Just scored a bargain charge filter frame set on ebay for a summer cx/family meandering/ winter road trainer disc equipped bike. Any recommendations for a cheap but not stupidly heavy cx wheelset? Ideally 8 speed compatible as I have a free groupset sat around to get it built for starters

Can I buy a cheap 29er wheelset like this

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPSHMT5529ER/shimano-wh-mt55-29er-centre-lock-disc-wheelset

or is that going to make things difficult?

A 29er wheel might struggle with fitting cx tyres, certainly crests do.

Do you have any old mtb wheels you aren’t using and could get the hubs rebuilt with some suitable rims?

Other than that the Kinesis set at £250 is pretty good for the money and the latest version is pretty light at somewhere around 1500g, so will help the charge feel more fun.

I built up a croix de fer with 1610g wheels and it is about 22.5lbs with some 105 kit and light pedals, but my mate has a stock one with heavy wheels and the difference is huge, his is a heavy lump and he was very ‘meh’ about it when his fitness was lower than its usual top-notchedness.

Crests are fine on a CX bike, easy to get tyres on IME & not a problem to tubeless either, even with skinny cross tyres (as long as they’re tubeless)

Crests are fine on a CX bike, easy to get tyres

that contrasts with a lot of opinions I have seen on here…

Maxxis Raze probably work OK as I have them on my Iron Cross Rims, but they are not super tight.

Just going by my personal experience in the workshop, but what do i know, I just do it for a living. 😉

I use 29er mtb wheels on my disc road/cx bike, and no problems fitting tyres from 25mm upward (19mm internal width). Mine are Sun rims, so will depend on make. Cheaper wheelsets for 29ers are heavy though (over 2kg), and you need to spend a bit more to get the weight down…

A 29er wheel might struggle with fitting cx tyres, certainly crests do.

As above, I’ve found Crest 29ers fine with CX tyres from 28s through to 38s. I’ve run Maxxis Raze on them no problem and currently run Bontrager CX0 tubeless converted. I wouldn’t try to fit a tubeless cross tyre on them as the bead is simply way too tight ime.

that contrasts with a lot of opinions I have seen on here…

Because on STW everyone is aways 100 per-cent right, fact! Oh, hang on… 😉

I have a set of those mt55s on my CX. No problems with Conti or Maxxis tyres on them (they’re just standard, ‘old-fashioned’ rims for tubes). Seem plenty strong enough, just a little flexy when really pushing it. Check Merlin if you’re buying them as I got mine from there for less than the P-X price.

. I wouldn’t try to fit a tubeless cross tyre on them as the bead is simply way too tight ime.

ok, maybe I am thinking of tubeless tyres, there have certainly been comments about struggling with Crests and some tyres.

I’ve run Maxxis Raze on them no problem

As I said I thought Raze would work as they are not super tight on Iron Crosses, whcih I think are slightly ‘slacker’ than Crests.

I use mtb wheels on my commuter. Only difficulty is that if you have a wide mtb rim then you can’t fit narrow tyres. However, for me this is only an issue if I wanted to go below 28mm tyres which I guess you don’t.

Mine were from superstarcomponents. Can get my 32mm schwlabe marathon things on no problem.

Mtb, vs cross, vs road should make little difference as to how the tyre fits.