Review: Silt's $1,000 Carbon XC Wheels

Apr 4, 2022
by Mike Kazimer  
photo

We've all heard Keith Bontrager's 'Strong. Light. Cheap. Pick two.' adage before, and in the XC world that saying still tends to hold true. Silt wheels, the small Irish upstart, are hoping to change that with their XC Carbon wheelset. The wheels weigh in at 1396 grams for the pair, and are priced at $1,000 USD.

That's obviously still a lot of money, but compared to the prices of other carbon wheelsets in this category these are one of the least expensive pre-built options currently on the market. So while cheap might not be the right word, they're still a relative bargain. As for the strong portion of the equation, I've been bashing them around for the last few months to see what they can handle.
Silt XC Details

• Wheel size: 29"
• Intended use: cross-country
• Rim material: carbon fiber
• Rim width: 27mm (internal)
• Hubs: Silt Ratchet Drive
• Rider weight limit: 120 kg (264 lb)
• Weight: 632 g (front) / 764 g (rear) / 1396 g total
• MSRP: $1,000 USD
• More info: www.siltmtb.com


photo
The rims have an internal rim width of 27mm.
Silt XC wheel review
Silt's hubs are laced to the rim with Pillar bladed spokes.

DESIGN

The XC wheels' carbon rims have an internal width of 27mm, and a depth of 25mm. The rim bead is 2mm thick, which is pretty typical for a cross-country rim, although we are starting to see more options hit the market that are a little wider, in the neighborhood of 4mm. The idea is that a wider rim bead helps reduce the likelihood of a pinch flat when the tire gets smashed against the rim.

The 28 hole rims are laced up to Silt's own hubs with Pillar bladed spokes in a 2-cross pattern.

The rear hub uses Silt's Ratchet Drive system that functions in a similar manner to what's found on DT Swiss' EXP series of hubs. A 36-tooth ratchet ring is fixed in place on the inboard portion of the hub, and it interfaces with another ratchet ring that sits on a leaf spring in the freehub body. That means there's 10-degrees of crank rotation between engagement points, a fairly typical number.

The wheels use a total of six stainless steel bearings (two in the front and four in the rear) in the common 6902 and 6804 sizes. Accessing the bearing that's behind the fixed ratchet ring does require a special tool, but thankfully Silt has those available for $15. The wheels do come with spare spokes, spare nipples, and tubeless valves at no extra charge.


photo
Views: 6,657    Faves: 0    Comments: 0



SETUP

Getting the Silt XC wheels setup up tubeless was relatively straightforward, although I did need to resort to a charger-style pump to get the extra blast of air needed to seat the tires. Whether that's down to the tires or the rim design is hard to say – I was using lighter, thinner casing tires for most of the test period, and those can require additional coaxing to pop into place.

I ran a couple of different tire combinations during testing, with widths between 2.3” - 2.4”, and tire pressures in the low 20's, typically 21 psi in the front and 23 psi in the rear. Those pressures worked well for the wetter conditions that prevailed, and I managed to avoid any pinch flats during that time.


ON THE TRAIL

The Silt XC wheels took the place of a wheelset that was just 100 grams lighter, so it wasn't the wheelset's fairly light weight that I noticed right away. Instead, it was the racket the hub made when I was coasting. Now, I've ridden my fair share of loud hubs, but out of the box Silt's Ratchet Drive is louder and more distracting than anything I've tried before. The overall decibel level is louder than a Chris King or Industry Nine hub, and the lower pitch seems like it makes it more noticeable.

Granted, I prefer quiet hubs over noisy ones, but I think the cacophony this hub makes may be excessive even for riders who think they're in the “loud hubs are better” camp. I was able to quiet it down to a much more tolerable level with a mixture of Dumonde Tech freehub oil and DT Swiss special grease, but over time the noise will return as the oil and grease dissipate (Silt also has their own MV1 grease for sale that can be used to help reduce the noise). The hub has a very positive engagement, and I didn't experience any popping, skipping, or anything that would make me worry about stomping on the pedals as hard as possible. The 10-degrees of engagement is fairly typical, and while there are plenty of faster-engaging options out there, I never had any moments when I thought that a few degrees quicker engagement would have improved my ride experience.

