Thanks to all who came out for this years 719 Ride!  Feel free to download and use the below photos however you would like.  If you wanted a higher res version of your photo, just email ​me and I am happy to send it over for free.

If you would prefer your photo not be posted here, let me know and I will remove it for you.

Thanks to all who supported this great, local event!  Hope to see you out there next year!

We are proud to announce that we are now the authorized USA based service center for Nextie!  We have worked with Nextie for about 6 years now as a dealer and have always been very impressed with the quality you get in their products and their sales team is always a pleasure to work with. 

Because of this relationship we talked with them about how to further improve service and support to the customers in the USA and decided to start working more closely together as the authorized service center for the USA.

What does that mean?
It means you will have a contact here in the states to help you with any sales or service related questions.  We can help you navigate new builds, answer wheel building questions and help you with any other questions you may have.  We will also slowly begin adding inventory stateside to help get you the products you want faster than ever!  We will start with stocking the most common rims we are asked for but as demand grows we will work towards stocking more products in the future.

Until then, you can always order directly through the website and use the coupon code above for a discount on products or you can always EMAIL ME directly to discuss options and place your order via email.

We are excited about this new partnership and hope you all find it helpful!
​- Chris

2020 and likely all of 2021 will be an absolute mess when it comes to finding new bikes in stock so you may be looking at upgrading your bike with a better quality used bike or even buying a bike for the first time ever to try out cycling without breaking the bank.  Hopefully this article will help you know what to look for to make sure you get a new to you bike that is in good shape mechanically, fits properly and is fairly priced.

Points we will address:

• Where to find a used bike
• How to make sure the used bike fits
• How to know what a used bike is worth
• How to tell if the used bike is in good shape mechanically
  
  

Where to find a used bike?​
There are a number of places that you can look at for used bikes, forums, Facebook groups, bike coops, some bike shops.

Locally the best places to look are typically calling local bike shops and asking if they offer used bikes.  Not all shops offer used bikes but nearly all of them would be willing to direct you to one that will offer used bikes for sale.  If your area has one, a bike coop is another great place to look.  These places are ideal because most of the time you will get a bit more buyer protection and if the shop does their job well, the bike will have been checked over and tuned up a bit before being sold.

Two other local resources you can check out is searching Facebook Marketplace for groups like Front Range Bike Trader if you are on the Front Range, if you are not in our region just search marketplace for some version of "bikes for sale, used bikes, bike trader, etc".  The other common place people sell used bikes is Craigslist although that seems to be dying off in favor of Facebook groups lately.

If you are open to buying a bike completely online and having it shipped to you the most common places people sell used bikes are Ebay and Pink Bike but if you do a Google search for "used bike for sale" you will likely find a ton of options.  You can naturally find a much bigger variety of bikes available online but you typically will pay a bit more as shipping is expensive and you will not be able to inspect the bike as thoroughly but if you are careful you can still find great deals.  Typically if you have to have the bike shipped to you, it only makes sense financially with higher end bikes unfortunately as shipping costs can quickly match the cost of a lower end bikes value.

How to make sure the used bike fits?
This is one area where a bike shop that deals in used bikes or a bicycle coop can be extremely helpful.  Typically staff at these places are happy to help you make sure the bike fits before you commit to buying it.  If you do not have that luxury, keep reading and I will give some tips that may help.

Take measurements off your existing bike if you already have a bike that fits you well and compare them to the bike you are looking to buy.  The most critical dimensions here are effective top tube length and head tube length.  Top tube length will determine how stretched out you are and head tube length is an important factor in how high or low the handlebars are.  They are a bit trickier to measure but they are also more accurate, you can also measure reach and stack measurements.  To do this you will need a level and a ruler.  An extra set of hands is also quite helpful here.  You can look at the chart below for a visual.

Test riding the bike if at all possible will be a HUGE help.  There are 1000x opinions on what is "proper" bike fit but at the end of the day, what is most important is that you are comfortable as a rider and not developing any pain related to bike fit.  When you get on the bike it should be a Goldilocks moment where the bike doesn't feel too long or too short.  Your body should be in a fairly neutral position where you do not feel too stretched out or too cramped.  The image below will give you a good starting point but you will naturally adjust these depending on things like flexibility, riding style, previous injuries, preference, etc.  This guide is meant to just get you close, if you really want to dial in your bike fit, seeing a bike fit specialist can absolutely be worth it.  Just ask around your area to see who is good as not all fitters are good unfortunately. 

