Merlin are doing the 2010 Mavic CrossRide wheelset for £124.95 (+ £7.00 shipping) which is a lot cheaper than their rivals. I've also seen a Mavic XC717 wheelset built with XT disc hubs for similar money.

Are the Crossrides with Mavic hubs any good? I'm not a weight weenie and I'd rather go for reliability over weight reduction.

I'm on a bit of a budget so I don't really want to pay anymore than £150 ideally…

go for the xt disc hubs

my crossrides were great till the freehub bush gave in making them beyond economical repair.

I'd go XT and 717's every time – My crosslands had a few issues with them and a good handbuilt set of wheels will be more servicable.

I have 2 sets of the 717 with XT hubs, both from Merlin, still going strong. Great Wheels. 😉

Good stuff. I thought that would be the general opinion. My bike currently has XM317 wheels fitted but I have to bin the rear wheel due to it developing cracks at the eyelets. The hub has been a bit grumbly for a while so that needs to go, too. For the cost of having a rear built, I might as well go for a new set and keep the (undamaged) front as a spare.

I assume the XC717 rim is a bit stronger than the XM317 rim?

Which XT hubs are they? The six bolt ones?

Against the grain – I would say CrossRide every time …

Lighter – Sealed bearing hubs – Stronger straight-pull spokes (that's a lot of goodness for 'cheap' wheels!)

Unless you are a fattie and keep snapping spokes (crossride spokes ain't cheap or easy to fit) I would say go mavic

Lighter – Sealed bearing hubs – Stronger straight-pull spokes

Significantly I doubt it – see above – no they're not stronger.

DON'T BELIEVE TEH HYPE

Which XT hubs are they? The six bolt ones?

Yeah, the six bolt ones. I don't want to have change my rotors over to centrelocks.

I've never snapped a spoke on my current wheels but I had never thought about the bladed spokes being more expensive than standard. Not worried too much about the weight difference but reliability/serviceability are issues for me so the XTs seem to be a winner for me…

I assume the XC717 rim is a bit stronger than the XM317 rim?

Its higher up the Mavic quality tree but is a light XC rim, the 317 is a cross moutain rim and about 40g heavier. 719 on the rear might be a better option (IMO).

There's an XT/719 rear wheel on ebay. The guy says it's only been used once but he's bound to say that isn't he. 😆

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mavic-XM719-Disc-Type-Rear-Wheel-135mm-XT-6-Bolt-MINT-/400139452526?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item5d2a2b806e

cynic-al – Member

Lighter – Sealed bearing hubs – Stronger straight-pull spokes

Significantly I doubt it – see above – no they're not stronger.

DON'T BELIEVE TEH HYPE

The weakest point on a spoke is at the J-bend ain't it? It's where they break – no J-bend on SP spokes – ergo they should be stronger (??)

not worried too much about the weight difference but reliability/serviceability are issues for me so the XTs seem to be a winner for me…

XT's need a lot of love on a regular basis, can't comment on the Mavic's. Don't know how good you're cone skillz are, but mine are rubbish.

719 with a Superstar/Fire Eye rear hub with DT Comp spokes would be a bit better. My XT rear was forever letting water in on the drive side. Now run Hope Pro2s.

Yeah, I've had a couple of sets of M525 hubs in the past and they have looseball bearings and they were quite easy to look after. I know the M525 seals weren't great but this bike doesn't see much wet weather action I'm sure they'll be fine. I have a dog-rough bike that I use for wet weather riding.

I've never had an issue with spokes snapping. I was more interested in the strength of the rims as I've had bother with my current rear rim.

Couple of threads on XC717 strength, might be of interest:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/how-strong-are-mavic-xc717s
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/mavic-xc717-rims

XT combo every time. I had Crossrides and pretzeled the front wheel on a really feeble get-off. I replaced with XTs and Stans. I had a bit of spoke trouble on another bike so dug out the remaining [rear] Crossride which promptly broke the flange holding the spoke at hub end- total right off. Both bikes now have XTs with Stans or mavic rims and they have given no problems. Even if they did spares are available anywhere unlike Mavic Factory wheels where you have to order bits and wait considerable lenghts of time.

Freehub bushes on the older Mavic hubs don't need to be super expensive… http://stores.ebay.co.uk/TheHubDoctor