Just purchased a new bike with on one reset add wheels. I would like to upgrade from the off so giving me a chance of getting a better price in selling the on ones. I’m looking for a lightweight tubeless ready wheel set with xc racing in mind, but bearing in mind an absolute max price of 400 notes. I’ve seen these:
http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k677/a72858/wh-m785-29-xt-disc-qr15-wheel-set.html?lg=en&country=226&cr=GBP#

Any advice on these or any other suggestions would be welcome.

Hope Hoops on Crests would be my personal recommendation. £330 retail or cheaper if you shop around. Claimed weight is around 1600g I think, but in use they feel light and fast.

Hope Hoops with Stans Crest rims

There you go 😉

Hope Hoops ftw.

Centre lock rotor and cup and cone would put me off the XT wheelset. I’d probably go stans and crest unless I wanted something really lightweight.

Hope Hoops- Stans Crest on Pro 2 EVO – bargain wheelset, and between £265 & 290 if you shop around.

How tough are Crests?I’m looking at some for my Trance 29er-taking it to Antur Stiniog (just down the blue!) and also doing Snowdon soon-would it trash them?

Depends how you ride I reckon. I’ve given my 26″ Crests a fair beating on my hardtail and they’ve stood up well. If you’ve got a big bouncy full suss and don’t worry too much about line and like to plough through stuff then you might be better off with some Flows.

Edit: I’m also not that heavy. If you’re a beefy bloke then you might want to think about Flows.

OK. Sounds like there is a strong consensus of opinion. In relation to that last note, I’m 90kg. Is this a problem?

I got exactly those XT wheels from Bike-Discount.

Pros – proper UST rather than ‘tubeless ready’ so are a cinch to use tubeless, no need for rim strips, no sticky goo, tyres go up first time with a hand pump and stay up, and no burping. They are tough – I’m 92kg and I don’t worry about them taking the abuse I give them over jumps & rocks. I actually like cup & cone, so will put that down as a plus – so there! And centrelock rotors are definitely a better system than six bolt, so can’t agree with MrBlobby on that one. Overall I think Shimano wheels are great value compared to others out there, and they’re hand built so run strong and true.

Cons – Not particularly light – so if that’s your main criteria then look elsewhere. Shimano’s XT freehubs are cr@p – mine is already starting to feel glitchy after only six months, so I’ve ordered a spare! Proprietry spokes are difficult to get hold of and expensive – I’ve been told the ones for this wheel aren’t available until April, and are about five quid each.

On balance, I’m very happy with them, and most important they match all the other XT stuff on my bike 8)

Should have probably said that it puts me off as I’ve got all the kit to service pro2’s and I almost know what I’m doing with them! Also got a load of rotors and a few other bikes and having one that isn’t compatible with anything else might be a pain for me. Those things may not be an issue for you though.

Edit: at 90kg I’d check for weight limits on the stan’s web site.

Agree, its mostly about what you’re familiar with, there’s pros & cons on both sides. Personally, I’ve used Shimano cup & cone all my life and am set up with the all cone spanners, and could pretty much adjust one in my sleep.

Centrelock is a recent conversion, but now I’ve tried it I’ve converted all my wheels and won’t go back.

But yeah, its what you know and love…

PS: to the OP, if you do go with the XT, I think they’re slightly cheaper here – http://www.bike-components.de/products/info/p33628_WH-M785-XT-Disc-Center-Lock-29er-Laufradsatz-Modell-2013-.html

How do I find the weight limit for the Crests? I can’t find it on their website.

190lbs has been rumoured!

Weight limits seem to be more specific on wheelsets. I was looking at these built on Crest that have a stated 85kg limit. I guess it’s more relevant to the wheel build rather than just the rim.

Hope Pro 2 Evo’s with Arch EX rims 😀

With xc racing in mind, Arch are a good 70g heavier than the Crest I believe.

My 92kg means stand + crest is out then?

If so it looks like American classics or xt.