Noise aside, the Silt XC wheels have a precise feel to them, with a slightly sharper ride quality than the Roval Control wheels that I recently tested. By 'sharp' I mean that they transmit a little more trail feedback. It's not a massive difference, but I found the Roval wheels had a slightly more muted ride feel. There's no way to attribute that to one specific factor, but the Roval's wider and slightly thicker rims may play a part here - they seemed to disappear underneath me a little more, while the Silt wheels were a little more pingy in rougher sections of trail.


photo
photo
Silt's Ratchet Drive uses one fixed and one free ratchet ring, each with 36 teeth.


DURABILITY

The rims themselves have held up well to everything I've subjected them to, and that includes plenty of root-filled, techy XC trails, the kind with tricky sections that would probably cause a bunch of riders to get off and start running during a race.

They have a decidedly XC feel to them, and by that I mean that I never felt the temptation to put heavy duty tires on them and stick them on an enduro bike to shed some weight. While they deliver plenty of stiffness and precision for cross-country and general trail duties, they're not designed for smashing down the roughest trails around, or hitting big drops. Still, they withstood plenty of rooty, chunky descents without needing a trip to the truing stand, or making any worrying noises.

As far as wet weather durability goes, the bearings are still spinning smoothly, and there aren't any signs of unexpected corrosion or water ingress.

It's worth noting that these wheels do have a 120 kg (264 lb) rider weight limit, and Silt recommends that riders over 90 kg (198 lb) check them regularly. That's not quite as high as the 275 lb weight limit of the Roval Control carbon wheels, but it's not that far off. For heavier riders looking for light wheels without a weight limit, Reserve's 28 XC wheelset may fit the bill, albeit at a higher price.

Silt does have a generous crash replacement program. According to the terms, "If your carbon wheels are damaged as a result of a crash; SILT MTB will replace the damaged part at no cost to the original owner. Labour, additional parts are not covered."


Silt XC wheel review




Pros

+ Excellent price for a set of light carbon wheels
+ Good crash replacement policy


Cons

- Extra loud freehub noise might be too much for some riders





Pinkbike's Take

bigquotesSilt have pulled off an impressive feat with their XC wheelset, putting together a package that strikes a great balance between price, weight, and strength. The loud freehub body was a bit much for my ears, but that's really my only gripe about these light and precise wheels.  Mike Kazimer







Author Info:
mikekazimer avatar

Member since Feb 1, 2009
1,721 articles

126 Comments
  • 185 1
 The hub for that Honda guy driving around at 3am in the morning
  • 79 2
 Its nice to see this douchy stereotype transcends cultures and continents! I feel ya.
  • 11 3
 I actually try to make my freehub sound as loud as possible. It let's hikers, dog walkers, horse riders, etc. know that something is nearing in on them without all the (polite!) shouting.
  • 8 0
 @Nygaard: I have a bell on my bike,works every time,except when people have earbuds
  • 5 0
 You have something against people mowing early morning?
  • 1 0
 @lenniDK: Thank God! I have been hearing the "Hjem-IS bil" descending rocky trail sections in the distance lately and thought I was loosing my mind - but apparently it was just you!
  • 1 0
 *Subaru guy
  • 1 0
 @Nygaard: These hubs seem to be twice as loud as I9s. I have DT hubs which are not quiet, but not too loud and my buddy has these hubs riding 20-30ft in front of me and I can only hear his hubs. I9s gave me headaches - I cannot imagine riding with these hubs 5ft from my ears.
  • 156 1
 Shouldn't riders over 275lb be looking at somewhere else to save weight?
  • 52 6
 Definitely. If you're a 264lb person doing XC, you're going to have a bad time.
  • 53 2
 Stop weight shaming bicycles. Or, something
  • 25 0
 I mean there are a lot of reasons a "Clyde" shouldn't be super concerned with weight and instead favor durability, but as a 240lbs rider, one thing I've noticed a few things with wheels that don't work for me: spoke count less than 28, flimsy rims, and narrow tires. I can get away with 28 spokes if I've got stiff burly rims, but if I run lightweight rims I definitely need 32h. Wider tires (and rims) have also helped with durability. Anytime I try to run some old lightweight 29x2.2 tires I end up denting a rim (unless I stick strictly to gravel).

