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Henry at PB, and many others, including very good friends of mine who are bike mechanics/wheelbuilders, all seem to think that increasing spoke tension will increase the stiffness of a wheel, and vice versa. They all rely on some sort of "feel" related justification, and post hoc rationalization of why they think the tension is leading to what they think they are feeling. I am still unconvinced. I am not sure if you have ever seen it, but Damon Rinard (who has been a lead engineer at many bike companies) designed a rig back in the 90s to test the...

Yeah the above trail was Teleonics from the upper dirt road before the "ski jump" to the parking lot. Bike set up: Steel front end(modeled after 23' Trek Session), stock aluminum rear end, Ochain, Dorado fork, DT 471 front rim 1.6 spokes, Crank bros DH carbon rear rim 1.5 spokes, CounterShox mounted on fork 800g and behind BB 600g, Conti Kryp tires 24/26psi. I only got a few runs in this day, then had a little get-off that stopped my riding for the day. So I didn't really test anything here, just trying to get some more baselines and data...

Here is some data from riding my steel Trek in Southern California. Approx 2 minute run in Laguna. The rear axle showed 67% more lateral accelerations than the bb. (Negative is to riders left and positive is to riders right.) The rear axle showed that it twisted torsionally 35% more than the lower frame/bb. What does all this mean? Hahha, nothing really until I gather more data on the same trail, in the same conditions. But I’m starting to gather a baseline with a few frames. The problem is dirt conditions and trail style play a big load(literally) on what...

Yes it is all give/take. Exactly like suspension setup. This bike (The Homer) gets pedalled as an Enduro bike, Whistler laps and then Prevost shuttle laps. For enduro and Whistler laps, I think the compliance is perfect. It eats rough and softens the harsh Whistler laps. Even with the firm suspension setup I run. Prevost is another beast though. It's perfect 85% of the time but there's some hefty hits and corners on that hill. And hitting those fast, you want to be fully comfortable that you know how the bike will handle. Those scenarios are like racing, so I...

That looks rad! The front end and BB area look great, looks like an awesome job keeping that bb area from swaying. I could definitely understand that rear end being great in some areas but then moving too much in others. But like you said, it's all give in take. Personally, I'd rather have a soft compliant ride with maybe 1 or 2 areas that are "too soft", than an entire trail that is rigid and rattling my body. I'm working on a steel DH gearbox frame with @VesselBikeProject now. Yes I rode the Trek before, It was a much...

That would be sick with the adjustable bridges. I did some testing on the Commencal V5 with them and it made a pretty big change in berms and G-outs. Could you share what CS and SS tubing you used on the rear?

I can definitely see why you think the rear end is compliant and maybe too much. Looks sick, though!

In this video by Enve, they show testing the wheels on a machine. Not sure if this is just a destruction test or gives them compliance/rigidity numbers. But to your post, I totally believe that 2x and 3x have different compliance, along with spoke tension, spoke diameter, spoke count, and rim choice. The combination is endless. This also brings me full circle because trail testing depends on the dirt type, rider weight, and riding style, which could all push a wheel to a different extent. I don't think we could sit here and say "this combination" is best for everyone...

This has been the first flex stays frame I have built. Previously there have been three linkage driven single pivots and a classic single pivot. The rear end sits at neutral at 40% travel with the shock removed.

There is a wheel review on a prominent mtb website where the reviewer attempts to educate the reader about why different wheels have different compliance. He uses the example that a 2X laced wheel, a 3X laced wheel, and a 3X laced wheel detensioned a small amount will all have different compliance. The rationale offered is theoretical and to put it plainly, i don’t think it’s interesting whether or not it’s good theorizing or poor. My question is what is the technical limitation in the way of building examples of these three wheels and measuring the compliance? Does the rig...

Super interesting thread ! I am currently riding a custom made steel frame, superenduro/freeride type. You thread comes just as I am considering frame flex on my own frame as I noticed some after riding it harder and harder. Basically I noticed that my frame flexes on high side load situations, mostly high G berms. Initially I thought it was tire roll, pumped them up super hard and that didn't solve the issue. Which lead me to consider flex in my wheels. I went from soft alloy wheels to stiff carbon rims and that didn't change much to be fair...