E-bikes are a hot topic right now, and rightly so. I’ll not go into the details of what makes them great (or not), but I want to talk about e-bike wheels.
The bikes are relatively heavy, some are really powerful and many come with excellent suspension, allowing riders to do some heavy duty riding on them.
This puts strain on the wheels, for sure.
Rims
Many e-bikes come with BOOST-spaced frames and forks, and run really chunky tyres – 2.4″ or wider. The stock rims are often inadequate in dealing with these wider tyres and heavier system weights.
- Of course you want exceptional tubeless performance.
- Of course you want rims that are strong and durable.
- It’ll help if they look good too.
Today, in SA, there are a few great options, 2 of which I’ll highlight in this post:
DT Swiss HX531
- Inner width: 30mm
- System weight limit: 150kg
RaceFace ARC30 Offset Heavy Duty
- 30mm inner width
- 4.5mm spoke bed offset
Both of the 2 options above are e-bike rated and make for a great rim replacement upgrade compared to mediocre stock rims found on some e-bikes.
Hubs
The heart of your wheels, e-bikes need hubs which can handle serious punishment. This means they need durable bearings, strong axles and freehubs which can withstand the extra power.
In this post I’ll highlight a new option which has recently reached our shores.
RaceFace Trace hubs
- Large Enduro bearings
- Steel axles
- Alloy or steel freehub options
- Freehub available in Shimano HG, Shimano Microspline and SRAM xD
Spokes
One should never compromise when it comes to spokes and nipples, so I recommend using stainless steel double butted spokes and high quality nipples when building e-bike wheels.
I typically use DT Swiss Competition or Pillar PDB1415 double butted spokes when assembling e-bike wheels.
DT Swiss rims come with premium DT Swiss “Squorx” rear-drive nipples which are self-locking and work extremely well.
For other rims, I use black Pillar DSN (double square) rear drive brass nipples for extra durability and ease of truing and tensioning.
If you have any questions about e-bike wheels, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
