Handbuilt hater thread

[Moose McKnuckles]

I have to admit. When I got these, I was very excited, and very happy with how they rode.

Until I got a flat....and had to re-mount the tire.

I have DT Swiss 440 rims. Complete garbage. I even broke a hard plastic tire lever trying to mount the tire, not to mention going through about 5 tubes.

Never buying handbuilts again. Complete waste of money. No wheel I have ever purchased is this bad. I've ridden Mavic, Fulcrum, Zipp, Reynolds, Enve, etc. Not one has been as hard to mount.

 

[42x16ss]

I have to admit. When I got these, I was very excited, and very happy with how they rode.

Until I got a flat....and had to re-mount the tire.

I have DT Swiss 440 rims. Complete garbage. I even broke a hard plastic tire lever trying to mount the tire, not to mention going through about 5 tubes.

Never buying handbuilts again. Complete waste of money. No wheel I have ever purchased is this bad. I've ridden Mavic, Fulcrum, Zipp, Reynolds, Enve, etc. Not one has been as hard to mount.

I have to admit, DT rims are notoriously difficult to mount tyres on to but plenty of other brands are dead set easy, such as Mavic, H+ Son, Velocity and Kinlin.

Are you sure this shouldn't be a DT Swiss rims hater thread??

 

[King Boonen]

So you get a crap rim and blame the handbuilt wheel? Seems a little over the top.

I won't buy anything other than hand built anymore, from one of two local, very well respected wheelbuilders. It guarantees that if I have any problems I know I can just turn up and they'll have the bits required to fix it, whether that be rims, spokes, bearings etc. in the shop and I'll be on my way either that day or the next.

Now, that's not much of an issue if you have several sets of wheels, but if like me you don't, you want to know you'll be able to get back on your bike ASAP. That almost never happens if you turn up with a branded wheel.

Plug for both guys:

http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk

http://www.wheelcraft.net

 

[ray j willings]

I have some hand built clinchers . Stans rims AC hubs revo spokes.
weight for the pair is da da da 1182 grms

I have just put together some new wheels XR 200 RIMS ,super light dahti hubs and I am using the sapim super spokes , They are really light. About the same as pillar ti spokes but a lot stronger.
Im using a bigger spoke count 20/24 but they will come in well under
1200 grms the pair.

The cost of building your own wheels is super. If I tried to buy a set of clinchers at that weight it would cost near to 2 grand.

Crazy.

 

[Bustedknuckle]

I have to admit. When I got these, I was very excited, and very happy with how they rode.

Until I got a flat....and had to re-mount the tire.

I have DT Swiss 440 rims. Complete garbage. I even broke a hard plastic tire lever trying to mount the tire, not to mention going through about 5 tubes.

Never buying handbuilts again. Complete waste of money. No wheel I have ever purchased is this bad. I've ridden Mavic, Fulcrum, Zipp, Reynolds, Enve, etc. Not one has been as hard to mount.

Ya haven't had last gen A23 then or first gen DT 415/165/1.1. It's not because they are 'handbuilt', it's because of the rim, which is better in terms of tire mount, than older DT rims.

What tire? Vittoria and Veloflex are pretty easy to get onto any rim.

 

[dougvdh]

You realize those are tubeless convertible rims so they mount up a little different. I've got the a set of XR400 (similar, but 24mm wide) and they are easy to mount tires on (without levers) provided you make sure that beads are sitting in the groove as opposed to on the shoulder in the rim bed. If you put too much air in the tube and the bead ends up on the shoulder, it's pretty much impossible to get them mounted.

Just for reference, they are the easiest rims I own for mounting a Conti trainer tire onto, which says a lot.

Some rim strips can make this more difficult to do since they can bridge the groove, so if you're using a stiff plastic rim strip, try switching to Stan's tape or a Velox strip instead.

Hope that helps you like your wheels a little more.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Ya haven't had last gen A23 then or first gen DT 415/165/1.1. It's not because they are 'handbuilt', it's because of the rim, which is better in terms of tire mount, than older DT rims.

What tire? Vittoria and Veloflex are pretty easy to get onto any rim.

Vittoria Rubino pro tires. Absolutely impossible to mount. Even broke the plastic lever. Rim may be better than other DT rims, but it is the worst rim I have ever seen.

I would ride these wheels every single day if I could actually mount a tire on them. No complaints about the build quality.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

they are easy to mount tires on (without levers) provided you make sure that beads are sitting in the groove as opposed to on the shoulder in the rim bed.

Holy ****. That worked. Did it just using my hands. I tried it without the tube first. Now I'll try it with the tube.

Hopefully it works. Great advice Doug.

 

[Archibald]

Vittoria Rubino pro tires. Absolutely impossible to mount. Even broke the plastic lever. Rim may be better than other DT rims, but it is the worst rim I have ever seen.

I had DT465s and conti's - impossible to mount even with the tyre in the middle of the rim instead of at the shoulder. Bent a couple of tyre levers in the process...

Switched to Rubino Pros (III) and to the thicker Park Tool tyre levers = All good now.

 

[Hawkwood]

Holy ****. That worked. Did it just using my hands. I tried it without the tube first. Now I'll try it with the tube.

Hopefully it works. Great advice Doug.

There's a good video on Youtube where a guy demonstrates how to fit the tightest tyre to the most awkward rim, and all without tyre-levers. Ensuring the beads are in the rim channel is one of the hints.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

There's a good video on Youtube where a guy demonstrates how to fit the tightest tyre to the most awkward rim, and all without tyre-levers. Ensuring the beads are in the rim channel is one of the hints.

Thanks!

I successfully mounted the tires without all that much trouble once I made sure the beads were in the rim channel. I appreciate all the advice here. I feel as though I have a new set of wheels now.

 

[winkybiker]

Thanks!

I successfully mounted the tires without all that much trouble once I made sure the beads were in the rim channel. I appreciate all the advice here. I feel as though I have a new set of wheels now.

Yep, that's the trick. Once they get tight, hold the tension there at the final "bit" with one hand by keeping the tyre pushed as if you're still trying to get it to pop on, and with the other hand go back to the opposite side of the rim and squeeze and flex the tyre back and forth. Do this in each direction around the rim until you get to the tight spot (where you still have the tension). Repeat as required, and tyre will pop right on.

 

[Benotti69]

Thanks!

I successfully mounted the tires without all that much trouble once I made sure the beads were in the rim channel. I appreciate all the advice here. I feel as though I have a new set of wheels now.

I feel your life will never be the same.......

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I feel your life will never be the same.......

I'm totally stoked. I have two sets of handbuilts (same rims, one with White T11 hubs, and one with a Powertap) and I mounted tires on all of them with no problem. No levers.

Also thanks winky for that last advice.

 

[Captain Serious]

I have 4 pairs of DT RR1.2 wheels that I built myself, and I can't say they're any tighter than my other rims.

My old Rigida DP18s are the tightest rims I've had by a mile.