New front 26" rim brake wheel recommendations?

[Jabotical]

My ebike commute fun has been paused, since I recklessly managed to fracture my radius and taco my front wheel. The radius is fixing itself, but the wheel has no such magic. Three more weeks and I'm allowed to ride again, but I'm having trouble figuring out what a suitable replacement wheel would be (excuse my ignorance!)

My bike (Trek 820) came with Bontrager AT550 36-hole alloy front rims, and it looks like 9mm QR front hub.
That honestly seemed to be working fine for me (traveling no more than 30 mph mostly on pavement but on some packed dirt roads), but I gather it may have been a little undersized for the 2.4 inch Cyclops tire I had on there. I believe that rim has a 17mm internal measurement. The tube was a tight fit and the tire certainly ballooned out from it considerably -- it sounds like there might be some advantages to getting a larger size rim to better match the larger tires I've grown to prefer.

But what size? How do I know it will fit in my front fork/v brakes? Is it really important to have a double-walled wheel if it's the front wheel, when my hub motor is on the rear?

Also, I'd prefer to just buy the entire wheel, with the hub laced in. Someday I'm sure I'll take on that step myself, but at the moment I just want the easiest path back to where I was.
I placed an order from Merlin Cycles for a wheel with a Mach 1 MX rim that seemed promising, but then I looked into it further and it appeared to be a 17mm internal (23mm outer) rim, and I read comments elsewhere here which made it sound like that was suboptimal (even if it's what I'd had), so I canceled it pending the chance to petition you fine people for help.

I couldn't find any recommendations from the last few years for rims, and pretty much none for wheels, so forgive me for creating a new thread if I missed some info after scouring for a while. The Alex DM24 has come up more than once, though I can't seem to find it as part of a wheel package.

 

[Voltron]

For what its worth, if you find just a rim you like, putting a new rim onto a wheel is a piece of cake compared to lacing one up from scratch. You just have to tape the new rim to the old wheel with the valve holes lined up, loosen all the spokes, and then unscrew one at a time and move it over to the new rim. If you're not good at truing, once the new rim is on you can take it to a shop for the final true.



It doesn't require changing the lacing pattern or anything.

 

[Marin]

That's a really good tip, that will help a bunch of people.

 

[Voltron]

I hope it does.... and if its really tacoed, putting it on some blocks of wood and jumping on it can get it straight enough usually to make it easier to pair them up.

And yes on double walled... they are way way stronger. But if your current one is single wall it might not work on double, or if the profile height of the new rim is way different that the old one.

 

[Chalo]

It's time for my recurrent obligatory recommendation of the Alex DM24 rim as pretty much the utmost combination of low cost, high strength, high quality, and compatibility with all brakes.

Dan's Competition has the best deal on quality stainless steel spokes, if you need them.

If your front hub isn't silky smooth and silent, it's probably a good idea to replace it too.

 

[Voltron]

Re. Will it work with your brakes on a wider rim, v brakes come with a thick and a thin concave washer. For narrow runs you run the thick washer inside, and for wide rims you switch it to the thin washer inside.

 

[amberwolf]

I probably have a wheel you can have if you want to come pick it up. I'll have to look thru my wheel "collection" and see what I have in fronts with alloy rims (I'm sure I have steel ones too but they'd suck on rim brakes).

Worst case you might have to tension/true the wheel a bit, which is easy enough to do (there's a few wheelbuilding tips threads around here, plus the Sheldon Brown website, and many others, that all have good ways to do that. It's how I started. )

 

[dogman dan]

Easy to adjust your brakes to a wider rim, so don't hesitate to go a bit fatter.

Re the crash,, I'm assuming you crashed, which tacoed the rim, not the rim tacoed mid ride.

Riding fast all the time doe involve some risk, so if you had a car cross you,, you might be cruising faster than cars expect. On the other hand, In Phoenix keep up or die! It's a tough town to ride in for sure.

Any wheel that fits, borrowed from AW will do for the time it takes to get your new rim.

