mavic 321 front wheel? need wider wheel...

[faded1004]

just looking for an extra low cost front wheel. i have been reading up on tires, and it seems if you run wide tires on a thin rim, you can actually slip the tube so the valve rips off?

anyways, i want to pick up another set of wheels, but wanted to just start with front first. this will be for my trail use, and the current ones will be for road/light trail with girlfriend?

i have been looking at the mavic 321 that is 28mm wide? just wondering if anyone has it or something similar that i might be able to buy. i want to run a 2.5 tire for my front, basically experiment with wider tires. i also use disc brakes incase you have one as a built wheel. thanks for looking

jason

[jeffj]

I've been running a 2.5 Kenda Nevegal and 2.55 WTB Weirwolf on 717 and 317 rims for the past year or so with no problems.

The 321 is a tank of a rim and not really necessary unless you're doing some pretty rough riding IMHO.

[faded1004]

thanks, let me look into that also... either way i still want an extra?

no i am not a rough rider? but i wouldn't mind tougher... so my mind is open to anything extra i guess now?

[jeffj]

What rims are you riding now?

Have you damaged them?

How 'big' are you?

What kind of bike are these for?

[faded1004]

i am using bontrager race lite? i am about 160 on a full suspension... i am new to mountain biking... just wanted another set of wheels... 1 for regular (girlfriend stuff) and 1 for trail (str stuff)...

i have not damaged my own wheels, they are still very new and clean... i really like them.

i kinda wanted to try out the max grip setup, 2.5 front and 2.3 rear... may be wider? just wanted to experiment and learn about how it feels and stuff...

[mtbmichael]

jason, you must be getting ready for those jumps.

[evdog]

Are you talking about the new 321 or the old D321? They are two very different rims. I think the old D321 is the same as the new 729, which is an almost indestructable rim. Not so light (but can be used for xc/am as long as you're not a weight weenie) and not cheap - maybe $80-100 new.

I am not too familiar with the new 321 but understand its not nearly as heavy duty but I would hope much lighter.

You are right - if you want to run a larger tire you will be better off with a wider rim. I think the D321 was 32mm or so. I find any Mavic is generally very durable as the material in them seems harder than other brands. What that means is they hold truer much more consistently, and typically if they fail it is going to be a complete taco from harsh sideways torque or they will shatter from a huge impact. Most other rims will bend or get flat spots much easier in my experience.

A front wheel does not tend to take as much abuse as a rear wheel so you should not need as strong a wheel on the front as on the back.

[faded1004]

hahahahhaha... you know, i went to fontana! it was fun, but soooo scary...

i think partly feel like going wider cause i don't want to get caught with a thin tire in a runoff slot thingy... (forgot what they are called... the slivers where the rain water drains in the middle of the trail)

also, i want to experiment with lower pressures... all that good stuff that mountain bikers should experience... all while having no down time if my girlfriend wants to ride to the beach or something...

i guess i was talking about the "Mavic XM321 26" Rim", which is 40 bucks... it is 28mm and seems like it would be good enough for a true 2.5 tire? am i wrong?

[jeffj]

The XM 321 and the EN321 both weigh 570g. Not horrible, but pretty portly for a XC rim. By comparison, the 717Disc weighs 395g. That's over 3/4lb of rotating weight per wheelset your going to have to power up a climb, not to mention the extra weight of a 2.5" set of tires.

The Nevegal 2.5" folding bead tire weighs 860g, the 2.35 weighs 820g and the 2.1" version weighs 580g each. That's another 1+lb of rotating weight added to your wheelset you're adding for a total of almost two pounds (+/-1 pound for each wheel).

Yes, the 321 is fine for a 2.5" tire. More than fine IMHO.

Larger volume tires have some advantages, just make sure you're willing to put up with the disadvantages in order to take advantage of the positives they offer.

I use 2.5" tires because I weigh a lot. I was up to 299lbs (call it 300lbs as soon as I put shorts on) and prefer the way they handle in sand, but I love climbing with my son's Iguana with it's 1630g wheelset with 2.1" tires. It's significantly easier on the climbs, but at my size, not so great in the soft stuff that I regularly encounter on the way down.

(for the sake of comparison), Mavic only recommends to use the 717Disc (395g) up to 2.1", the 719 (475g) up to 2.3" and the 721 (590g) from 2.3" to 3.0".

But I can tell you from personal experience, that for XC use, the 717 (or 317) can work fine with a 2.5" tire. Just think about it and make sure you're willing to pedal that weight up the hill before fork out some good money for wheels.

You can probably just try the 2.5' tires for now and then if you feel like you want to run the 2.5" tires long term, then you could consider some beefier wheels to go with them. JMHO.

A good middle ground might be something like a set of 819 (tubeless) hoops. You can usually run some pretty low pressures with tubeless.

[SSinGA]

There are lots of good 28mm wide rims. There are probably just as many more that I missed.

Mavic XM321 - also the same as the old F219 and the new EN321
Syncros DS28
Stan's Flow
Halo Freedom disc
DT 5.1d

[bcblur]

I have a DT Swiss 240 (pre 240S)/Mavic 819 front wheel sitting in my garage. It's UST so you don't have to worry about messing up tubes and can take a decently wide tire. Right now, it's setup to take a 9mm thru-axle, but I have the endcaps for QR also.

[RidetheRAAM4]

Originally Posted by faded1004

hahahahhaha... you know, i went to fontana! it was fun, but soooo scary...

i think partly feel like going wider cause i don't want to get caught with a thin tire in a runoff slot thingy... (forgot what they are called... the slivers where the rain water drains in the middle of the trail)

also, i want to experiment with lower pressures... all that good stuff that mountain bikers should experience... all while having no down time if my girlfriend wants to ride to the beach or something...

i guess i was talking about the "Mavic XM321 26" Rim", which is 40 bucks... it is 28mm and seems like it would be good enough for a true 2.5 tire? am i wrong?

Sell your current wheelset and get a beach cruiser....I mean SS for the rides down to the beach

[faded1004]

i only have 1 wheelset... so that idea won't work if i want to keep riding my mountain bike?

i am going to try a 2.3 tire first to see if they fit on my rear... if not i can move them to the front... i actually don't even know what i can fit on my rear and my front fork... i thinking i should have no trouble with 2.5? i am sure it is an average larger tire?

[intensworks]

and forget about risking flats. I have a new mavic X3.1 disc wheel which was replaced by the mavic 819 which will let you run pretty big tires. The hubs are hugi (dt swiss 240). If interested just pm me. Was hoping to see your bike @ Marshall but I wont be able to make it. I am planning to ride Fullerton tomorrow though. Maybe you have some time to ride?

[soul rider]

it's like area codes, the old 213 is now the 310 which might have been a 562
but the 909ers are now 959?
you can always get a 714, i have 661's for sale

[guero]

i have a cheap front wheel i'd sell ya. it is a mavic, i forget what model. disc compatible too.