How to tell what a used bike is worth?
Everyone wants a good deal and naturally the buyer always wants the price lower while the seller wants it higher.  The value of a used bike will vary significantly based on the condition of the bike, the region you are located in, the season and if any major update has recently be launched that leave marketing teams calling old stuff "obsolete".

One great starting point is heading over to Bicycle Blue Book, it is like a Kelly's Blue Book but for bicycles.  This website may not always hit the real market value of a bike but it gives you a good starting point.  Another place to look is other sale postings for the bike you are looking at.  If you see 6 different 2018 Giant Trance 2's for $1800 all in a similar condition, its probably a good indicator that the real market value is around that mark.  If you see a single outlier that doesn't have an obvious reason to be priced way above that $1800 that buyer may be a bit optimistic in their asking price.  Some things like wheel upgrades can justify a higher than average price but sadly for sellers, these things rarely scale in value to the used market like you would hope.

If you are still unsure of what the bike is worth but it is a fairly recent model, a general rule of thumb for pricing used parts is around half of what the suggest retail price was when the bike (or part) was new.  This ratio is definitely open to interpretation though and will fluctuate a lot depending on market demand, condition, etc.

How to tell if used bike is in good condition?
This one is what keeps most people hesitant to buy used but checking these key points below will cover you for for most expensive repairs a used bike could need.  If after reading this you are still uncomfortable evaluating a used bikes condition, often times you can talk with your local bike shop and ask them if they are willing to look over the used bike you are considering buying.  That way you have the seller meet you at the shop and the shop can give you a heads up on any repairs that may be needed.  As a bike shop, I was always happy to offer this for free to people as it often lead to the bike being left at the shop for service after they bought it but some shops may want to charge for this.  Even if they charge you to check the bike over, it could easily save you money in the long run so it is something to consider.

The most critical places to inspect as they are most expensive to replace are:

• The Frame
• Suspension
• Wheels
• Drivetrain
• Brakes

The Frame:
This one is relatively simple.  You just look carefully over all of the frame looking for cracks, dents, anything that seems off.  The most common places you will see failures are near the seat tube, near the bottom bracket, near the dropouts where the wheels attach to the frame and along the seat stay.  Hopefully the seller has the bike cleaned well so this inspection is easy.  If the bike is covered in dirt or mud it can easily hide these flaws and would likely indicate that the owner didn't take the greatest care of the bike in the first place. 

If you are looking at carbon frames, the above is still true but sometimes there will be chips in the paint or clear coat that are hard to differentiate between a crack or a simple cosmetic flaw.  One trick that works well, but is not 100%, is to take a coin and tap on the frame in the area of concern.  It should be a sharp tapping sound, if the tone becomes more dull sounding the closer you get to the flaw, there is a good chance that flaw may actually be a structural concern and is worth taking into consideration when buying the bike.  Even if there is a structural issue in carbon fiber, if the price is right you can more often than not get carbon frames repaired.  Typically that ranges in price from $300-$600 depending on the damage.  Most carbon repair places will let you send in a picture of the damage and give you a rough quote so you can factor that into deciding if the bike is still worth purchasing if damaged.

Suspension:
This one can be tough to see red flags on, even for more experienced eyes but there are some things you can look for to minimize risk and questions you can ask that will give you a good idea on how meticulous the bikes original owner was with maintenance. 

The first thing to do is simply ask the seller when the suspension was last serviced.  A general rule of thumb is suspension should be serviced roughly every 100 hours of riding or about once a year for the average rider.  That timeline gets shorter the more aggressive the rider is or the nastier the conditions.  Ideally the seller will have service records but if they do not but are pretty quick to answer about how recent the bikes last service was, that is a positive sign.  If they hesitate and say they do not know how long its been and the bike is a few years old, that would be cause for concern.  Not a guarantee there is damage but its definitely something to be aware of.