Cool re lacing trick. Just make sure to line up the valve stem hole when you tape the rims together.

 

[Jabotical]

I hope it does.... and if its really tacoed, putting it on some blocks of wood and jumping on it can get it straight enough usually to make it easier to pair them up.

Ok yeah that's just what I was going to say, that there's no way my rim can be taped right up against a straight rim, in its current state.




If I go the DIY lace new rim route, I may try that approach. My only reluctance comes from wanting to keep the bent up rim as a souvenir/reminder

And yes on double walled... they are way way stronger. But if your current one is single wall it might not work on double, or if the profile height of the new rim is way different that the old one.

Ok, thanks for the insights. My rear wheel I got with a leafbike hub laced in has a (cheap-ish Chinese I'm sure) double wall rim that works fine in the rear, so presumably the front would be similarly flexible.

 

[Jabotical]

It's time for my recurrent obligatory recommendation of the Alex DM24 rim as pretty much the utmost combination of low cost, high strength, high quality, and compatibility with all brakes.

Your previous recommendations of that rim did not escape me! The last one I found was from a few years ago, so I wasn't sure if times had changed at all. Plus like I mentioned I was hoping to find it in a complete wheel, since I don't know if I can trust the spokes and hub anyway after subjecting them to such trauma. But I will keep that rim in mind for sure.

Dan's Competition has the best deal on quality stainless steel spokes, if you need them.

Yeah, that's what I was wondering, if I even dare try to use the previous spokes after what happened to the wheel. Any opinions based on the above photos?

If your front hub isn't silky smooth and silent, it's probably a good idea to replace it too.

I'll give it a spin and see. They don't seem too crazy expensive, so I might do it out of reasonable paranoia/desire to avoid the possibility of another replacement.
Thanks Chaco.

 

[Jabotical]

I probably have a wheel you can have if you want to come pick it up. I'll have to look thru my wheel "collection" and see what I have in fronts with alloy rims (I'm sure I have steel ones too but they'd suck on rim brakes).

Well that's incredibly generous of you to offer! Remind me what part of Phoenix you live in? If it's not too much trouble, and you do discover a serviceable 26" not-too-skinny wheel within your hoard, I might well take you up on that. I'd even toss you a few bucks, to not feel like such a mooch. I'm increasingly set on a wider than 17mm inner rim though, so if you've mostly got the classic size, I may be forced to look elsewhere in spite of how convenient that would be. [EDIT: Actually maybe I could use that as a "temporary" solution, as dogman suggests]

Worst case you might have to tension/true the wheel a bit, which is easy enough to do (there's a few wheelbuilding tips threads around here, plus the Sheldon Brown website, and many others, that all have good ways to do that. It's how I started. )

Appreciate the tips! Yeah tensioning/truing doesn't scare me, I've learned how to do that pretty well already. I just haven't laced from scratch, which I wasn't feeling the gumption to do just yet. Though Volton's trick makes it much less-intimidating (of course that's not exactly "from scratch" -- which is the point).

 

[Jabotical]

Easy to adjust your brakes to a wider rim, so don't hesitate to go a bit fatter.

Awesome, thanks. And also to Voltron for describing the specifics of washer swapping to make that happen.

Re the crash, I'm assuming you crashed, which tacoed the rim, not the rim tacoed mid ride.
Riding fast all the time doe involve some risk, so if you had a car cross you, you might be cruising faster than cars expect. On the other hand, In Phoenix keep up or die! It's a tough town to ride in for sure.

You are correct sir, I did indeed crash, both foolishly and spectacularly. You are wise to emphasize the risks around cars, and in fact I'm proud of how careful I've always been around them. I feel like I've really gotten the hang of Phoenix traffic riding, much of which involves healthy paranoia of other vehicles' potential behavior (and yes, keep up or die!).

Stupidly enough, my wreck happened all alone on a paved bicycle path. I was accelerating too fast up a ramp that curved up to an overpass, that I knew had significant bumps on it, and only holding on with one hand because I was adjusting my goggles or something. I definitely knew better, and I'm lucky the lesson I was taught didn't involve worse than a fractured elbow, minor concussion (thank you, helmet!), and bent front wheel.

