Do Wheels Have a Lifespan?

We are contemplating a wheel upgarde for DH sometime early next year. The idea would be to take the Mavic Kysrium Elites off his bike and put them on mine. Right now I have Mavic Askium Race, which are good but his are definitely better.

He has over 7,000 miles in them and I am wondering if they have plenty of life left in them? He is 6'2" and about 175-180 so they are not under a lot of weight strain. Most of the 7,000 miles is recreational riding although he has raced the bike once and likes to hammer when he is riding without me (Maybe 1,500- 2,000 of those miles).

And before everyone says I should get the new wheels, he wants to start doing some light racing and would benefit more from the upgrade.

My wheels have little wear indicator dots on them but that would be more of an indicator of how much you use the brakes. My wheels will be worn quickly;)

Seven thousand miles seems like a lot to me.

Yeah - the main things you have to worry about rim wear - and like Zen said, some have indicator dots and the hub, but if you do regular hub service (repack bearings) then your hubs should have a long life. 7,000 miles, 700 miles, its going to depend on the conditions. If you ride in wet, gritty conditions a lot and are braking often you'll wear the rims pretty quick. If you always ride in nice weather and do long country rides without a lot of stop and go, who knows how long they will last.

my old shimano 600 (precursors to ultegra) hubs made it to about 12-14,000 miles before the races were worn enough where you really couldn't true the wheels.

If the LBS can check the races (where the bearing rolls) and if its worn, get a new hub. If not then no reason why you can't use the wheels.

If the rim is worn that's another matter. So have the wheels checked before you go by a brand new set of wheels.

smilingcat

Rims have a lifespan which depends on how fast they thin through application of the brakes, and on how much you beat them up hitting potholes. The former can cause the rims to fail, while the latter will eventually make them impossible to true. Hubs have a different lifespan, usually much longer than that of rims if they are properly maintained. If you use standard hubs, like Chorus, Ultegra, or Dura Ace, you can replace the rims on them multiple times before the hub itself needs replacement.

Thanks for all the input! I think his rims may give me one year. He is exceptional at bike handling, misses the pot holes I hit. :o Also it is a lot of long rides without a lot of braking. When the time comes I will have his wheels checked, probably be time for a hub service and hopefully I can have them! Hopefully I can ride them for a year and then upgrade my own set. Wheels are such a pricey upgrade. :rolleyes: