We received a set of States MX wheels from our friends at Link International to test on our Yamaha YZ450F long term test bike. The wheels were put through hours of race testing and unfortunately were even put through a few cartwheel tests that weren’t necessarily planned out.
The rims are made of 7050 T6 alloy and anodized black while the CNC machined hubs are made from 6061 T6 alloy and anodized blue. The spokes are heavy duty stainless and the wheels come assembled so you only have to fit the sprockets and discs using the bolts supplied and then fit up the tyres, rim locks and tubes. The rear hub has twin bearings fitted to the sprocket side to better share the load through the left hand side of the wheel. The alloy wheel spacers are anodized black so they even look trick as well and match the rest of the wheels.
WE LIKED
Easy To Fit- The wheels were very straight forward to fit. We had to fit up some tyres, tubes and rim locks as well as discs and sprocket but fitting them into the bike was easy. The wheel spacers all fit well and taking the wheels in and out of the bike was easy.
True – As a mechanic and someone who builds race bikes year round I fit a lot of wheel sets and I always check them for true before fitting them. It comes as a surprise to many but quite often I have to true up a brand new set of wheels before fitting them. In this case with the States MX wheels this was not the case and they were perfectly true right out of the box.
Durable – Without blowing my own trumpet, I am still able to ride with an A grade pace and I put these wheels through more than the average consumer ever would. I have given these wheels hours of abuse in racing conditions and they have never let me down. I did have to re-tension the spokes a few times in the beginning but have never found a loose or broken spoke since. I have run the tyre pressures a low as 12 psi and have no dents or damage to report.
WE DIDN’T LIKE
Sprocket Bolts – The only complaint I can come up with are the sprocket bolts. The sprocket bolts that came with the wheel set came loose on me several times before I ditched them and went back to the standard sprocket bolts. I can only assume they were too soft and kept stretching.
VERDICT
The States MX wheels have been nothing but good to me. I had to re-tension the spokes a few times in the first few hours of use but since then I have never had to touch them. The anodizing on the rims has worn off around where the bead of the tyre rubs but this is completely normal with any wheels. I also had to do away with the sprocket bolts as they came loose on me a few times before I lost confidence in them.
As far as the rims, hubs and spokes go I cannot fault them. I haven’t had a single broken spoke a single dent in the front or back rim. The price of this wheel set is significantly cheaper than the competitors so I would have no problem recommending anyone give them a go.
RRP: $1,299.00
Distributor: Link International
Contact: www.linkint.com.au