It not really the carbon that's the problem, it's the wheel system as a whole. I think a heavier rider could get away with carbon XC rims easy if the had 32h and bigger tires.
  • 6 0
 @nickfranko: I'm a 250lbs xc rider that does 6, 12, and 24 hour races all the time. I have no problem finishing middle pack. Weight doesn't matter. Weight:ftp does.
That being said, i feel like I've become an expert on where to cut weight first
  • 2 7
flag Themissinglink83 (Apr 6, 2022 at 5:17) (Below Threshold)
 @alexisfire: you must be doing some pretty flat races.
  • 4 1
 @Themissinglink83: Kind of randomly hateful comment, when someone's just sharing their experiences.
  • 1 3
 @sherbet: I'm 6'4 200-215ish and have done a fair amount of xc racing in the same town as him, and the people who podium in the Clyde category aren't finishing mid pack. Watts/kg matters on climbs, and if you are over 200lbs you aren't going to climb fast.
  • 25 2
 Nutty. Can we get a long-term review? I have a hard time trusting that sub-1400 g wheel going to last nearly as long as their $1500-$2300 counterparts.
  • 80 1
 Yep, I’m going to keep putting the miles in on these - I’ll report back if anything changes. I wouldn’t necessarily equate price with an indication of longevity, though. Spending more doesn’t automatically get you a longer lasting product.
  • 9 3
 @mikekazimer: I’d also like to know where the limit of strength/durability is.

In a place like the Midwest this wheelset is unlikely to be pushed to the breaking point. Out west, an “XC” ride might involve a bunch of climbing, but then some vicious rock gardens (and maybe some airtime) on the down.

So I guess I’d like to know how this will do with some inserts and sturdier tires.
  • 3 0
 Nice review. Like the comparisons to some of the other wheelsets in this category.
Definitely looking forward to long-term follow ups on durability, and how they compare to some of the heavier options available. Thanks Mike!
I've been riding a WR1 Agent 29 wheelset that checks in at 1900g and has been bomb-proof for me, so something like the Roval Control looks really nice as a potential lighter "trail" upgrade.
  • 4 0
 I've been using the Enduro Carbon wheelset for a while now and they have taken an outrageous amount of abuse. Not just in the muddy winter of Scotland but also South of France, Finale Ligure and even San Romolo/San Remo. So they've had grim conditions for the bearings and rough conditions for the rim and held up well.

If the Enduro version are anything to go by I'd say these would be well worth the nod, Lifetime replacement on the carbon rims too so can't really go far wrong.
  • 2 0
 @the-dudes: I’ve got the enduro ones too, a properly fantastic purchase! Mine are bang straight, zero problems what so ever after about 1yr / 3k of riding. Lifetime warranty is a massive bonus too!
  • 2 0
 @wyorider: ok,
I’ll bite, why the inserts and sturdier tires on a weight limited XC wheel.
My assumption is you’d just go to. Stan’s flow/arch rim (If price was the concern)
Or a WAO Faction if ya want carbon
Not judging, just asking.

Side note, inserts and burlier tires are the cats meow.
  • 2 0
 @mikekazimer: jeez man your gonna need hearing aids, heck of a commitment to your job!
  • 1 0
 @the-dudes: What do you say about the freehub's sound? Any louder than a DT Swiss 36T ratchet?
  • 1 0
 @mikekazimer: About that, I insist on destructive testing of equipment. curbing wheels on locked suspension untill it breaks or dents, with those mike bear tires.

Bottoming out suspension with lower than adequated pressures untill it fails.

curbing tires on sharp edges with lower and lower pressure untill there is no system anymore.

recreating accidents with frames, on the likes of Friday Fails.