In visually inspecting suspension you can look for oil leaks near the seals, damage on the stanchions (the part that slides in and out of the fork/shock) and feel for play in the fork bushings.  To check busing play, grab the front brake and put one hand between the fork arch and fork stanchions and rock the bike back and forth.  You shouldn't feel movement here.  If you feel much movement the fork could need expensive repairs.

The other bits on the suspension to check are suspension pivot bearings and bushings.  Often times if they are starting to wear out, you can lift the bike up by the saddle and feel for a slight thud or clunk when you lift but before the wheel comes off the ground.  Creaking when riding is another sign the pivots may need attention but creaks can definitely come from countless places on the bike as well.

Wheels and Tires:
Wheels are another area you want to pay close attention to as issues here can lead to costly repairs.  Wheels can be surprisingly easy to inspect thankfully.  The most obvious is to spin the wheel and see if it spins straight.  Even if it is not running true, it can likely be a simple repair but definitely shows its worth giving the wheel a closer look.  You also want to look over the rim for damage such as denting near the tire and cracking near the spoke holes.

After you checked out the rim, time to inspect the spokes.  Spokes will ideally be evenly tensioned (its common and OK for drive side and non drive side tensions to be different though), free from physical damage and tensioned sufficiently.  To check how even the tension is, you can simply pluck the spokes and make sure all the spokes going to the same hub flange have a similar tone.  If there is a drastic tone difference the wheel likely needs to be at minimum re-tensioned.  You also want to try to look behind the cassette the best you can to see if the chain has ever been dropped behind the cassette, cutting the spokes.  Another common place for physical damage is closer to the rim, this is typically where rocks and sticks will hit.  Damage here isn't the end of the world but it is another thing to be aware of when negotiating price as it will likely need addressed in the future.  Spoke replacement typically can run between $30-$40 per wheel.

You will also want to inspect the hubs to make sure the bearings and freehub are in good condition.  To check that the freehub is running smooth, pedal the bike with the rear wheel off the ground to get the wheel spinning quick and then stop pedaling while letting go of the cranks.  The chain should not continue to spin the cranks.  If it does, it is a sign the freehub may need serviced.  Typically that is an easy service if needed thankfully.

You also will want to drop the wheels out of the bike and simply spin the axle with your fingers.  If it feels tight or rough it is a good sign you will want to service or replace the hub bearings at some point in the near future.

Inspecting tires is pretty simple.  Just look the tire over for obvious signs of wear, cuts, bulges and also spin the wheel to make sure the tire does not have a ton of run out.  Maxxis tires are especially notorious for tire casing failures causing the tire to wobble significantly.

Road bike tires without tread patterns can be tougher to inspect.  If you do not see any wear indicators, typically small pockets in the tires rubber, you can feel the top of the tire.  If it feels flattened out, the tire is likely pretty worn and will need to be replaced soon.  If it still has a rounded profile it probably still has decent life left.

​How to tell if the bikes drivetrain is worn?
Drivetrain issues are another place that could lead to costly repairs if you do not catch them before buying the used bike.  Modern 1x12 drivetrains are especially true here as a cassette can easily run $200+.

Drivetrain cleanliness is one indicator that the previous bikes owner took good care of their bike over its life but is not a guarantee everything is good.  I've seen spotless drivetrains that were significantly worn and super dirty drivetrains like above that showed virtually no wear.  The two best ways to inspect the chain, cassette and chain rings is to measure chain wear and to ride the bike.  If you test ride the bike and something feels crunchy through the pedals, it can likely be a sign the drivetrain is very worn out.  If you pedal hard to sprint and it skips (careful here as it can hurt!) that is another sign something is badly worn out.

You also want to measure the chain wear.  There are tools specifically for this but any high quality ruler can work just as well.  With a ruler, you want to measure pin to pin across 12".  If the same point on the chain pin falls exactly on 12", the chain should be pretty fresh.  If it measures "stretched" to to 12 1/16" the chain is worn but likely the rest of the drivetrain components are OK.  If it is anything beyond that then you should expect to have to replace the entire drivetrain or at minimum a chain and cassette.

Beyond chain wear you want to check out shifters, cables, housing and derailleurs.

