Stock standard 36″ wheels are heavy things to spin. Grams saved at the outside of the wheel add up to make a big difference in the energy required during every acceleration/ deceleration. The easiest way to lighten up a 36’er wheel and bring it to life is to replace the standard tube with a 29’er (or convert to tubeless).
I’ve also messed around with removing tread on the Nightrider tire and milled cranks, but what about drilling out the rim in much the same way as the 29’er Freeride rim and others?
Thanks to Unicycle.com Australia I have a drilled Nimbus Stealth Rim to test drive.
I ran out of time today and only had a chance to fit it to my 36’er and go for a quick spin. The plan is to use it on all my off road rides in the coming weeks. It’ll be interesting to see how the rim holds up!
Interesting. Did you get a before & after weight?
Hi Mark, the rim was drilled out by UDCA. They did mention the weight saving, will check in with them as I can’t recall what it was exactly.
That looks cool, Mark. Do you know what diameter the holes are? It looks like 14mm at a guess.
I am planning to do just the same to my already drilled Stealth rim ( http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1078693&postcount=7 ) so it’s good to know someone’s been there before!