You know, destructive testing, with notes of how it goes each time.
maybe throw some pressure washer at the paint to see if it flaks, or the bearings degrease...
  • 3 0
 You have a hard time trusting the wheels that come out of basically the same factory in China as the expensive ones but aren't marked up 400% so that company can afford a multi million dollar HQ in California isn't going to last as long as the ones from "trusted" companies that will still probably break at some point anyway?
  • 1 0
 @wyorider: If you are putting inserts and sturdier tires on your xc wheels, maybe you started off with the wrong wheels
  • 2 0
 Mike i think all these xc wheels should get the enduro test at some point. Reality is people are gonna end up on a trail bike with some not xc sections.@mikekazimer:
  • 19 0
 Roval have 15% off currently which is really hard to ignore.
  • 11 1
 Yeah, you've really gotta hate Big S and getting the most for your money to not consider their $1350 msrp version.
  • 1 0
 I don't see that - can you direct me to that discount?
  • 3 0
 @CarlMega: Go to the Speci site, sign up for newsletter.
  • 1 0
 @bikewriter: Thanks. I eventually figured it out. Nice deal.
  • 18 0
 @bikewriter: exactly, especially for 1206 shipped. Or maybe I hate them so much I plan to ruin them Financially, one warranty rim at a time...
  • 12 3
 I personally find that very easy to ignore...
  • 6 0
 @SleepingAwake: You're stronger than I am. Now just hope I don't break them.

I like that if I do I can go to the local Specialized dealer to whine. Communicating with China for my previous wheels was about as effective as sending up smoke signals and squinting hopefully at the horizon.
  • 4 1
 @ViolaVesperlin: that's unfortunate. My experience with LB (China) has been 100% positive.

I murdered a rim, sent them the info that afternoon and had an email in the morning saying a replacement was in the mail. Received shortly after. Pretty painless tbh.
  • 2 1
 @g123: You're correct they give it a good effort, but with special orders communication can get complicated. Not as easy as talking to a person face to face in a shop at any rate.