Shifters usually hold up quite well unless the levers got damaged in a crash but the clicks should be pretty positive and lever action should be smooth with minimal resistance.  If there is excessive resistance typically the cables are at fault and should be replaced.  The other things to inspect on cables is you want to look for any splitting in the housings and fraying at the cables.  If you see these things, plan to replace the cables as they make a huge difference in shift quality.  Di2 and etap owners, no need to look smug here....

After checking out shifters and cables you want to turn your attention to the derailleurs.  The rear derailleur pulley is probably the most common failure point.  You can usually notice any issues here just by looking at the pulley, if it looks excessively worn or cracked they should be replaced.  If you grab the pulley and there is a lot of play in the bearing that is another sign you should replace them.  Thankfully another easy fix.

Beyond that, check to make sure nothing looks bent on either derailleur and the pivots do not have a ton of movement outside of their intended direction.  The two derailleur pulleys should be running in line and parallel to the cogs.  If they are sitting at an angle, something may be bent and need further repairs.  If all looks good, ride the bike and see how it shifts.  Even cheaper components should still shift easily and quickly.

Brakes:
Last on the list is brakes.  Brakes are pretty straight forward to inspect most of the times.  The most common thing you need to replace here is the brake pads.  Rim brake pads typically will have wear indicators you can look at.  Disc brake pads are usually worn when the pad material is about twice the thickness of the spring that separates the brake pads.

If you test ride the bike and the brakes are noisy, chances are there is some type of contamination on the pads, especially with disc brakes.  If there is contamination, you can often times clean it up with sandpaper and rubbing alcohol but if the contamination is bad you may have to replace the pads.

After checking pads, you will want to look at the brake rotors if the bike has disc brakes.  Make sure it spins pretty true, if it wobbles you will likely need to align the rotor with a tool like is pictured above.  Slight wobble is pretty common and an easy fix but if the wobble is sharp the rotor may need replaced.  To check rotor wear, if you can feel any thickness difference between the braking surface and the rest of the rotor, chances are they are fairly worn and may need replaced soon.

The last thing you will want to check is to make sure there are no oil leaks and the brakes feel firm on hydraulic brakes.  If there are visible leaks or the lever feels spongy there is a good chance the brake system needs at minimum a bleed but likely some repairs as well.  If the brakes are cable actuated, you want to make sure the lever moves smoothly and the brakes engage positively.  If anything feels off on mechanical brakes, chances are they need the cables replaced or at minimum some adjusting.

Now you are ready to buy your new to you, used bike!
I hope that helps give you a good idea on what to look for when buying a used bike.  Most of the issues described above are relatively easy fixes and cost between $20-$60 each at a bike shop but if the bike has multiple issues those little fixes can definitely add a lot of expense to the bike before you are able to ride it without worry.  The most concerning issue above to me would be damage to a suspension fork, those repairs can get very quickly end up costing hundreds of dollars to fix but if the bike is a good enough deal it may still be worth it.

If you have any questions at all, leave them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them for you.

Thanks for reading!
​Chris

It can be quite hard to tell the difference between different types of wheels.  Bicycle wheels are incredibly nuanced and it can be nearly impossible to tell a difference between wheels just by looking at them.  Two wheels can even be built with identical components but one will work much better than the other.  We will do out best below to show you what to look for and things to consider when buying your next set of wheels for your e bike.  As always, if you have any questions you are always welcome to comment below or email us and we will try to answer any questions you may have.

We will address these key points in selecting wheels below

• Rims
• Hubs
• Spokes and Spoke Nipples
• Build Quality (which will include tips for people building their own)

Rims
Bike rims come in countless sizes, shapes, weights and prices so it can be hard to pin down what is the best option for your riding style.  Most of these points apply to standard bike wheels as well but are especially true with the added demands of e-bike wheels.

E-bike rims live a much harder life than those found on traditional bikes.  The additional weight and torque from an e-bike absolutely puts more stress on a rim but more than all of that, the thing that makes things the hardest on e-bike wheels over traditional bike wheels, specifically in mountain biking is the fact it is MUCH harder to move the bike around and unweight it while going over obstacles.  Because of this, the wheels tend to smash through objects rather than the rider being able to unweight the wheel while going over obstacles.  For this reason, rims are one place we really want to go stronger on e-bikes if we are able to.

