Choosing the Best MTB Wheels: From Beginner to Pro

12min read - 3,031 words

Optimization Through Custom Wheels

This guide breaks down what makes the best MTB wheels—from control to durability—so you can choose with confidence.

A mountain bike wheels performance hinges on three key factors: weight, material, and construction. Quality components are essential to riding faster, better handling, and higher confidence on the trails. Hand-built wheels from LoamLabs embody precision and strength, providing reliable performance and raising your ride quality.

Wheel Performance Essentials

Key Performance Factors

1. Weight: Lighter wheels mean quicker acceleration and easier handling, especially when the path starts climbing. However, heavier wheels can provide better stability and momentum on descents and rough terrain for an aggressive rider. Choosing between carbon rims and alloy rims can especially affect the entire weight of your setup.
   
   
2. Material: Carbon rims are light, stiff and absorb chatter and vibration, though they tend to be pricier. Alloy rims cost substantially less, tend to be more compliant and hold up well, making them a solid pick for all sorts of terrain.
   
   
3. Build Quality: There are many facets to building a sound wheel. Improper spoke lengths leading to premature spoke failure and/or unbalanced spoke tension causing spokes to loosen over time to name a few.

Hand-crafted wheels, like those from LoamLabs, scream precision and strength. They’re meticulously built with care to meet top-notch standards.

Importance of Customization

Customization lets you mold your wheels to fit your unique style and flair. A set of fully customized high end wheels help nail the sweet spot between performance, durability, and ride control. Did we mention, you also get to choose all of the wheel's components?

Benefits of Custom Wheels

• Tailored to How and What You Ride: Taking time to pick the right parts helps determine how your wheels tackle the different needs of cross-country, downhill, or trail riding. 
  
  
• Enhanced Durability: Using top components from trusted brands means wheels that go the distance, so you’re not swapping them out more often than expected.
  
  
• Superior Performance: Tweaking spoke tension, rim width, and hub choices can reshape how smooth and controlled your ride feels.

Building custom wheels offers the added benefit of being able to choose straight pull spokes or J-bend spokes depending on your application. We will do a deeper dive into this topic in the future!

Diving into custom MTB wheels means you’re gearing up for a gain in performance and more fun on the trails. For more deets on picking wheel material, check our piece on carbon vs. alloy wheels, and for keeping wheels primed, peek at bike wheel maintenance.

For those itching to take their biking to the next level, companies like LoamLabs build custom wheels that use only the best bits and pieces. Their cutting-edge tech and love for detail guarantee each wheelset is crafted with peak performance and ride quality in mind.

And hey, don’t miss out on using code WELCOME at checkout for a cool 10% off your first custom wheelset order from LoamLabs which also ships for free within the lower 48 states!

Photo by Andhika Soreng on Unsplash

Control on Varied Terrain

The wheels you pick can make or break how your bike handles bumps, jumps, and skids. Front Wheels, with their unique characteristics like rim width and spoke count, plays a crucial role in optimizing handling and navigating rough terrain. Alloy wheels, for instance, can amp up your grip and smoothen your ride, even if they add a bit of weight and are easier on the wallet [2].

Deciding whether you’re a carbon or alloy wheel kind of rider can help you ace your trail safety game.

With brakes doing their thing and wheels that are just right, we can tackle the trails safely and savor every wild adventure on our bikes.

Maximizing Your MTB Experience

Trail Selection Guidance

Depending on the path, we might crank up the fun or dial up the sweat factor. According to good folks at LoamLabs, the trail indeed colors our biking moments, making thoughtful selection super important. Knowing what type of trails are local to you or that you will be riding the most will greatly affect choosing the best mountain bike wheels for the intended purposes.

When we're on the hunt to match our mountain bike wheelset to our trails, consider this: trails come in all shapes—rocky, wooded, wide open or a mishmash of all three. If your trails bounce between short spurts of climbing and descending, you may want to consider light weight XC wheels with carbon hoops.

For rough trails or when long chunky downhill runs are what's on tap, you may opt to give up a weight penalty for a wider rim profile, burlier type wheel setup, especially for bike park or enduro riding.

