I never used to enjoy riding on mx tracks with my 400ex but ever sence I got my ds I cant stay off of them. This thing flies around there awsomly. Yesterday I went to my favorite track and was flying a lot ferther and higher than I would have ever considered before. The owner of the track likes to sit and whatch people run the track. He said that I was running 1minute 29 seconds per lap whitch is as fast as enyone there that day on bikes. Anyhow at the end of the day when I was loding it up to go home I noticed the inside of my back rims where bent up prety bad. What brand of rims do you recomend that have reinforcing rings on them and how much are they. Thanks for any info.

 

I think douglas has some, but if you just want reinforcement rings to weld in you can go to OMF. I did the same thing today just on the front left wheel though. I'll have to start using some more air pressure also. I overshot a tabletop and landed flat. I almost lost it. Later

 

Bombardier makes the reinforced "Baja rims" seperate now. I don't know how tough they are, but I would bet they're pretty damn strong. If you want the ultimate in no flatspot never break never lose a tire dependability, go with hiper tech's carbon fibre rims. they are supposed to be nearly industructible.

 

Buy reinforced Douglas .190's from OMF - they'll cost you approx $100/ea. Make sure to get rings on both sides, believe it or not, the inner rings are more important than the outers for jumping - axle flex.

BTW, now that you've developed a taste for MX, you should try it again on the 400EX or a 250R, with their comparative light weight, you'll be surprized at what you can do - Weight & MX typically don't mix well.

 

Why we're on the topic. Does anyone know how thick the stock Douglas
wheels are on the DS? Are they .190's or thinner?

 

The Stock DS rims are Douglas .190's (Red Label.)

As far as buying rims with rings in them, I highly recomend OMF, and yes they are $100/each for .190 douglas rims w/both inner and outer rings. They look awesome, the service is great you can't go wrong.

 

I do suggest though, that you do not get inner rings on the front wheels. They are partial rings, and do fit as long as the fender is not mounted, but they come within 1/4" or the worst thing they could contact. The bleed screw for the brakes is the closest part and if the wheel were to get dinged, you could end up losing front brakes. OMF sends the wheel with one inner ring and one without an inner ring. I don't know why they do that since clearance is equal on both sides, but I suggest outer rings only on a DS front.

 

Thanks for the info. Yes I balive that inner rings are more important than outer ones because that is where all of my flat spots are. My dealer wanted $195 a peice for rims with only outer rings. It looks like I will be checking into douglas rims. Again thanks.

 

If you are going to spend that kind of cash go with the carbon fiber and save some weight.

 

Travis Spader was getting paid to use the carbon fiber wheels, as well as getting the wheels for free, but he no longer uses them. I wonder why? I have heard rumor that he had a few wheel failures, but I haven't confirmed this as of yet. I would like to get a set of these to hammer on, so I know for sure, but Hipertech doesn't seem intrested. I went to them to see about a set for my last magazine bike, letting them know that it would say wonders if they held up to a magazine test[they really hammer on test bikes] on a quad as heavy as a DS. The fact that they were not intrested has me curious about wether they are up to par yet or not. Untill I get a chance to test them for myself, I'll spend my money on a proven wheel.

I'm not trying to bash Hipertech at all. These wheels may be great. But I have seen a few things that has me leary untill they have proven themselves. If they were everything that they are supposed to be, why are so few racers using them?