Sunday, September 07, 2008

New wheels.

Talking of stuff i have noticed at eurobike, thru axles seem to be gaining acceptance in all spheers of bike riding. From the QR 15 developed by fox and shimano, to the 20mm thru axles and the DT rws thru axle quick release. Sram/rockshox has a light maxle and marzocchi has adopted the qr15 as well.

I see no reason for this not to gain more momentum. Thru axles are just better. I have not looked back since i started using the 9 and 10mm rws thru axles on the DT 240 hubs.

However, i see a time coming soon when i want a bike with a suspension fork again. Shenandoah was HARD and the sharp rocks took their toll, especially as i had a relatively narrow bonti mustang rim on the front with high psi following an early puncture.

So in order to future proof a little, i am building some new wheels. Front: DT 440 with qr endcaps initially, moving to the 9mm thru axle end caps and rws skewer when the end caps become available. It is also 20mm compatible and will form the basis of the front wheel for project suspension forked-bike. The rim will be a bonti duster 28mm wide tubeless ready, DT comp spokes (black) and red alloy nipples save a little weight against the 50g gain in the hub over the 240. I will use loctite as a thread lock.

The rear will be DT comp spokes, red nipples and the old DT 240 singlespeed hub with 10mm thru axle as the salsa delgado needs retiring.

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