Ready for more tips? Check out our piece on picking mountain biking trails.

Wheel Material Selection

Picking the best mountain bike wheels takes your ride from meh to marvelous. Let's chat about carbon and aluminum wheels and how each rolls when it comes to performance.

Carbon Wheels vs. Aluminum Wheels

When it comes to wheel materials, carbon and alloy bring their A-game in their own ways.

Carbon Wheels

Carbon wheels are celebrated for their strength, zippiness, and light-as-a-feather vibes, giving your bike that extra “oomph” on slopes and sprints.

Today’s carbon wheels have stepped up their game, adding a touch more give and a smooth feel, so you don’t compromise on comfort [4].

Carbon fibre rims although expensive, typically come with a sweet warranty and/ crash replacement which can come in handy when you least expect it.

That said, there are a few brands like Santa Cruz Reserve offering limited warranties on alloy rims.

Alloy Wheels

Alloy wheels strike a sweet spot between staying light enough, tough, and easy on the wallet.

They grip trails better, deliver a cushier ride, and feel more shock-absorbed next to their carbon cousins, which keeps both weekend warriors and pro pedal-pushers coming back for more [2].

Performance Comparison

Feature	Carbon Wheels	Alloy Wheels
Weight	Featherweight (Outdoor Gear Lab)	A bit beefier (Rinas Ctlabike)
Ride Quality	Stiff, sharp, smooth (Outdoor Gear Lab)	Grips well, smooths out the ride (Bikers Edge)
Durability	Tops in performance, but handle with care (Outdoor Gear Lab)	Built to last (Rinas Ctlabike)
Cost	Pricey	Kinder on the pocket

Performance Comparison

Ready to pick out the best MTB wheels? Let's mull over what really hits the spot for your riding style.

Performance Aspect	Carbon Wheels	Aluminum Wheels
Acceleration	Zooms due to the lightweight (Bikers Edge)	Solid but not as snappy
Uphill Performance	Level up your climb (Bikers Edge)	Steady, but not standout
Braking	Quick to respond (Bikers Edge)	Dependable, depending on setup

The choice between carbon and alloy boils down to what you're after in your mountain bikes ride and feel. Need speed, sharp control, and to keep things light? Carbon's your buddy. Prefer something cushy, and easy on your budget? Alloy's got your back.

Find out more about the perks of MTB wheels and how quick release MTB wheels can tweak your biking ride.

Technical Insights on Wheel Components

Let's dive into what makes our mtb experience truly special: understanding the nuts and bolts of our trusty steeds. In this bit, we're gonna zero in on the hubs—the unsung heroes of performance. Picking the right hubs is like choosing the perfect pair of shoes; they're vital for the best mtb wheels we can dream of.

Understanding Hub Functionality

Hubs are like the heart of our wheels, keeping everything spinning. Let's break it down into simpler terms:

• Hub Shell: Think of it as the outer jacket that ties everything together, securing those ever-important spokes.
  
  
• Bearings: These fellows are responsible for the grand ballet of smooth spins.
  
  
• Axle: The backbone, holding everything steady within the bike frame.

When hubs do their thing well, it's pure magic: improved power transfer, toughness, and that buttery smooth ride we crave. Folks over at LoamLabs understand the assignment, offering top-of-the-line hubs for MTB fans like us, so we can ride hard and pedal easy.

Impact of Proper Hub Fitting

Nailing the hub fit is key to squeezing every ounce of awesomeness from our wheels. Here's what to keep in mind:

1. Compatibility: Matching hubs with our bike's fork and frame is a must. Skip this, and...you CANNOT skip this.
   
   
2. Bearings Quality: Slick, high-quality bearings mean smoother and faster rides, letting us cruise like the wind. Any high-end hub will have proper bearings preinstalled though in some cases you can still upgrade to ceramic.
   
   
3. Weight: Lighter hubs make the bike feel nimble, helping us twist, turn, and jump with glee.
   
   
4. Engagement: Quick engagement hubs mean less waiting and more doing, turning pedal power into swift response.

LoamLabs nails it with their hub offerings, things like feather-light materials and super-smooth bearings [6]. With these, our rides become epic tales of agility and speed, whether we're thrashing trails or chilling on smooth paths.

