Mountain Bike Wheels

I just got a sweet new bike from a friend for free. It's a 2008 Specialized Rockhopper 29er Disc. However with the bike came its problems. It needs a new rear wheel and a general tune up. Right now the bike has a set of low-end Bontragers. I was hoping you guys could tell me what you thought a good replacement rear wheel would be?

 

I hand lace Sun Doubletrac rims to Shimano XT disc hubs. Just me, but I don't like riding on wheel I didn't build.

It might help if you told us how much you want to spend on wheels. You can get decent wheels for a couple of hundred, or you could go all out and spend a couple of grand.

 

I was hoping to spend like 100 max actually on the real wheel. I'm not huge into riding. I'm more of an A to B kind of person.

 

What kind of problems is the wheel having? Your LBS (Local Bike Shop) can lace a new hub to the rim for a few bucks plus the cost of the hub. Or, they might even be able to fix what is wrong with the hub.

 

It's the wheel itself. The wheel is bent. Do you have any suggestions for a new wheel that won't be more than 100?

 

Depending on how bent the rim is, it could be trued. At this point, I would suggest that you take it to your LBS and have it looked at. Truing a wheel, though tedious, is not really difficult. The LBS could give you a better idea of how to fix the wheel, and give you options that I cannot over the internet.

 

Agreed.

No need to replace the wheel if it isn't too bad. Also need to check for cracks near the spoke nipples.

 

I have RhinoLite rims. And have been beating on them for 10 years. No probs.

 

Yup it was at the LBS getting trued. They said they broke three spokes trying to true it. No luck. I'm having them replace it with a similar Bontrager wheel.

 

I got my RhinoLytes from pricepoint.com. I got both ready to go for $100 and they outlasted my bike.