Any wheel that fits, borrowed from AW will do for the time it takes to get your new rim.

Oh that's an excellent observation. I could exploit AW's generosity while I take my time getting a new rim and lacing it to a hub, etc.
I still have nearly three weeks before the bone doctor said I should ride, so fortunately there's also not a huge rush (though I definitely want to get back on my bike the day it's "allowed", if possible!)

Cool re lacing trick. Just make sure to line up the valve stem hole when you tape the rims together.

Good point. Noted.

 

[Voltron]

Re keeping the rim as a reminder... you can always jump up and down on it and rebend it some more after it's off

 

[WoodlandHills]

For what its worth, if you find just a rim you like, putting a new rim onto a wheel is a piece of cake compared to lacing one up from scratch. You just have to tape the new rim to the old wheel with the valve holes lined up, loosen all the spokes, and then unscrew one at a time and move it over to the new rim. If you're not good at truing, once the new rim is on you can take it to a shop for the final true.



It doesn't require changing the lacing pattern or anything.

Fantastic idea!!! I am so glad I clicked on this thread......

 

[Voltron]

Well, after all the great tips I've gotten here, happy if one of mine helps somebody else out

 

[e-beach]

.......You just have to tape the new rim to the old wheel with the valve holes lined up, loosen all the spokes, and then unscrew one at a time and move it over to the new rim. If you're not good at truing, once the new rim is on you can take it to a shop for the final true. It doesn't require changing the lacing pattern or anything.

If this is to be done, make sure the new rim can handle the spoke length of the old rim or the spoke length might be too long or too short. I had that happen recently when I re-spoked a rim. Had to get 12 new spokes because the rims were different.

 

[amberwolf]

Ok yeah that's just what I was going to say, that there's no way my rim can be taped right up against a straight rim, in its current state.

You could actually still tape it up to the new rim, just start at the part of the rim that's least bent, and work your way toward the other one. As long as the spokes are ok (they might've been overstressed) you can just move them over one at a time.

Well that's incredibly generous of you to offer! Remind me what part of Phoenix you live in? If it's not too much trouble, and you do discover a serviceable 26" not-too-skinny wheel within your hoard, I might well take you up on that. I'd even toss you a few bucks, to not feel like such a mooch. I'm increasingly set on a wider than 17mm inner rim though, so if you've mostly got the classic size, I may be forced to look elsewhere in spite of how convenient that would be. [EDIT: Actually maybe I could use that as a "temporary" solution, as dogman suggests]

I'll have to see what's in the shed. I pick up "junk" bikes with less frequency than I used to, since I build more and more of my stuff more from scratch out of heavier-duty metal and bits these days. But I still use existing parts wherever they suit the application. Most of what I get costs me nothing, or very little, and I end up with extra parts I never use, so I'm happy to pass them on.

Wider rims can be nicer, but remember the wider it is, while the tire is then less "tall", it may end up being "fatter" and if it was already close to touching your frame it might actually do so.


I'm in the Metrocenter area, and I actually have the next week off (assuming work doesnt' change their minds again), so I could meet up with you wherever you are instead, if you like. I have enough range to cover the entire valley with the trike now; I might want to recharge at your end, though. Maybe go to lunch or something while out your way if something cheap is close by. (got coupons for a few places)

 

[Jabotical]

Dan's Competition has the best deal on quality stainless steel spokes, if you need them.

Thanks! Are these what you're talking about? https://www.danscomp.com/products/435900/14_Gauge_Steel.html
(And do they honestly not take online orders for spokes, only via phone? How primitive!)

If your front hub isn't silky smooth and silent, it's probably a good idea to replace it too.

While you're at it, do you (or anyone else) have any decent affordable 9mm QR front hub recommendations?

 

[Chalo]

Are these what you're talking about? https://www.danscomp.com/products/435900/14_Gauge_Steel.html
(And do they honestly not take online orders for spokes, only via phone? How primitive!)