Light Bicycle’s warranty is fine but it's not no-questions-asked, and the crash replacement policy is a 25% discount on a replacement.
  • 19 8
 I love how those sound! Loud hubs are the best for when you actually have to share the trail with other users. You can just coast and they know you're coming. If you want quiet, you can pedal. Too bad I have no need of an XC wheelset.
  • 27 64
flag nickfranko (Apr 4, 2022 at 8:25) (Below Threshold)
 Loud hubs are utterly obnoxious, and I shake my head every time I have to hear the obnoxious buzzing. There are middle-ground hubs that still make some noise such that your approach is obvious without being over-the-top. As such, I will never run those Hydra hubs until they figure out how to mute the horrible sound they make.
  • 21 1
 @nickfranko, it’s pretty easy to mute the Hydra hubs with some freehub grease. It makes them much more tolerable.
  • 6 0
 @mikekazimer: agreed Dumond grease rather than oil and a clean and re-grease every 500 km (a simple job to do) and the hubs are pleasantly quiet. Not Onyx silent but pleasantly quiet
  • 7 0
 I agree with letting others know you are around, especially hikers and dogs. It does annoy them too which is another concern but running DT Swiss' on my gravel/road bike is very useful for ignorant humans in shoes only sharing a bikepath.
  • 6 1
 @nickfranko: I was with you until you got to Hydra - the old I9s used to drive me crazy on other peoples bikes, but I've had a couple sets of Hydras now and they're really great hubs - as others have pointed out it's a quick job once or twice a year to swipe on a bit of extra grease and they're quite quiet; not silent but I can't really hear the over tires and my own labored breathing.
  • 2 1
 I actually love loud hubs and if these guys do something in the trail/enduro category they could be worth consideration. That said, the low hub engagement isn't ideal. As for that, I think the least expensive high engagement hub out there is the Spank Hex hubs at 3 degrees for under $200. They are way loud too. I still say my idea hub sound would land somewhere b/t an air raid siren and a chainsaw. Then again, I listen to a great deal of noise rock so what do I know? www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4MjJUnbA30
  • 4 0
 Preferred my previous super loud hubs to my current quiet hubs/cow bell combo...
  • 2 0
 @Badnewcastle: I put a hope pro 4 on the back of my partner's commuter because she was fed up with pedestrians walking out in front of her. Horses for courses.
  • 1 0
 @Badnewcastle: yup, totally agree that *some* hub noise is useful to warn horses etc that you're coming. However, some are silly loud, like being a kid with playing cards in the spokes pretending to be riding a moto. Last enduro I did had a long push up, and I honestly started looking for the wasps that I thought were going to attack, until I realised it was just noisy hubs ahead...
  • 7 0
 Honestly I’d drop the 350$ To upgrade to the Roval Controls for better warranty in most cases, wider width, better hubs, thicker bead etc. I have them on my epic and have been absolutely loving them
  • 8 0
 Just gonna leave this classic here youtu.be/-bb7eCgLbLI
  • 8 4
 so it sounds like they take some chinese rims, chinese hubs, and chinese spokes, slap on some quality control and a new name and here we are. I realize there is more to it, but I built pretty much the same rims (mine were 29mm IW), spokes,with dt swiss hubs from btlos for $300 less which is probably pretty slim margins. So $300 more covers what? Website, inventory, customer service, warranty, no slave labor?
  • 1 0
 how much did yours weigh?
  • 1 0
 @mjlee2003: my wheels came in at 1420 grams before tubeless tape.
  • 3 0
 Did you build yours yourself? Then I guess that $300 covers the wheel build. Plus the time, effort, tools and learning required for most of us who've never built a set.
  • 3 0
 Yes. Margin is how a business works.
  • 3 0
 @mikekazimer was looking forward to seeing if anyone reviewed these, especially as you also have a Spur. Be great to some pictures of them mounted on yours! Would you describe the Silt's as harsher full stop compared to other alloy & carbon wheels or just not as smooth as the Rovals?
  • 11 8
 No offense Kazimar as I highly rate your reviews and opinions but at times I do really miss Paul Aston. I guess he just spoke my kind of bro science.
Procore Review 2015:
Of course, the first thing I did when somebody told me that it would be virtually impossible to pinch-flat or burp a Procore protected tire, was to try to pinch-flat and burp it. The first test was to put 6bar/87psi into the Procore and 0.3bar/5psi in the outer chamber; pedal as fast as I could towards a 20cm tall curbstone, then sit down and hit it, full speed. I can report no punctures or dings to the rim, and not even the sound of a metal to concrete connection. Second, was to perform a few cutties and square off a few corners. (The previous curbstones worked out well as a berm.) I was pleasantly surprised by my parking lot trial. There was seemingly no way of getting the tire to lose any pressure. Even if you release all the pressure from the outer chamber and try to dislodge the bead with your hands - you can't, it's locked in there solid by the Procore liner. Later, on the trail, I never managed to puncture the tire during a normal ride.
  • 5 1
 Aston has his own blog now.
  • 3 0
 I have a gravel version of these wheels from Scribe, the parent company of Silt. The freehubs are the same as here and yes are loud AF. But if you add some extra grease they quieten to normal levels. Good value, light strong wheelsets. There's need to pay 3k for light carbon wheels.
  • 1 0
 I love my Scribe wheels on my road bike! They're loud. So if you're coasting behind a mate or on a race they will know that you're behind slacking! ;D on the other hand everyone knows you're coming, no need for a bell or a shout.
  • 2 0
 These seem like a great option but the 3 year warranty against defects vs competitors that offer lifetime no questions asked for a few grams more and another couple hundred dollars kills it for me. Realistically I know that I wont break a rim but I like having the piece of mind.
  • 4 0
 3 years is to cover defects, but the crash replacement is free for life of the wheels. Sounds like they'll sort you out for a long time!
  • 1 0
 @lawman91: aw thanks for the calcification. I was just looking under the warranty tab and did not see another section for crash replacement.
  • 2 0
 Just adding a comparison to a couple of other similar carbon wheelsets:

WeAreOne Revive - I9 1/1 - 1540g - $1,475
Nobl TR33 - DT350 - 1570g - $1,100 (3/5 year warranty/crash replacement) - $1,200 (lifetime warranty / crash replacement)
ICAN ("Chinese Carbon") F922 - DT240 - 1,199g - $990

Honestly, so long as the company can stick around, this sounds like a pretty good "value" wheelset. Their other wheelsets have been reviewed by other pubs, and no-one reported any issues.

