- Weight: 920g + 1020g = 1,940g (650b)
- Width: 29mm/34mm
- Freehub lag:12°
- Sizes: 27.5, 29in
Spank’s Oozy Trail wheel might not be new but that means we can safely say it’s the toughest, most reliable wheel set you can buy without being prohibitively pricey or heavy.
We’re saying that because every set of Spank Oobah-rimmed wheels we’ve had on test over the past few years (whether they were 26, 27.5 or 29er sized) is not only still in use, but still going very strong. And that's despite the testers putting them through their paces with relentlessly punishing high-impact riding, vast weather-ignorant mileages or both.
In each case the riders admitted they smashed them so hard they would have expected any other trail-wheel to collapse, but the Spanks have stayed, true, round and sealed in every case. And, they’re still in daily slave-driver use, albeit with a few dents.
While the central lump can make the initial fit a fight with tight tyres, the pre-taped rims seal easily and the ridged ‘BeadBite’ sidewalls add tyre grip if you love to take your turns sideways in a shower of earth and rocks.
Stiff rims and 32 triple-butted spokes both ends give them a precise and accurate feel, but they’re wide enough to take fat tyres at low pressures to offset potential punishment on long, hard descents.
At just under 2kg with occasionally noticeable freehub lag they may be overkill for lighter XC/Trail riders, but they’re just as reliable mechanically as they are structurally and even the sealing is impressively UK proof.
Equally tough and conspicuously tough 'plus' versions are also available if you want to put dramatic levels of accuracy and strength under your balloon tyres.
