# 24" disc wheelset



## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

I'm building up a XS Juliana for my 7 year old, and looking for a reasonably lightweight 24" wheelset.

Had been planning to build them up with ACE20 rims and Circus Monkey hubs, but then realized the wheelset would probably be used for a very short period of time - only until my son could fit the 26" wheels.

So I'm curious if anyone has a line on decent wheelset. Used is fine, but I don't want a 36 hole DH monster. Just can't bring myself to throw some 5 pound wheels on a bike for a 55 pound rider.

I see Stans now sells a 24" Crest.... but I already have the ACE20s if I'm building up from scratch. Darn.

Related.... Will be selling the Lil Shredder FS bike when I get this done, so PM me if you are interested.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

Surfpoodi said:


> Related.... Will be selling the Lil Shredder FS bike when I get this done, so PM me if you are interested.


Since the end note seems to be generating more interest than the 24" disc wheelset question.... It is the Prodigy frame. Here is a link to the build.

http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/lil-shredder-build-856894.html


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

I would try to sell the ACE20 and get the ZTR Crest 24" if I were you. The ACE20 is one of the few lightweight 24" rim brake rims available and you should have no problems finding a buyer, particularly since they do not appear to be available for retail purchase anymore.

Light as it is, the ACE20 is still over 100g heavier than the Crest. So if you are building a disc-braked bike, the Crest will save you about half a pound for the pair of wheels.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

joeadnan said:


> I would try to sell the ACE20 and get the ZTR Crest 24" if I were you. The ACE20 is one of the few lightweight 24" rim brake rims available and you should have no problems finding a buyer, particularly since they do not appear to be available for retail purchase anymore.
> 
> Light as it is, the ACE20 is still over 100g heavier than the Crest. So if you are building a disc-braked bike, the Crest will save you about half a pound for the pair of wheels.


You are right of course. Dang it all... I was hoping to find a more cost effective solution with this post, not get talked into a bigger budget! ; )

Anyone want some ACE20 rims? Mine are a bit lighter than Joeadnan's depicted above. 401g for one, the other is 407g still in the foam wrap.


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

You can use the Ace20 rims to build up a wheelset that is just as light as as a 32 spoke stans crest rim wheelset if you make use of the extra strength of the heavy rims, build the Ace20 wheels with fewer spokes. No reason a 55 lbd kid needs to be supported with as many spokes as it takes to support a 200 pound adult.

lacing a 32 spoke hub and rim with 16 spokes is plenty strong and will save you around 115gr from the wheelset. Not sure I would want to try this with the lighter stans rims....

See examples at; http://forums.mtbr.com/families-rid...-wheel-build-40lb-rider-need-help-891768.html


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## usmceric1 (Mar 14, 2014)

That Lil Shredder is sick!! Hope it goes to a good home. Looking forward to riding with my kids...gonna be a great summer! Picking up our first decent quality 24" bike (a Cannondale Trail). Spec's aren't that great, but for $250, I can upgrade basically everything for my girls, then when they are outgrown it, my son will have a blast with it. Its an addiction, its healthy, its fun, and it gets the kids outside. Nice to see how big this sport is getting. Gotta get the lil guys and gals out there.


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

Listen to GrayJay. He knows more about the subject than I do. In fact, he has probably forgotten more about the subject than I ever have the hope of knowing.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

joeadnan said:


> Listen to GrayJay. He knows more about the subject than I do. In fact, he has probably forgotten more about the subject than I ever have the hope of knowing.


I like the 16 spoke option. I think I'll give it a try. Maybe just on the front.... maybe both. Again, given how fast the little guy is growing, my guess is these wheels will only need to last through this summer.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

Just ordered the Novatec 811/812 hubs. Figured the lower price point made sense given expected life span of the wheels.


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## bendermike (Oct 17, 2011)

If anyone is interested, the Schwable RocketRon 24s are available again on their web site.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

bendermike said:


> If anyone is interested, the Schwable RocketRon 24s are available again on their web site.


How do you think this would work as a front tire? We are going with a 2.1 SM8 in back. Wanted something a little burlier in front. Had been leaning toward the 2.0 Snyper.

Currently we are running the 20x2.2 Snyper on the front of the Shredder.


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## bendermike (Oct 17, 2011)

I am putting on my sons Hotrock 24 that we will use more for XC so the weight was the primary reason for the RoRos and they do have good grip for loose over hardpack that we experience in our area.


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## string (Jan 13, 2004)

A little late to the party but I am building a 24 wheelset with Hope Pro II hubs front and rear, Alienation Deviant 24 rims (the front only version since going disc), and Prowheel builder spokes (not the lightest spokes (but not awful either) but could not pass up the color options). Total set comes in at around 1600 grams. Wheel is laced but have not gotten around to truing yet. 

The hopes add to the cost but are super versatile with all the spacing adapters available and can always be re-purposed for the next set of wheels. The Deviant rims are one of the lighter BMX rims I have found and were super easy to lace.

I have some Snypers to go on the build (but waiting on the frame).


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

Anyone else have some good 24" front tire suggestions for trail/AM riding? Seems the Snyper is used on some of the stock bikes, but at 2.0" it seems a bit small to me. I have been unable to find a decently light 2.1-2.3" 24 tire. Anyone opine if the Rocket Rons would fit the bill for an good trail tire for a kid, or is it just too XC?


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## string (Jan 13, 2004)

Arrow racing has some that are in that range that have a more in between weight (600-900 grams) (I could not find but did not try too hard and have never ridden) There is always the Schwalbe Fat Albert rear (but out of stock).