Consideration	What's It Mean for Us?
Compatibility	Right fit for the frame and fork, no awkward shoe moments
Bearings Quality	Smooth, fast, and resistance-free rides
Weight	The lighter, the better for quick moves and speed
Engagement	Quick pedal-to-wheel action, so we go when we say go

By honing in on these essentials, our wheel upgrade not only boosts performance but also cranks up the fun and durability of our biking escapades. Peek at our best mtb hubs guide for more nuggets of wisdom, and don't miss tips on keeping wheels shipshape over on our bike wheel maintenance page.

Ready to go deeper? Check out our custom mountain bike wheels and for those itching for some high-end gear, our section on carbon mtb wheels is just the ticket.

Spoke Count and Lacing Pattern

The spoke count and lacing pattern of your wheels can make a big difference in performance. Here’s what to consider:

Lower Spoke Count (24-28 spokes): Suitable for cross-country and trail riding, where weight and responsiveness are more critical. Fewer spokes can reduce weight and improve the wheel’s agility.

Higher Spoke Count (28-32 spokes): Ideal for enduro and downhill riding, where the extra strength and durability are necessary to handle the stress of rough terrain and high-speed impacts.

Enduro and Downhill Riding: The rear rims spoke count and lacing pattern are crucial for it's strength, durability, and ride quality. Many will opt for 32 spokes and a 3-cross lacing pattern.

Being that the front wheel takes less of the brunt, you can often go with 28 spokes to keep the wheel more compliant. You can also manipulate compliance, ride feel and traction with a wider rim width up front.

XC Riding: When we're building xc wheels for our cross-country rigs, we usually go with a 28-hole 2-cross setup that keeps our wheels light and snappy while still giving us the strength we need for those long days in the saddle.

For our rear wheels, we'll sometimes bump up to a 32-hole 3-cross pattern when we're tackling chunkier terrain or running bigger tires - that extra lateral stiffness makes a huge difference when we're hammering through technical climbs or leaning hard into berms.

By matching your wheel choice to your riding style, you can enhance your performance and enjoy a smoother, more reliable ride.

Best Practices for Wheel Upgrade

So, you've been bitten by the mtb bug, and now you've got your eyes set on upgrading those stock wheels. Whether it's to punch faster up those climbs or to conquer gnarly trails with more confidence, a wheel upgrade might just be your ticket to a better ride. Let's break it all down, with a sprinkle of humor and some real-world tips, to make sure you're rolling in the right direction.

Weight Considerations

First up—the weight. It's a bit like that time you got stuck carrying leftover pizza home from a party—lighter is always better! Shedding a few grams off your bike's wheels can make a world of difference. We're talking easier climbs and faster starts. According to folks at REI, chop off 200 grams, and you'll feel like you've got wings.

Weight Savings Breakdown

Wheel Type	Weight Savings (grams)	Performance Impact
Ultralight Carbon	200	Wings for climbing and jet-speed acceleration!
Standard Alloy	100	Sneaky good for nimbler turns and more pep in your ride
Heavy Duty Alloy	50	Built tough to take a beating on the descent

Think about what kind of trails you ride the most. Love hitting those uphills? Lighter wheels will become your best buddies. But if you're a downhill warrior, don't fret about a few extra grams. You'll need robust wheels that can handle a sweet landing after that drop-off.

Maintenance and Durability

Here comes a not so fun part about owning your new mountain bike wheelset. Understanding proper maintenance ensures long-term performance and reliability. Quality MTB wheels require regular attention to maintain their ride quality and structural integrity.

Key Maintenance Areas:

• Spoke Tension: While a properly built wheel should never have spokes come loose, perform regular checks to ensure the spokes are taut and wheel is true. Whether you're running straight pull spokes or j-bend spokes, proper tension is crucial for wheel stability and durability. If you damage a wheel and spokes do come loose, you can tighten them as a temporary fix but contact your local bike shop or wheel builder as soon as possible.

