Boost Shmoost

OK. The planets aligned, the sun was in the right position and the stars all lined up with the horizon line. As a result, it was time for new wheels and like everything in the bike game these days, it was not a simple matter as it once used to be. The backend had to be Boost because that’s what was needed. The front end, didn’t, unless I wanted it to be and did I want it to be? Did I need it to be? And I had hubs, forks and cranks that were all perfectly good… excellent actually, so dumping them was a tall ask.

So began the deep dive.

This Boost thing’s been around a while. If you don’t know, or if you know but are curious as to what it exactly is, the Boost, *ahem,* ‘standard’ means that the rear hub is now 148mm wide and the front hub is 110mm. This is an increase from the previous 142/100mm and 135/100 before that. So if we go by the previous standard of 142/100, the hubs are now a grand total of 6mm/5mm wider. Yep. 3mm/5mm PER SIDE! And for this, if you want to ‘upgrade’, you throw out your previous wheels (well maybe not quite, more on that in a bit), fork, cranks (because the chainline changes) and frame. Actually, just throw out your whole bike and buy a new one, it’s easier and cheaper.

Boost, it’s claimed, increases the stiffness of the wheel and some have even said the fork. Claimed. If you understand geometry, you’ll work out pretty quickly that 3mm per side, especially on wheels larger than 26” (which the previous 135/100 standard served quite happily for a very long time), is, well, nothing. The increased triangulation gained by 3mm per side is completely offset by the longer spoke of a larger wheel and as such results in nominal gains in overall wheel strength. On the rear it does offer an ever so slightly more symmetrical wheel, so one with a little less dish, and that’s good thing but even here we are talking next to nothing. And a stronger fork? Nope. Yr 10 physics will tell you that increasing distance between two points increases leverage and increasing leverage makes something more flexy. The fork may be stronger but ONLY because they had to add more material into it. Do not believe the marketing hype…

So why then did this come into being?

The cynic in me says it was simply to force people to buy more shit, make more shit incompatible, which then makes you buy more shit. Remember 27.5? Finding the actual non cynical truth is much, much harder but perhaps the simplest and best explanation comes from this article by Wheelworks – Converting your hubs to Boost which touches on something that makes a lot of sense:

“Yes. The wider Boost hub flanges allow the spokes to make a wider triangle and better support the rim. This increase in wheel stiffness was the primary driver for the development of Boost. Many new ‘factory’ wheel-sets use straight-pull hubs and these have a decrease in flange width of approximately 3mm so moving to Boost reclaims what was lost by using straight-pull.”

The article is well worth a read.

And having spent my years in the game, I can say with certainty that anything that speeds up manufacture, especially for something as fiddly as wheels, is a no brainer. So while you’ve been sold on the concept of Boost being stronger, it’s only true because a lot of wheels you are buying are weaker. Can I prove this? Anecdotally, yes. I have several sets of quality straightpull wheels and I have traditional j-bend. While the straightpull’s need constant attention to keep true, the ‘traditional’ wheels with good old j-bend are rock solid; I simply never have to touch them. Boost exists simply because someone wants to save that little bit more money along the line, rather than provide you a better product.

Surprised much?

So what was I going to do? Yes, the frame needed a Boost rear but I had perfectly good hubs, fork and cranks I see zero reason, nor am willing, to part with….

Well, all’s not lost. Some hubs can be converted and in my case with the DT Swiss 350’s, all I needed to do was find an adaptor kit for the rear hub. What does that involve? Literally one longer non-drive side end cap and a spacer for the disc rotor with longer bolts. I sourced a DT Swiss one but there’s also the Boostinator by Wolf Tooth. I’m not changing the front as I have near new 100mm spaced fork and hub to match, and seeing Boost offers me next to no benefit, why bother with what would be a substantial spend for net zero gain? The crank issue is solved one of two ways… get a new ‘Boost’ chainring or simply put a 3mm spacer on the drive-side shell of the BB, because with Boost, your driveline shifts outwards by 3mm. I have plenty of 3mm spacers but Rich did point out that depending on the crank design, this actually may not work and only result in binding the bearing. He is right of course so maybe a new ring is the go…. which it was of course, as I decided to go oval, so bought a Boost ring and was done with it!

Is this a bodge approach? Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t see using an adaptor vs. buying all new makes that much of a difference, not here. Especially as I am having new wheels laced up any way. Cost wise, the savings though are substantial. Hubs and fork alone would run the bill into well over 1k. The cranks, well spacer or new ring, it was a simple fix either way. What is a bodge is coming up with a whole new so called ‘standard’ to offset an inferior product, all so a few extra dollars could be made.

And if you’re wondering, which you probably aren’t, there was already a standard used by DH bikes that did actually make a stronger wheel – 150mm rear hubs. This of course leads into the discussion of ‘Super Boost’, a 157mm width that’s starting to appear on some bikes…