracked another frame, snapped a crank arm clean in half, snapped a pedal spindle in half, and made mexican food out of three or four rear wheels, and the front wheel is perfect. Honestly though, a wide front rim does make a difference. It spreads the tire out, giving extra traction, bounce, stability, and flat protection.