I have been on the fence on the 2.0 snypers but am hoping that with a fatter rim it will give it a solid profile. I also wonder if for smaller riders 2.0 is sufficient? (it wasn't too long ago that most high end adult bikes had 2.0....)

With that said I too am looking for the ideal 24" tire. I guess its a case that the molds for most modern tires don't justify the sales.

I used to race with Rocket Rons. I found they offered or surprising traction but were also very thin. If you are plowing into rocks and not picking lines they could be an issue.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

After doing some research, and reading old posts, I'm going the Rocket Ron route.


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

The Rocket Rons in 24" are great. They also seal up well tubeless. I had to use the split-tube ghetto tubeless method as the rims (Velocity Aeroheat) are not suitable for the normal tape method. Schwalble 20" lightweight tubes work well for ghetto tubeless on 24" rims (if you use the Alex ACE rims).


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

I have a couple of new rocket rons available. 

It's totally great you're doing this. Kids get the heaviest tanks


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

crest rims will save around 160g compared to a pair of ace20's but the cost for me wasn't worth it.


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

POAH said:


> crest rims will save around 160g compared to a pair of ace20's but the cost for me wasn't worth it.


Just another perspective. By looking at the pics above on the scale, the Crest rims are about 116 grams lighter each. X2 = 232 grams. That's actually a substantial decrease of rotational rate of over 1/2 a pound. I feel that difference between by own Crest wheel (race) and Arch (training) wheel setup, and I know a 50-75 pound kid would as well, probably exponentially.

The Crest rims are quite expensive so you have to weight that (no pun intended!) for sure.


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

note that 436gr alex rims are far from the lightest available rim brake rims. I've found generic singlewall 24"/507mm rims that weighed 373gr each.

http://forums.mtbr.com/families-rid...40lb-rider-need-help-891768.html#post11024330

Building the wheels with reduced spoke count more than makes up for the lower weight of the crest rims. These singlewall rims built up into a 600gr front wheel using cheap recycled co-op parts rather than expensive new parts and has been entirely reliable with hard use. Using rim brakes also saves additional weight and cost compared to the parts needed for disk brakes (heavier hubs, rotors) and disks also constitute a serious risk for amputating kids fingers while they work at cleaning and learning to maintain their bike. (Spin the wheel with a finger sticking through the rotor and you can easily loose a finger!)


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

my ace20 rims were only 400g



GSJ1973 said:


> Just another perspective. By looking at the pics above on the scale, the Crest rims are about 116 grams lighter each. X2 = 232 grams. That's actually a substantial decrease of rotational rate of over 1/2 a pound. I feel that difference between by own Crest wheel (race) and Arch (training) wheel setup, and I know a 50-75 pound kid would as well, probably exponentially.
> 
> The Crest rims are quite expensive so you have to weight that (no pun intended!) for sure.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

Just to close this thread out...

Went with the ACE 20 rims, since I already had a pair in the garage. Built them up with Novotec 811/812 hubs, which I got super cheap on EBay. Shop wouldn't build up with a 16 spoke front, so I settled for a traditional 32 spoke build. A bit disappointed in the resulting 1700g wheel set, but whatever. They were cheap.

Went with a SM8 2.1 rear tire at about 540g. Front tire the Rocket Rons at around 440g. Would have gotten two RR in hindsight. Both sealed up getto tubeless with gorilla tape.

Entire build is about 23 lbs. it is a pretty sick little bike, the XS Juliana with 24" wheels. Big on the little man now, but he doesn't seem to care, and is riding it crazy scary fast for a 7 year old.


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

basically the same wheels as my kid has - I'm happy with the 1700g - to go lighter would have put the cost right up.


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## ETChipotle (Sep 20, 2014)

When I first laced up my wheels with 16 spokes my bike shop wasn't willing to true it up either because of perceived liability. He didn't think it was a real problem, but it also wasn't a line he was willing to cross. Probably better because then when I had time, I learned a little about that process.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

Back a few posts... I had Maxxis Snypers on my son's 24" bike. They weren't the lightest tires in the world but they rolled great and the traction seemed great. I had them on Sun Ringle' Ryno Lites. Pretty wide rim. Tires had a good profile.


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

POAH said:


> basically the same wheels as my kid has - I'm happy with the 1700g - to go lighter would have put the cost right up.


Building with 16 spokes per wheel saves around 125g per wheel and arguably cost less if you are buying the spokes. Lace, tension and true the wheels yourself and you save more cost and dont have to deal with a overly cautions LBS. 16 spokes per wheel still has a huge margin of safety/reliability on a kid bike.


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

I'm happy with the 32 spokes - if I had wanted lighter I would have gone with lighter components.


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## Surfpoodi (Sep 14, 2011)

GrayJay said:


> Building with 16 spokes per wheel saves around 125g per wheel and arguably cost less if you are buying the spokes.


The 32 spokes and nipples on our build weighed in at just about 200g, so cutting that in half... assuming I can do the math correctly... carry the 2..... 16 spokes would have saved about 100g for us.

I agree it would be a fine option given my son isn't exactly a heavy weight, sub 60 lbs, and the small wheel diameter.

Heck, I rode an 18 spoke 700c road wheel for years without issues and I weigh 170. But I have never built a wheel, so in the end, i was at the mercy of my mechanic....


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

Surfpoodi said:


> ... in the end, i was at the mercy of my mechanic....


True that. The only reason I started building my own wheels was because my local wheel builder was slow at ordering parts and wasn't prepared to think outside the box. Have now built around 30 sets of wheels and haven't looked back.


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