Singletracks Mountain Bike News

Joel Smith is the Brand Leader for Reserve, a Santa Cruz, CA brand that designs and markets wheels for everything from downhill to road biking. Steel Wisdom-Wilhelmsson is engineering lab technician responsible for lab-conditions wheel testing.  In this episode we ask: How are MTB wheels assembled? For high-end wheels, is most of it done by hand? How does rim construction contribute to ride feel? Is a shallower rim better than a deep rim for ride feel? What are the advantages of a high engagement freehub? Is there a number that most riders will find meets their needs or is more always better? Are wheel sizes and standards continuing to evolve? What about rim widths?  Are today's carbon rims stronger and more durable than aluminum? How do the weights compare? What other advantages does carbon have over aluminum rims? How much stronger does a DH wheel need to be compared to a lightweight XC wheel? Front vs. rear?  What is the most common mode of failure when it comes to mountain bike wheels? What