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Wheels - Technical Info
Forgive me for my naivety but I need some quite basic technical help on wheels. I need to replace my 26" MTB wheels but I'm confused as to what all the jargon means. I ride a Specialized Epic Expert '09. The hard terrain of Manly Dam has destroyed the DT Swiss XL420SL rims beyound truing. The hubs are still in great condition. These wheels are super light but just can't handle the rocky terrain I frequently ride. Any tips on strong all mountain wheels greatly appreciated too.
The jargon:
What does "Centre-Lock" mean? How do I know these will fit?
What does standard 135 mm O.L.D mean? I gather it means the rear axial length. Can this be changed if needed?
Any advice would be welcomed 
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This is what a Centrelock hub looks like
http://images.jensonusa.com/large/hu/hu306b01.jpg
Shimano's concept of fitting a rotor without having the standard 6 bolts.
135mm is the width of the rear hub. O.L.D. doesn't gel with me, but someone should know. I am sure I will have an, "Oh yeah, that is what it means".
Some hubs allow you to swap QR skewer to 12mm through axle, but I am unsure if you can change length to 142mm.
Thanks for the info. Some more specs I managed to pull from the specialized website are as follows:
FRONT HUB
Specialized Hi Lo disc, CNC flange, sealed cartridge bearing, Oversized end caps, 9mm DT RWS, alloy QR, 28h
REAR HUB
Custom DT Swiss 370 w/ DT RWS QR, 32h
These are the hubs the bike came with hoping this will be helpful as to what new wheel specs I need. Happy to buy a complete wheel with hub etc
I haven't got a Scooby-doo what most of this means
OLD is "over locknut dimension" or "outside locknut distance" and is basically the distance between your dropouts for the wheel axle to fit in. It is larger on the back than front, and slightly larger for MTB wheels than road wheels. Basically, so long as you're buying MTB wheels it shouldn't be a problem, they should have the correct OLD.
If you're buying a new wheel, all you really need to know is that it's an MTB wheel, is disc specific, and is the right size - 26" or 29". If you want to re-use your current rotors, then yes you'll need a centrelock hub rather than 6 bolt (as above, just the way the rotor fixes to the hub). All the rest about sealed bearings, number of spokes etc is down to personal preference - they'll all fit!
Get some tubeless rims on them thar hubs. Enough fluffing around with pinchflat-prone tubes, or fiddly-to-fit-and-air-up and burp-prone tubeless adapter kits!
http://www.mavic.com/en/product/rims/mountain-bi...
You would need to go though local sources unfortunately for Mavic product, as CRC has been blocked from selling it direct to Oz (boo hiss!
), but you can get them built up with the highly regarded and bomb-proof Hope hubs by CRC for a good price, which they *are* allowed to ship here.
Shimano XT Trail wheelsets are supposed to be very good for the money.
I've been using the now dated Mavic CrossLand UST wheels for general trail riding which, when properly tensioned, have been rock solid.
.... and he will build you a set of wheels based on your weight and the riding you want to do. A number of nobmobbers have used him (including myself) and I am happy to recommend him.
http://www.twebikewheels.com.au/ He has recently moved from Taren Point up to Newtown.
Google TWE and Greg Ryan and you will find recommendations from MTB'ers and roadies alike.
there are two types of hubs centrelock & six bolt for rotors then there is 9mm qr , 15mm thru bolt or 20mm thru bolt the latter is usually for downhill bikes 9mm& 15mm are usually on all mountain or xc bikes 26'' & 29'' wheeled bikes .