Not steel spokes. Stainless steel. You gotta have stainless or else your spokes will stick to the nipples eventually, making further service very complicated. You'll still need to use some kind of lubricant.

They insist that you order spokes by phone so that you are on the hook if you buy the wrong ones. The best way to avoid that is to know what you're doing.

EDIT:

Here's a very decent, reasonably priced sealed bearing front hub that almost any bike shop can get for you:
http://www.jbi.bike/site/product_details.php?part_number=38276

Any sealed cartridge bearing front hub, from Formula, Quando, or whatever distributor's house brand, is apt to be plenty good.

http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/wheel-master-front-alloy-sf-hub-36h-sealed-bearing-quick-release-silver

 

[Jabotical]

Thanks Chalo, I really appreciate the insights and specific suggestions -- very helpful for someone who's never dealt with building a wheel before.

Sure, sounds good amberwolf, if you find you have a suitable wheel and you're up for a trip sometime, I wouldn't say no to you coming to me, since you're offering! I'm in North Phoenix, around Tatum and Bell. Impressive that your rig can traverse the entire valley.

And that's a good addendum, e-beach. Thanks.

 

[amberwolf]

Pm'd you to discuss location/time; but I'm up for almost any day this coming week (drier days are better cuz drivers get stupid when the sky drops water on us). I can just bring over the wheels I ahve and you can pick thru them to see what works.

 

[amberwolf]

I found 3 QR-type wheels so far (no skewer but your existing one should fit), and one bolt-on (which has a wider rim). The bolt-on's bearings need cleaning and lubricating; the others are probably better (they are not as old).

 

[Zbikenut]

Time OUT

First off the dumbest thing you can do is use the old spokes some of which were severely stretched in your accident on another wheel.

You are riding fast on your electric bike. Now is the time to upgrade to a Disc wheel with an Avid BB7 brake.

You can use your current levers.

I would never let a friend ride an electric bike without at least a Front Disc Brake. There is no comparison in the stopping power of a well adjusted good disc brake and a well adjusted V-brake. Remember you are normally traveling about 50% faster than a regular bike---my estimate.

Yes Double wall rims are worth it. You are putting way more stress on your bike than it was designed for.

You are depending on your bicycle to stop when you need it to. Put good brakes and wheels on it.

Why not just go to a bike shop and buy a new wheel and brake?

 

[Jabotical]

I found 3 QR-type wheels so far (no skewer but your existing one should fit), and one bolt-on (which has a wider rim). The bolt-on's bearings need cleaning and lubricating; the others are probably better (they are not as old).

Cool, cool. Sounds like quite the bounty. Thanks for going to the trouble -- and I replied to your PM.

 

[Jabotical]

First off the dumbest thing you can do is use the old spokes some of which were severely stretched in your accident on another wheel.

I kinda figured that, but it makes me feel less wasteful to have you come out so vehemently against the prospect. Thanks.

I would never let a friend ride an electric bike without at least a Front Disc Brake. There is no comparison in the stopping power of a well adjusted good disc brake and a well adjusted V-brake. Remember you are normally traveling about 50% faster than a regular bike---my estimate.

Sounds like a valuable suggestion. And you're right, since I'm getting a new wheel anyway it may as well be disc brake compatible. The rim brakes so far have seemed to be plenty effective, but maybe that's in large part because I've got a DD with regen braking that's doing a lot of the work.

Yes Double wall rims are worth it. You are putting way more stress on your bike than it was designed for.

Thanks for confirming. Heck, the one the bike came with had double wall rims, and it still tacoed in that impact. So I definitely don't want to go less.

Why not just go to a bike shop and buy a new wheel and brake?

Honestly, I had the impression that bike shops would be inordinately expensive and also somewhat demeaning (based partly on prior experiences, though I've of course never shopped for a wheel before). I want to maximize bang-for-the-buck, as opposed to getting the fanciest of enthusiast-grade components. But maybe I should at least drop by a couple and see what they can do for me.