I don't love the freehub sound, but I'm not sure that I'd pay an extra $500+ to replace it with my preferred "swarm of angry-bees" I9 sound + "all the engagement ever".
  • 11 7
 I don't trust any carbon wheel durability claims if Paul Aston didn't do the testing
  • 2 1
 2nd that
  • 5 0
 Would love to get a review of their Enduro AM set
  • 1 0
 Same
  • 3 3
 How’s about we test that $&@$Wink & lock ring out to see if it can be removed without a 2x4?

I love my DTSwiss hubs but the local shop (which is incredible) weren’t able to even remove the lock ring last week and they didn’t want to risk blowing up a very nicely build wheel. I’d have to send it back into DTSwiss if I wanted it removed. Such a dumbass design where each pedal essentially tightens it a bit.
  • 1 0
 Better than each pedal essentially loosening it!
  • 2 0
 If it’s like mine, they’ll break their old tool, order a new one and then it’ll come out.
  • 1 0
 @DHhack: Yeah its crazy, as I've gone down the rabbit hole...I've seen people talk about it breaking their VISE while working it off lol.
  • 1 0
 @Svinyard: I used to be a car mechanic, it’s easy to break a vise! I asked my lbs what they would rather work on, so now that wheelset has Hope hubs…
  • 1 0
 The most important step is to heat up the Lockring with a heat gun so you can‘t touch it. It won‘t hurt the body but essentially liquify the existing loctide and expanding the hub body Smile
  • 1 0
 Let's hope they actually have any stock you can buy... I gave up on their AM wheelset because it took so long for them to arrive, paid a bit more money and got a local builder to make me up some DT Swiss rims with hope hubs
  • 1 0
 Good price. Would work well as a set of training wheels and keep your really nice ones for race day. If you can get past the sound that is. Sounds like the Soviet Tank of hubs.
  • 1 0
 FYI - just got a FedEx invoice for $112 I wasn't expecting...I should've calculated duty and tax in. Hub sound isn't as bad as I thought it'd be after seeing all the comments. First carbon wheels and wow they are stiff.
  • 6 2
 oonga boonga
  • 2 0
 Seems like these are a direct competitor to something from Light Bicycle, surprised that they're not mentioned at all here.
  • 4 2
 So are these off-the-rack Chinese made carbon rims mated with SILT's own hub design?
  • 2 0
 You can find Chiner star ratchet hubsets on the express for $50usd.
  • 4 1
 Wow so $1000 and free lifetime crash replacement? Sounds hard to beat.
  • 1 0
 Has anyone here used Silts Aluminium AM wheels for enduro ridding? They are half the price of the carbon and only 100g heavier.
  • 3 0
 Yes, Henry Quinney reviewed those earlier this year: www.pinkbike.com/news/silt-am-29-review.html
  • 2 0
 What, you didn't like the Hub's 'Bear Scare (patent pending)' safety feature?
  • 2 0
 I like loud but that just sounds dingy and shitty
  • 2 0
 is that not a dtswiss star ratchet with a different spring?
  • 5 0
 I think DT Swiss’ original patent expired.
  • 1 0
 @icthus13: THis looks like the new EXP, with one side stationary and the other sprung. Could they both fall undre the same patent?
  • 2 0
 I wonder if the DT swiss 34t ratchet fits?
  • 1 0
 34T?
  • 1 0
 @skimons: I ment 54 lol
  • 2 0
 @dmackyaheard: doesn't look like it.
  • 1 0
 The last picture makes the drive side flange appear to be floating in mid air. Now that's what I call a USP!
  • 2 0
 They lost me at 2 cross pattern …
  • 3 4
 10 degrees engagement. To me, that is unacceptable. I went to a hydra hub and it the quick engagement makes things easier and more fun (also, less loud than previous Industry Nine hubs I have owned).
  • 7 6
 How does a constantly engaged free hub make anything easier and more fun unless you like more pedal kickback and the excitement of having your swing arm not move as freely as it could be doing while on the edge of control?
  • 10 0
 @thenotoriousmic: This recent fascination on pedal kick back intrigues me. Been running high engagement hubs for years on dozens of bikes from 180mm enduro on down. Never experienced it, nor has anyone not on the internet I visit with about it.
  • 1 7
flag thenotoriousmic (Apr 4, 2022 at 15:38) (Below Threshold)
 @numbnuts1977: pick your bike up and drop it it and see how much the cranks spin back when it lands. If it barely moves you shouldn’t notice much difference. If there’s a lot of kickback you might want to avoid a high engagement hub or use a o chain floating spider which totally defeat’s the purpose of a high engagement hub if there is any at all. Personally I take a pawl out so I’ve got a little bit more wiggle room to shift my weight before the hub engages. The roadies have proven that they’re not any faster and increase drag.
  • 2 1
 It all depends on the bike. I do think it's hilarious to see people paying for a super high engagement hub and then buying something like an O chain. Truthfully most people aren't quick enough to have real issues with pedal kickback. It's one thing if you can go down world cup level tracks at 60km/h probably not that important if your not that fast
  • 12 0
 @briain, funny enough, pedal kickback should be less of an issue the faster you go.

