digitalbicycle

I'm looking at some 36 hole Deore hubs (M530 I believe) for a rigid mtb tourer I want to build. It'll be ridden on pavement and dirt roads, some of which are in poor shape with a lot of washboarding and rocks. Thinking about building it with butted spokes and Sun CR-18 rims, or possibly a different rim if those won't stand up to what I want to do but overall would like to keep costs pretty low.

I already sort of posted this question in the CR-18 thread but then decided a dedicated thread would be better. Thanks for your help y'all.

Garthr

I wondered about CR-18 rims once..... but a top pro wheelbuilder told me he doesn't use them(or any Sun rim) anymore because the quality is lacking. A wider rim would serve you better too. You could get a Mavic A319 ,but why bother when you could get a better A719 for not much more. Think long term ..... good wheels are an investment. Spend the money now, or else you' spend more later. Believe me ... or not

Note: Whatever great things that have been said in the past about CR-18 (USA made) rims, does not pertain to current imported ones.

Commodus

Rims I dunno, but I think the hubs will be fine. I'm confident enough in them that I'm using them myself

Bikearound

For durability Deore or XT would be just fine, I think the differences are with the rear hub primarily. The Deore hubs might engage a bit slower than the XT for example and may be a touch heavier but still very suitable for touring. The less expensive Shimano hubs are strong they just may not roll as long or as smoothly as the more expensive hubs but for a few dollars more I'd go with the XT hubs but that's just me.

JoeMan

I have used Mavic 317 DISC's/525 hub with 32 spokes on really rough gravel roads for several years now and they do just fine on my REI Safari with no suspension. I have been on some long and rough roads pulling a BOB trailer. My observation of other bikers I run into is that 32 hole work just fine if you are under 175. I personally have never seen a hub failure.

digitalbicycle

Are any Sun rims still made in the US? How do the Rhino Lites compare to the CR-18s?

Booger1

Hubs will be fine.CR 18's are good,strong rims.When the spoke tensions are even,they don't always build the truest wheels but they are strong.I almost ran them on my own wheels because they come polished.

truman

26" or 29er?

EKW in DC

Handspun makes (made?) a good Deore hub rear wheel w/ a Velocity Dyad rim (36h). That's what I got over the winter to replace my rear wheel on my commuter bike (read one and only bike) - and it's held up great so far. Still true as a fact after close 1,000 miles. Read reviews of people (clydes esp.) getting several several thousand miles out of the wheel w/ no problems at all. Not bad for something that comes in at under $125. Got mine from aebike.com. Not sure if they still make em, but given my experience, and that of other Clydes of you're looking for a 700/29er wheel for touring, this would be a good one for the rear at least IMHO.