29er vs 700c wheels for disc cyclocross

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Permalink Reply by Scott Hendricks on May 14, 2011 at 10:59am

No reason whatsoever you can't run a disc braked 'cross wheel or a 29" mtb wheel.  In fact, once you take 'em out of the bike, you can't tell 'em apart.

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Permalink Reply by Brian on May 27, 2011 at 8:41am

You can't beat the Stan's ZTR Crest (29er) wheelset, IMO. A buddy of mine raced top of his class on these last season on these set up tubless with Raven tires at 25psi. Light too, at ~1500g per set.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Wahlin on May 27, 2011 at 10:51am

Thanks Brian.  You must have read my mind.  I went with a handbuilt wheelset from Universal Cycles using the Stan's ZTR Crest rims.  Likely heavier than the 1500g mark, but I was amazed at the price -- $360 including shipping.  Should arrive this upcoming Wednesday.  If running Mud 2's (already in my house) doesn't work well then the Ravens sound like a logical next step.    

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Permalink Reply by Brian on May 27, 2011 at 11:40am

Sounds good Mike. You musta gone with a different hub than their house-brand ZTR, which come in at 1,575g and cost closer to $500. But it's hard to find a fault with the Crest rim by my experience, regardless of which hub you choose. I've had a set on my "cross-muter" for the past year and have not had a single issue. I use Ravens on mine tubeless as well.

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Permalink Reply by andrew on May 29, 2011 at 12:49am

Mike,

 

Have you really seen a lot of tubular 29er wheels?   Tubeless, yes, but I'm not sure if i've ever seen a tubular 29er tire yet - some 26" tubular mtb tires seen now from a few companies, but not many. But if you have 135mm spacing and discs, you can really go pretty crazy with either wider 700c or 29er rims (no real difference anyway).  the wider rims can work well for cx tires - especially to add a bit more volume.

 

good luck!

 

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Permalink Reply by Mike Wahlin on May 29, 2011 at 9:13am

 

Thanks Andrew,

Good catch!  You're right, there is only an abundance of tubeless 29er wheels.  I'm hoping the wider Stan's Crest tubeless rims as opposed to the Alpha 340's will help prevent burping -- although I'm only assuming a width to burping relation exists for low pressures.  I would love to see an Alpha 340 without a clincher rim for the ultimate in low rotational weight:)  All, what do you think rotational weight is worth in CX?  For example, would you rather have a half pound off the rims or a pound and a half off the frame?

 

as always, thanks everyone for the great advice

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Rick Bensyl on October 3, 2011 at 5:59am

Hi Mike- how did these wheels work out, and about how much did they weigh. I have used Universal cycles before with good satisfaction. I need a new set of disc wheels and like the price you mentioned, when I looked at Stans website they were about $530 a set. What hubs did they have or did you provide your own? Thanks!

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