• Hub Maintenance: Your hubs and freehub body on your rear wheel need periodic cleaning and regreasing. It can be dirty and seem like a daunting task but doing this on a regular basis will help avoid premature failure of your bearings. This is particularly important when riding in wet conditions.

• Rim Inspection: Both carbon rims and aluminum rims should be checked for damage after riding chunky terrain or rock gardens. While your rear rim takes the brunt of most, be sure to check front and rear after each ride. Even the best mountain bike wheels can sustain damage from aggressive riding.

Build quality plays a crucial role in maintenance requirements. Hand-built wheels with tighter tolerances and balanced spoke tension typically require less frequent truing and maintenance. Peep articles on carbon mtb wheels and custom mountain bike wheels for more wicked tips.

Front Wheel Considerations

Your front wheel plays a critical role in steering precision and traction. When selecting a setup, consider these key factors:

• Compliance and Control: Front wheel characteristics significantly impact handling and ride feel. With so many rim profiles available, many riders opt for a wider rim up front to increase tire volume and improve cornering traction. While carbon hoops offer precise handling, some riders prefer the more forgiving ride of aluminum rims for better trail feedback.
  
  
• Spoke Configuration: Front wheels typically handle less torque than rear wheels, allowing for fewer spokes without compromising strength. A 28-hole configuration with 2-cross lacing pattern often provides the ideal balance of stability and saving weight for most riding styles. Heavy riders may opt for 32-hole and a 3-cross lacing pattern for that extra bit of support.
  
  
• Trail-Specific Setup: For aggressive enduro riding, consider a robust hub and slightly beefier spokes. XC riders might prioritize an incredibly lightweight front configuration to improve climbing efficiency and reduce steering effort.

By fine-tuning your front setup independently from your rear wheel, you can optimize both handling characteristics and overall ride quality for your specific terrain.

Rear Wheel Considerations

The rear wheel is the main character of your mountain bike wheelset. It takes a lot of abuse, especially in enduro and downhill riding. When choosing a rear wheel, keep these factors in mind:

• Hub and Freehub Body: Higher hub engagement means less pedal delay when you start pedaling, which is crucial for clearing technical terrain and maintaining momentum through tricky sections. A reliable freehub body is essential for smooth pedaling and efficient power transfer. It’s the part that engages when you pedal, so it needs to be tough and responsive.

By focusing on these aspects, you can ensure your rear wheel enhances your bike’s performance and durability, making your rides more enjoyable and less prone to mechanical issues.

Conclusion

Choosing the best mountain bike wheels isn't just about picking what's trendy or what your riding buddy recommends. It's about understanding how rim width affects handling, knowing whether you need faster engagement for those rocky trails, and deciding if saving that extra weight matters to you.

Whether you're hunting for lightest wheelset to race on weekends or building a bomber set of wheels for enduro riding, the key is matching your setup to your needs and terrain.

Remember, your front and rear wheels can be optimized differently for mountain biking - from spoke count to rim width - creating a balanced ride that's both responsive and confidence-inspiring. While premium features like faster engagement and carbon rims are nice to have, they're not always necessary for every rider or trail type.

There are so many variables when it comes to building a great mountain bike wheel. What matters most is building a wheelset that makes you excited to hit the trails and confident in your bike's ability to handle whatever lies ahead.

For assistance in determining what components work for you, or if you want to start building your custom wheels today, hit up Loamlabs, custom wheel builders! We're Looking forward to hearing from you.

References

[1]: https://loamlabsusa.com/blogs/news

[2]: https://bebikes.com/the-hub/carbon-vs-alloy-wheel-showdown/

[3]: https://www.bikeexchange.com/en-US/blog/mountain-bike-wheels-what-to-know?srsltid=AfmBOor18xgvXdSwnNR9HGEByCglJ8D7fNWQZJL43u0qFqrnFEniyBaq

[4]: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/biking/best-mountain-bike-wheels

[5]: https://www.cewheelsinc.com/industry-news-blog/mountain-bike-wheels-what-to-know/

[6]: https://loamlabsusa.com/collections/hubs-rear

[7]: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bike-wheels-how-to-choose.html