Yo,

I’ve just bought some new forks with a 20mm axle so i need a new front wheel. I think i’ve got it pretty much sorted but thought I’d ask STW what they thought?

I’m going for a Superstar components custom build cos I dont want to pay a fortune. I want a largely black wheel no daft colours.

So in the custom wheel build I’ve got:
20mm adapter
Switch EVO front hub – white
Brass nipples
Mavic EN321 Black Disc
Black double butted SAPIM race spokes

Does this look alright for trail riding purposes, nothing heavy, I’m hardly an aggressive rider!

Any advice would be appreciated, like I said I’d like to keep the cost down, I just dont wanna buy the wrong parts!!

Cheers,

Dru

It’s an alright spec but Superstar’s builds are all over the place, personally I’d only buy it if the price was low enough to fund an immediate rebuild, in case they needed it. Course you might be fine, I’ve seen a few of their wheels and some were perfectly good builds, some were just marginally on the right side of acceptable, some were just plain poor.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Wheels/Mountain+Bike+Wheels/Sale+Wheels/Hope+Pro11+Evo+-+Mavic+XC717XM719+Pair_465.htm

You know where you are with Hope

717s should be fine, 719s are quite tough

Wouldn’t bother with brass nipples

Pieface – Member

Wouldn’t bother with brass nipples

How do you mean? Brass is the standard.

I aint paying £300 for wheels.

I think hope and the OP’s statement “I don’t want to pay a fortune” don’t go together. 😉

I have recently bought a superstar rear wheel, Evo hub/XC717/Sapim spokes, no problems so far.

It’s a shame they don’t do XM317 rims as I thought EN321’s were for freeride type stuff?

Black Hope 20mm Pro II, black Mavic 717, ACI DB spokes comes up as £108 at Merlin (for just the front). Is that too much?

en321 is pretty chunky. I have one on the front of my bullit and do rocks/drops/downhill on it, still very true. But it really does depend on the build: a properly built 717 will outlast a much wider heavier rim on a machine-built jobby off a ‘built to a price’ full build mtb. My mate broke a wheel on a new kona a few years ago riding up whyte’s level.

I would go for a 719 and a decent builder.

I want a largely black wheel no daft colours.

So in the custom wheel build I’ve got:
20mm adapter
Switch EVO front hub – white

Any advice would be appreciated

er…

LOL!

I mustve scrolled down one too far! Thats embarrassing! 😳