This is one place where you should take advantage of that electric motor and not stress over adding a bit of extra weight here and look for a stronger rim, especially if you like technical mountain bike trails.  Some manufacturers label their rims as e-bike specific but you don't need a rim that is specific to e-bikes, those are really just beefed up trail rims typically.  I usually look to put a person on rims for their e-bike that are marketed to one category stronger than I would for a non electric bike.  So for example, if the customer is just looking to ride standard cross country trails I look for a rim marketed towards "trail" riding, if they want to do more aggressive "trail" riding I usually will look towards rims marketed towards Enduro riders, if they want to do enduro style riding I look more towards DH rims.  If you are riding the road, you can typically get away with the same rims you would use for road riding, just plan on a few extra spokes.

Carbon or aluminum?
Both can actually work quite well here.  Typically the main reason people go carbon is to save weight which isn't as critical on an e-bike since you have a little extra help getting things moving.  If you really want to drop some weight from your e-bike though, because lets face it, e-bikes can get very heavy... Carbon is still a good call here.  I would stay away from the stuff marketed towards lightweight race wheels and if given the option for a stronger layup I would take the stronger version but other than that, carbon can still work great for e-bikes and is plenty durable and safe to ride these days.  If you want to level up your ride a bit, "compliant" rims like the Zipp Moto are actually a phenomenal fit here since it's not so easy to unweight the bike over obstacles. 

Hubs
I believe picking hubs is thankfully a bit easier than navigating rim options for e-bikes.  While there are many hubs being marketed towards e-bikes specifically, many of the traditional hub options actually work fantastic for e-bikes too.  Despite the additional torque from e-bikes, they really do not seem to be that much harder on hubs.  I believe this is because the power on an e-bike is typically applied relatively smoothly.  When picking out hubs, your budget is going to likely be the primary deciding factor as hubs are typically the most expensive part of a build unless you are looking at carbon rims.  The difference in performance between mid level hubs like Hope and higher end hubs like I9 thankfully isn't huge and typically you are just paying for faster freehub engagement more than durability improvements so you can just as easily get away with a mid level hub like a DT 350 rather than spending $650 on the Industry Nine Hydra.

One thing I do believe is a nice option that some hub makers offer is switching from an aluminum freehub body to a steel freehub.  Hope, DT, I9 and King all offer this and the minimal additional weight is more than worth it to protect from having your cassette dig into your freehub body.  If you are riding the road you can likely get away with any hub out there, for mountain bikes, electric bike or not I am not a fan of cheaper hubs if you are riding even remotely hard.  I've just seen far too many failures from cheap hubs on mountain bikes.  I'd define cheap hubs as most options from Stan's, Formula, Novatec, etc.

Spokes
Researching spokes is really easy to go off into the weeds but thankfully it does not need to be a difficult choice.  It gets confusing as some spoke makers list things like tensile strength as a way to show how strong their spokes are but in reality, tensile strength RARELY matters when it comes to wheel durability.  Fatigue resistance and "elasticity" I believe are much more critical components to durable spokes.

Fatigue resistance generally is hard to find real data on but is mostly a factor of material quality used and manufacturing techniques.  Experience is helpful here but in general you can trust Phil Wood, DT, Wheelsmith pretty consistently to make a great product.  Sapim can also be good but I have seen some consistency issues from them but most of the time they work well.  There are other spoke brands out there you can look at but my experience with those other brands is limited to wheels I don't expect to be ridden hard.  They might work just fine but when I am building for paying customers I like to stick with what I know works great every time.

For spoke type, my favorite spoke for nearly anything outside of race wheels is your common 14/15/14 gauge double butted spoke.  They are reasonably priced, not super heavy and they last forever if you build them right.  Bladed spokes like DT Aerolites or Sapim CX-Ray also work quite well but you are paying a lot more money for mostly just weight savings.  If you really want to go over the top durable you can also look at spokes such as the DT Alpine III, it is a 13/15/14 gauge spoke although it is overkill for most applications and not all hubs will fit it without drilling so I tend to only use it for very harsh conditions like multi year loaded touring.  The main thing I do not like to build with is straight gauge spokes, they are both heavier and less durable although you could argue, they make a marginally stiffer wheel.  I believe the slight bit of additional "elasticity" from butted spokes helps them absorb impacts and tension spikes better along with taking a little stress off the rim.  The easing the life of the rim is prominent enough that there are a couple rim manufacturers that will void your warranty if you build with straight gauge spokes.

