Getting them

July 2007, it was new wheels time. I still thought that Hope hubs and Mavic rims were some of the best wheels going, but they were a little porky considering my lack of bulk. So, Stans ZTR Olympic rims seemed to be a good option to drop some weight; I didn’t really fancy building rims without eyelets onto Hope hubs with their notoriously uneven spoke tension. So, built wheels from Just Riding Along using American Classic hubs was the way to go.

I had several emails back and forth with Jon from JRA, regarding spare spokes, and whether to go with DT Revolutions or the slightly stronger DT Super Comp. I went with Revolutions, seeing as all my other wheels were built with them and I hadn’t had any issues.

Without spending insane amounts of money, these wheels are some of the lightest going, especially when you consider that Mavic’s top end wheels are almost twice the price, and 150g heavier.

First Ride

Hard test, their first ride was 10 at Kirroughtree, five hours of rocky punishment. I ran a Maxxis Crossmark on the back, and one of my favourites, an IRC Mibro on the front. All went well, the wheels felt super fast, accelerating out of corners and maneuverability in tight spaces were awesome.

Going Tubeless

OK, so this is one of the best things about these wheels, tubeless usage becomes so easy. I was going for the adventurous option, using just Stan’s yellow spoke tape (no rimstrip) and a pair of non-tubeless and super-light Crossmark eXCeption tyres. It took about 30 minutes and a lot of compressed air to get the tyres on, but boy was the end result light!

Second Ride

Another bit of a test, a 7-day stage race in Poland and the Czech Republic. It was pretty rocky, which twice resulted in me tearing the tyres. Thankfully standard tyres mean that popping them off the bead and throwing a tube in is super easy. Not being near a compressor did mean I couldn’t inflate the tyres, but even so, some of the euros were totally blown away with how light the wheels were with tubes in.

Better Tubeless

For 2008 I decided to use rimstrips to make mounting tyres easier. I still need to use the compressor (proper tubeless tyres make do with just a track pump), but it takes about 30s. This does incur a minor weight penalty, and you do have to remove a rimstrip when you puncture, but it’s worth it to get the tyres on easily.

Servicing

The hubs do have a tiny bit of tension adjustment in them, to allow take-up on play that develops, but this only works so far. After 14 months I replaced all four bearings in the rear wheel. These are tiny, 22mm outer diameter, with a 17mm inner diameter, so they don’t feel as smooth as bigger bearings in the likes of a Hope or DT hub. The replacement itself is a doddle, taking about 10 minutes including cleaning and re-greasing the freewheel mechanism.

The rims have for the most part remained true, although the front rim has developed about 3mm of lateral buckle, something which could easily be trued out of them. I believe that due to their construction, their strength is far superior to heavier offerings from DT and Mavic.

Overall

I love these wheels. Apart from my minor niggles with the size of the bearings in the rear wheel (JRA and other suppliers offer many hub options), they are fantastic race or trail wheels. I’ve given them a total battering and they’ve more or less only lost some of their shine. Customer service from JRA has been supreme, and they’re backed up by the fantastic folks at Paligap. Go get some!