So I have been toying with the idea of upgrading the wheels on my Jeffsy 29 of late. The bike comes with M1700’s as standard and i have been surprised by how good they have been! I would however like to try a slightly wider rim now whilst also losing a little rotational weight.The Jeffsy has a goofy boost rear and 100mm spacing front end, which makes off the shelf wheelsets tough to find. I have run carbon rims previously and what little weight saving and stiffness advantage there was didn’t make up for the inevitable breakage. I vowed never to touch Mavic again after a disastrous and expensive experience with some Crossmax Enduro’s a few years back…I loved my DT swiss XM1501’s last year, so these are an option (anyone remember what DT Rim these used) I would ideally prefer some hand built wheels so Rim recommendations would be great.

I guess the usual questions that need answering are:
– What type of riding? – Im a FOD rider most of the time, race a handful of Enduros throughout the year (Welsh Gravity as an example) Ard Rock. Spend a fair bit of time at BPW.
– Budget? Im not hamstrung by budget so to speak, but its obviously a factor. so limit it to around £750 But less would be great
– rider weight – 86kg in kit

In an ideal world someone could link me to a 1500-1600g super stiff, wide and strong wheelset….(my mate has recommended American classic Wide lightning)

Tried a few different brands recently. Have liked DT Swiss for both hubs and rims, Stans for rims and Hope for hubs…

Dont see any real advantage with Stans over the M1700’s unless im missing something, maybe a slightly wider rim in the Arch, heavier with the flow and Crest is a bit XC no?

JRA have a £400 Stans build offer on at the moment. You’ll get custom colour stickers as well, could go Arch or Flow in that money.

As above really, what are the advantages of the Stans wheelset over the DT Swiss? dont JRA use their own hubs? are they better than my current Spline 2 hubs?

Stans seems to be the go to answer, but im just not sure as they are neither lighter or particularly wider? Is it just a fashion thing, but to me the massive logos also look gopping. I have Crests on my XC bike and they are great (destickered) but are flexy and no good for my trail bike.

The XM 1501 29er’s come in 25 or 30 mm.

The 29″ 30 mm versions are based on the XM 481’s, the tougher EX rated ones use the EX 511’s.

The 1700 Spline 2’s essentially use 350 ratchet hub internals with custom shells for the complete wheels.

Thanks Hatter, so actually getting XM481’s build on to Hope Pro4’s with CX Ray spokes and Brass nipples, works out heavier than my standard wheelset.

Yeah, the complete DT wheels almost always come out lighter.

29″ 30 mm internal XM 1501’s are 1,685 grams in BOOST rear, standard front.

By comparison, 30 mm SC reserves are 1831 grams in 29″ and ENVE M630’s on Chris Kings are 1680 grams.

‘List weights’ of course.

If you want a set for Enduro/BPW use though I would nudge you towards the slightly heavier EX versions though, they’re about 170 grams heavier per set.

Why not have a look at the blueflow wheels with carbon rims and hope hubs? Weight is comparable at around 1800grams for 29er wheels but you should get the benefits of carbon stiffness for acceleration but with some flex/forgiveness while going downhill. Reviews are good and with prices being between £680/780 depending on spoke choice.

As you’ve seemingly discovered, I dunno if you’re gonna save any weight with the criteria specified.

New wheels might be more responsive though, not to mention tougher.

I was gonna suggest custom built xm481 wheels, fwiw.

As you’ve seemingly discovered, I dunno if you’re gonna save any weight with the criteria specified.

New wheels might be more responsive though, not to mention tougher.

I was gonna suggest custom built xm481 wheels, fwiw.

I have had problems with cheap carbon rims before to be honest. Looking at their build weights its £780 for CX ray spokes 1840g or £679 at 1925g Which is petty damn hefty. Sure stiffer but I am sceptical from experience of carbon rims and without any particular weight saving Im not sure i see the value. The extra stiffness would be very welcome mind.

Hope hubs are rarely lighter than stock hubs I tend to find. DT 350 or ideally 240s on an appropriate rim would be lighter / more betterer.

What would DT 350s on say Light Bicycle rims versus say xm481s be like weight wise?

I have 240s on 481s now and they are grand. got them for approx 650 euros from germany

As you’ve seemingly discovered, I dunno if you’re gonna save any weight with the criteria specified.

New wheels might be more responsive though, not to mention tougher.

I was gonna suggest custom built xm481 wheels, fwiw.

Yeah, its what I had concluded prior to the thread. So not surprised (hoping for some kind of Eureka moment however) I could save significant weight with a set of factory built American Classic Wide Lightning, but would like to get away from factory build wheels and their foibles. First world problems as always isnt it…. XM481’s on Pro4’s looking likely at the minute…