Duke Racing Wheels Nuked - Lucky Jacks 6ers and Ultra Review

As the title says - it surely has seen better days. One cracked, one smashed, for each of Lucky Jacks models - 6ers and Ultra. While in one it might have been just a bad luck, in the other, I wouldn't be so sure about it.
Nonetheless, in this video I cover few fundamental things when choosing carbon rims, as well as Duke's too.
@IG: / tom10crafted
@Strava: / strava
2023 Season MTB Races Analysis with EN Commentary:
• MTB Races 2023 - Analysis
2023 Season MTB Races Full Onboards:
• MTB Races 2023 - Full ...
Insights about the bike & gear:
• Insights about Bikes, ...
After Stats:
/ @afterstats
/ afterstats
Information about the gear used:
Footage captured: GoPro Hero 12 + Max Lens 2.0
Tracking device: Garmin Edge 1040
Power meters: Stages Cycling XTR
Bike: Scott Spark RC Pro 2022 Custom

[@davidmaco1]

what is your weight Tom? great channel btw

[@tom10crafted]

Thanks Dave! I am around 82kg. Currently 81 after stage race in Poland, but probably not for long! 😅

[@ghostdog6471]

Wow, sorry to hear that you destroyed those wheels. I was definitely considering them for a while now, but I ended with bontrager wheels on both my road and mountainbike:) Perhaps something to consider when buying the next wheels would be the height of the rim combined with the width. Personally, I was reluctant to buy a wheel with less than 30mm inner width and at least 25 mm in height because of the extra material. The only compromise I made was the spokes count 24. I hope I don't regret it in the future:)

[@tom10crafted]

On the contrary, the higher the height is, the stiffer the wheel will be. Which for MTB is quite a thing, not necessarily good one. Nonetheless, while for road 24 spokes is kind of a standard, why 24 for heavy mtb usage? Curious!

[@ghostdog6471]

@tom10crafted ,Because the xc models from bontrager are with 24 spokes. But the model that I got is a bit old but definitely better than the newer one. I got the bontrager Kovee xxx wheelset 1300gr with the old dt swiss 240s hubs. All the reviews were fantastic . I changed the tires also. Those maxxis tires were absolute crap. Now I'm on schwalbe wicked will 2.4 and I love it the way the bike is riding:)

[@TheAntoine191]

That might just be bad luck, hard to say. In recent years I have broken a fair amount of rims, rovals, and other less known brands. I'm 62kg and never go for the lightest offerings. Recently I broke a reinforced model and I was even running an insert and a pretty high pressure because after several failures I use low pressure only for racing at the rear now. My intuition is that modern bikes like the new spark and the way mountain bike riders and riding have evolved is putting more stress on parts. Wheels and tires in particular. Look at enduro riding it started with 140mm all around bikes and now everyone run dh casing etc...

[@TheAntoine191]

Now you'll meet riders that are less aggressive during downhill and have no issues with the lightest stuff.

[@tom10crafted]

@@TheAntoine191 yes, can not agree more. For 6ers it might have been just a bad luck and nothing else - it lasted 1.5years, got over 10k km and in general, worked great. But now lets consider Ultra Jack, which in front broke after 1 month of usage in Lithuania. Zero rocks land. Where on the contrary, same Ultra (28mm internal), on THE REAR, works to date without issues. The point of this is that sometimes, crash replacements are merely hidden under most-likely manufacturing failure - and customers are the ones who pays it. Nonetheless, all things considered - these are inevitable things to happen, the later the better :)

[@fewkilometersaday]

damnnn thats tragic ... i own nextie carbon wheels.. mtb its 1300 gms wheelset for xc bike. and i also broke my rear rim but i think it was due to some heavy rock dinked my rim.

[@tom10crafted]

No man, tragedy is when someone dies - it is just a piece of material:) Bad luck happens and that is just a part of the game. On the brighter side - Duke's gonna replace 6ers 100% free as a warranty case - which is a good thing for me!

[@fewkilometersaday]

@@tom10crafted yes that true didnt imaged that way... and i think i am gonna use training alu wheels for now . Will use my carbon wheel only in races.

[@tom10crafted]

@@fewkilometersaday it is always does not hurt to contact support and send pictures for crash replacement. In worst case scenario you could get 40% off for replacement rim, in best - full warranty 100% cover 🤘🏼

[@fewkilometersaday]

@@tom10crafted yeah i did it and got 50% off rim.. cuz they dont support crash replacement :/ its kinda sux

[@tom10crafted]

@@fewkilometersaday still better than full cost!

[@kkostasgr]

I've just destroyed my front Newmen Advanced SL 30 front wheel and I've watched your video because I am looking for alternatives. I didn't crash, so I am expecting a response for warranty, but I am thinking of getting a pair of Duke aluminum 29,5mm inner width rims and building a set using aluminum. Also, the duke 32 hole aluminum is almost the same weight as the newmen carbon rim. I guess I didn't perform a good market research before buying 😮‍💨. What do you thing about their aluminum line like Lucky Star HD 6TERS?

[@tom10crafted]

Why would you want to get aluminum - in regards to cost or other reasons behind? That would be the factor to consider !

[@kkostasgr]

@@tom10crafted One will be cost, the aluminum rims cost about 120€ each and the weight is 4grams heavier than the newment carbon rims. The other factor I am considering is that they should be more durable. I have broken my front newmen carbon rim and I've got a rock damage to my rear one that also newmen advises to be replaced. So I was thinking about durability since the weight is similar. What are your thoughts?

[@tom10crafted]

​@@kkostasgr that makes sense. The only consideration is this - while aluminum are more "durable" when it comes to direct hits, personally I find carbon to be stronger when it comes to stiffness/wheel straighness/true. With aliuminum (well, at least not high end ones) I used to get a lot more issues with spokes and trueing needed.

[@Vyckinis]

Sveiks. Gal chekinai ratlankius is lightbicycle?

[@tom10crafted]

Labas, netekę susidurti!

[@Vyckinis]

Rekomenduoju. Matau, kad megsti geek'int, kaip ir as. Tai pradzioj pabandyk pasidairyt po ju puslapi. Cia seip kinu firma, bet jau ilga laika gamina ratlankius Reynolds ir kitiem ratam ir naudoja ta pacia gamybos technologija kaip ir We Are One. Turi irgi custom wheel builder opcija ir iskart skaiciuoja svori. Gali pasirinkt ir Custom carbon layup, custom finish, laser engraving etc. Limitas - fantazija. Taip pat pateikia daug visokeriopos info. Pvz gali palygint ratlankius pagal impact resistance, side ir vertical stiffness.