www.pinkbike.com/news/why-you-shouldnt-worry-about-pedal-kickback.html
  • 1 0
 @mikekazimer: I actually did reread that article. So I should clarify when I said pedal kickback I more meant forces from your drivetrain acting on your suspension as it moves through its travel. Neko Mulally seems to think that an O chain makes up the difference between a high pivot and a low pivot, Paul Aston seems to be a fan of o-chains aswell. To me, I do find it interesting how we interpret and describe the forces acting on our bikes so we can get actual better bikes not just better marketing. On that front I would love Pinkbike to review something like a cavalerie gearbox bike or better yet an old Brooklyn Machine Works to see if their is an improvement in suspension performance, if it's isolated from the drivetrain
  • 1 0
 @briain: Still nobody can come up with a single reason to run a high engagement hub other than sound it makes and a load of small but valid reasons not to and unless you ride trials or something where you need instant engagement they’re utterly pointless.
  • 1 0
 @thenotoriousmic: I think it all depends on what you want for your application. All the hubs I run are between 5 to 10 degrees of engagement. But the only place I can actually notice an improvement is on technical climbs. The last time I tried a wheel with less engagement was a bike with Dt 370 hubs and to be fair their did seem to be less rolling resistance in them but that could just be better bearings. However if your high engagement hub needs something to counteract it like a O-chain it really doesn't make much sense to me. But there's so many things that objectively dont make sense like carbon frames over aluminium in most uses and the list goes on. People will buy whatever they think is best and we as society do think more is better
  • 2 0
 Hub sounds like a Sunn O))) track
  • 1 0
 @mikekazimer Just wondering if you have any updates on your experience with these wheels so far to date? Many thanks :-)
  • 4 7
 I'm probably going to get roasted for this but I've often wondered with loud hubs if it would be possible to mute a little noise by sticking a bit of foam pipe insulation in the hub shell. Because these would be really tempting but the noise is too much, though I've always gravitated towards quieter hubs even at the expense of engagement (usually use Shimano or 350s).
  • 1 0
 That hub sound makes me want to off myself
  • 1 2
 Try therapy.
  • 3 1
 @AndrewFleming: quieter hubs are cheaper than therapy Wink
  • 1 0
 @privateer-wheels: I'll try that pitch!
  • 1 1
 Hey Kaz, doubled up on the "noise aside" sentence intro.

Sincerely,
That annoying future English teacher
  • 2 0
 For those viewing this comment now, I look like an idiot because he fixed it not because I am one.
  • 1 0
 Whaaattt? No single speed specific hub option?
  • 1 0
 Actual weight is 1336g. That may distort the $ / g chart you have shown.
  • 1 0
 @mikekazimer any update on how the wheels are doing?
  • 1 2
 These would be sick to match my power meter pedals on my #Ebike (Dont judge its so i know i dont have motor gremlins)
  • 1 0
 no 26" builds ... huh..
  • 2 3
 Cons: You spent $1000usd for a heavy wheelset with crappy hubs.
  • 1 3
 + you support China
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv42 0.052780
Mobile Version of Website