Imagine you’ve damaged one or both of your rims and you need to get the wheels repaired. You’re also thinking about replacing your wheels with new ones. Should you replace just the rims or have new wheels built? That’s the question. I’d like to help you decide.
Rim replacement
If you simply need new rims, and your hubs are fine, all you need to do is choose new rims and have them built onto your hubs.
That said, there are some things you should know:
- Consider upgrading your rims to lighter, stronger, wider, tubeless-ready rims – especially if your old rims were less than 24mm wide internally and if you struggled with tubeless.
- Choose between alloy or carbon rims – our options are becoming more and more all the time.
- You may or may not need new spokes. If the ERD of the new rims, or effective rim diameter – basically the diameter of the spoke nipple bed – is different by more than 2mm compared to the old rims, you’ll need different length spokes. Spokes are R15-20 each and I’d recommend using double-butted spokes for less weight and higher fatigue life.
- I’d recommend using new nipples when rebuilding the rims, especially if the original nipples are alloy and not brass.
- Replacement mountain bike rims, which are good quality and tubeless ready, will cost you anything between R1000 and R1650 per rim, depending on which brand and model you choose.
- Expect to pay R450 per wheel to have the old rim removed and the new one built onto the hub.
New wheels
If you’re considering replacing the entire wheel set, you’ll have to consider the above points, as well as factor in new hubs.
If you’re getting a wheel set built from scratch, you have a lot of choice with regards to brands, colours, cost and axle configurations.
Hubs cost anything between R2000 and R5000 or more for the set. If you’re buying new hubs, take the opportunity to customize the look of your wheels by adding a splash of colour.
When choosing hubs, you’ll have to think about the following:
- Cost and availability (Hope and DT Swiss are popular choices)
- Axle configuration – quick-release or through axles, BOOST or non-BOOST
- Freebody compatibility with your cassette
- Colour
- Disc brake rotor compatibility – 6-bolt or centre-lock
How long does this take?
Having rims replaced or new wheels built doesn’t take as long as you’d maybe expect. Once you’ve decided what you’d like, and I’ve confirmed availability of your preferred parts, time to completion is normally less than a week.
This includes:
- Ordering the parts and parts delivery (24-72 hours)
- Disassembling the existing wheels if necessary (30 min per wheel)
- Lacing the new rims to the hubs (approx 20-30 minutes per wheel)
- Tensioning and truing the wheels (1-2 hours per wheel)
- Taping the rims with tubeless rim tape, installing the valves and mounting the tyres (30 min per wheel)
In summary
- To replace existing rims: 1 week or less, R900 labour, R1100 for spokes and nipples, R2000-3000 for rims
- To build new wheels, take the above and add R2500-R5000.
Get in touch with pleasure and I’ll gladly help you decide which route is best to keep your bike rolling. My passion is making sure whatever wheels you choose perform at their best possible potential.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
