“Do-It-All” Bike Build Guide
Wheels
Wheels are a very important purchase when building a bike. They are one of the fundamental pieces of your build that will greatly affect your level of success at creating a truly versatile bike. By selecting the correct wheel choice for your type of riding habits you’ll be able to run a wheelset that has the correct amount of durability, weight, and tire profile. The suggestions we have below represent two easy to purchase off the shelf wheelsets that should work well for just about anyone as well as some direction for building a solid custom wheelset.
Custom
Rims - When building a custom wheelset the top three suggested rim models all come from the same manufacturer. Mavic’s 721, 729, and 823 rims are some of the most proven and often suggested rims on the market. You’ll need to do some more research as to which would be the best rim for you as each has its own characteristics, but this will point you in the right direction. The biggest differences being rim width which will give a tire a flatter tire profile the wider it is and a more round profile with a skinnier rim width.
- Hubs - To start deciding on hubs the top three companies to look into are Hope, Hadley, and Chris King. Each of these hubs is highly regarded for one reason or another. Both the Hadley and Chris King hubs are known for their high number of engagement points and longevity. The Hope’s are mostly used for their light weight and cheaper price tag. All are available in various widths and have multiple axle sizes for most applications.
- Spokes and Nipples - When researching what to lace up your wheels with the easiest suggestion would be to go with DT Swiss. Their spokes and nipples are some of the highest quality and lowest weight on the market. Which exact spoke model to choose is up to the rider. DT Swiss has several options with varying weights, characteristics, and prices. When it comes to choosing nipples, brass is usually your safest bet. Aluminum nipples have a few caveats which place them out of the realm of our suggestion for this build.
Wheelsets
Syncros FR Wheelset – Syncros’ FR is their freeride and downhill oriented wheelset. Each wheel features a DPS 32 hole pinned and sleeved rim laced up using a 3x pattern with DT Swiss nipples and Champion 2.0 black spokes to Syncros’ FR hub. The hubs feature a Quad-Bearing System which has double lip sealed bearings that are mounted in pairs for maximum stability and durability. The front hub is available in 20mm thru-axle and the rear hub is available in 10 x 135mm or 12 x 150mm. If you’re looking for something a bit less heavy duty but still able to handle some abuse the DS-28 is available from Syncros. We believe that some riders could get away with using this model, but would rather suggest the DS-32’s in order to cover most situations and conditions.
Transition Revolution – The Revolution wheelset from Transition has a great bang-for-your-buck ratio. The rims are available in 32mm width with 32 holes or 36mm with 36 holes. They are laced up using black brass nipples with 14g stainless steel black spokes to black hubs with sealed cartridge bearings. The front hub is set up for a 20mm through axle and the rear hub is available in 135mm spacing with a 10mm quick release or 12 x 150mm DH spacing. The wheelset is available in black, white, red, and chocolate brown except for the 12 x 150mm option, which is only available in black.
Tires
Once you’ve selected the wheel you’re going to buy or build the next step is choosing a quality tire. The tire market is flooded with many options to choose from. We suggest having multiple pairs of tires in order to adapt to the conditions you’ll be riding. Most tires have a specific usage but there are some great all around performers available.
When choosing a tire you’ll want to make sure that you buy the correct width and casing design. Riders looking to do more downhilling will want a wider tire such as a 2.5″ or possibly larger with a multiple-ply casing, while a more trail oriented rider will want something smaller such as a 2.3″ width that uses a single ply. This is just a general guide line and is no way the law of the land. You’ll have to decide how much protection and width you’ll need for your style of riding.
Freeride/Trail
Continental Diesel ProTection - Continental’s Diesel is a great freeride tire with some interesting features. The Diesel utilizes a multi-ply construction with Duraskin. The Duraskin is a side wall feature that adds polyamide fabric that protects against cuts and abrasions. The ProTection version of the Diesel has 3 plies for 180 tpi. The Diesel’s tread utilizes the entire tread space with 3D Arcs & lugs to increase the tire’s footprint & improve grip.
Kenda Nevegal - The Nevegal is a favorite all around use tire by many riders. It has won several awards and is very proven to provide great performance. The Nevegal has 3 different versions for riders to choose from. There is a 2 ply downhill casing with a wire bead, a single ply casing with wire bead, and a folding version. The weight on all versions is very manageable with multiple tread widths available.
Kenda Nevegal- Tioga Blue Dragon - The Blue Dragon from Tioga is designed to be a non-directional all-purpose trail tire or what they call “Freeride Lite”. Its tread was engineered to create stabilized knobs to handle a variety of terrains while still offering superior traction and braking performance. To do this they spaced the knobs a specific distance apart to handle different terrain and cut slits into the knobs to enhance the tire’s traction capabilities. By placing the knobs on what Tioga calls “rubber mounds” they were able to stabilize the knobs. The Blue Dragon is a single ply tire with CYLEX 127 TPI casing. By using Tioga’s CYLEX casing they are able to save weight without sacrificing strength.
Downhill
Maxxis High Roller - The Maxxis High Roller is one of the most highly used downhill tires. In almost any discussion about downhill tire selection the High Roller will be mentioned for its excellent qualities. It has great cornering abilities and rolls very well thanks to its center tread design. The High Roller has 2 standard durometers to choose from and is now available in Maxxis’ 3C compound which incorporates 3 different compounds into a single tire tread for advanced performance.
Maxxis Minion - The Minion is another highly suggested tire for downhillers. The Minion is offered in front and rear specific models. The front model is often used front and rear depending on the terrain and rider preference. The Minion performs well due to its tread design which uses channel cut knobs for cornering, braking, and accelerating enhancement. The Minion is also available in the 3C compound as well as 2 other durometers.
Michelin DH 24 A/T - The DH 24 A/T from Michelin is an excellent tire for various types of downhill terrain. The tread is designed with 2 different types of center knobs. One set for braking and the other for accelerating. The different shaped knobs used in the tread actually help to maximize grip at different angles. Michelin tires tend to run relatively large, so you might plan to run a size smaller than you traditionally would.
Michelin DH 24 A/T| Click to navigate | |