Spoke breakage
Why are my spokes breaking?  It's a common question and I'm sure a lot of you are wondering if you need a heavier duty spoke if you are having spokes break.  The overwhelming majority of the time you really don't need heavier spokes.  Spokes shouldn't break under normal riding which is why we always offer a lifetime guarantee against spoke breakage on all our wheels.  We have built thousands of wheels and it is still EXTREMELY rare that someone brings us a wheel with a broken spoke that we built.  Rare enough that I can count them all on one hand and our specialty is building wheels for riders who are very hard on equipment.  Most spoke breakage issues come back to three key problems.

• Under tensioned wheels
• Wheels not stress relieved
• Poor quality spokes

Under tensioned wheels
When a wheel is rolling with a load on it, the hub is essentially "hanging" from the spokes.  This leaves the spokes at the top of the wheel at a slightly higher tension and the spokes at the bottom of the wheel at a lower tension.  When you start with wheels that are under tensioned, the spokes on the bottom of the wheel can drop to nearly zero load and then bounce back up in tension as the wheel rotates.  This movement is a lot like taking a coat hanger and bending it back and forth, fatiguing the metal until it breaks.  Naturally this is bad and why we strongly believe that building wheels to the high side of your rims rated tension is key to durability.  This is especially true when wheels will see a large load like with e-bikes, tandems, heavier riders, cargo bikes, etc.

Stress relieving
Stress relieving wheels is a very simple yet surprisingly key part in building to ensure long life and no spoke failures.  The act of stress relieving a wheel is simply grabbing pairs of parallel spokes and squeezing.  Not only does this help seat all the components together but it also relieves internal stresses in the metal that can lead to excessive fatigue.  Most metals have a sort of "memory" built in where when you bend them, they naturally want to go back to their previous position slightly.  You can see this if you take a piece of metal and bend it, if you bend it to exactly 90 degrees it will spring back slightly because of this "memory" so to get it to stay at 90 degrees you want to slightly overbend it so it can relax to the desired position.  Honestly though, I can't explain this nearly as well as Rick from Wheel Fanatyk, he was co-founder of Wheelsmith Spokes so he REALLY knows his stuff.  He wrote a great article on the subject that I fully recommend you read if you like geeking out on this stuff.  You can see that article HERE.

Poor Spoke Quality
This one is as simple as sticking to trusted brands that have a long history of delivery a quality and consistent product.  Phil Wood, DT and Wheelsmith are my favorites here and I would group them all as nearly identical in terms of quality.  Sapim can sometimes be very good but I have had a few bad batches of spokes from them that had 4-5 spoke failures within months.  I rebuilt those wheels with Wheelsmith and they have not broken a spoke in years since.  Other brands of spokes can absolutely be sufficient for your needs, again we are doing this professionally and like to stick with what we know works every time.  If you are building your own wheels and want to experiment on your own wheels, I absolutely support that.

Build quality and wheel building tips
You can take identical parts and build one wheel that lasts for tens of thousands of miles from those parts and another wheel that falls apart in a few hundred miles depending on how they are built.  This one is much harder to see a difference on and you absolutely will have a hard time knowing quality just looking at an online catalog but there are some questions you can ask your wheel builder to get an idea on how methodical they are in building their wheels.  We will list some tips for building durable e-bike wheels below so you can ask your builder and see if they do similar.  Even if they don't do things exactly like us, you can generally tell how much attention they pay to details and if they are happy to answer "why" questions and give thought out answers, you likely have found a good wheel builder.  One other sign you found a great wheel builder is if they offer a great warranty on their builds. 

Great wheel builders know that a well built wheel will very rarely have any issues and are happy to offer a warranty that represents that.  If your builder tells you they don't guarantee their work and they tell you that you MUST bring your wheels back to be re-tensioned you should be hesitant.  It's absolutely fine if they tell you that you can bring them back to be double checked after some miles but if you build the wheel well, it should not need the tension adjusted after a few hundred miles.  If that was necessary then there would be no way we could ship wheels to customers who immediately put them on their bike and start multi year tours with us never seeing their wheels again.

​ Wheel building tips for e-bikes (these really apply to most wheels but are even more critical on e-bikes)

• ​Build your wheels near the rims rated maximum tensions
• Try to keep spoke tension balance around 5-10% variance per side.  Drive side and non drive side are typically at different tensions to keep the dish proper but the more consistent the tensions are, the more durable your wheel will be.
• Lightly bend the spokes around the hub flange once you have a small amount of tension in the spokes.  This helps minimize fatigue as spokes go through natural tension cycles when the wheel rolls.
  
• Pick a stronger rim than you expect if you ride technical trails, e-bikes are notorious for dented rims if they ride a lot of technical trails.
  
• Run a tire insert such as Cush Core and/or tougher sidewalls on your tires, again this is just to help provide resistance to dented rims...I know I know, not technically a wheel building tip but I needed somewhere to put this.
  
• You don't need to add more spokes than you would normally build with for MOST riders and bikes.  A 32 hole wheel will be plenty durable if built properly.  You can get away with 28 hole or even 24 hole on the road if you would like for most riders.  If you are building something crazy powerful you might need more spokes but when you are in the thousands of watts range for power you really should start looking at parts that resemble a motorcycle more than a bicycle.
  
• Stick with brass spoke nipples, they are far more durable in harsh conditions and most wont notice the 20 gram difference on a normal bike so you definitely won't notice the difference on an e-bike.  If you absolutely want to add color, do it in rim decals and valve stems to save yourself the hassle of broken spoke nipples.
  
• Pick the best parts you can afford if you plan to ride a lot.  E-bikes are far from cheap and wheels are one of the most critical parts on your bike so investing here will save you hassles and just give you a better riding experience in the future.  The best part about nice wheels is you can typically move them from bike to bike so while expensive, wheels can be a great long term investment.  I promise that isn't just bias talking there...
  
  

Conclusion
I hope this article helps demystify bike wheels a bit!  Like I mentioned above, wheels are incredibly nuanced but thankfully there are a lot of different combos that can work quite well for most riders so there are very few "wrong" answers.  If you have any further questions at all be sure to reach out and we will do our best to try and answer any questions you may have, even if you are not buying the wheels from us.  You can use the contact form on our Custom Wheel page or email us by CLICKING HERE.

Thanks for reading!
Chris

Running a bike shop in 2021 definitely seems to take careful inventory planning and chucks it out the window!  Before as a small shop we would spend a lot of time thinking about what would be good buys for inventory, how much to carry, making sure we can turn anything we stock quickly as we are a small shop with an even smaller budget but that's long gone.

The bike industries inventory levels continue to be questionable at best so many of us now are impulsively buying anything we see come into stock if there is even the tiniest potential we may need it in the next 6 months.  Why are we being so impulsive, submitting multiple orders a day with the same supplier?  Things go out of stock insanely fast on our end.  I've seen a set of rims come into stock, have 30 available and in the time I click "add to card" and try to submit my order they are down to just 5.  Those numbers are not even made up, that just happened a few days ago.  Most suppliers have "item watch" that sends us an email automatically when a part comes into inventory and even that system is too slow.  I've got an item watch email, saw it and followed the link within 5 minutes of it being sent and the product was already gone.

This isn't really a rant and I am sure I am not telling any of you anything new but we can call it an excuse to post a meme I made when I should have been doing something more constructive and I'll let it do double duty as a plea to wholesale suppliers, PLEASE ADD A "SORT BY IN STOCK" OPTION TO YOUR CATALOG.  If JBI, who has the worst online catalog out there can figure it out, surely those of you with otherwise spot on websites like QBP can make it work.  We waste so much time clicking through item categories that are not available and you would save us huge amounts of time in trying to quote customers or place orders.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the meme as that really was the motivation behind this post...
​Chris