Light weight is the main goal but if I can take it to a trail center or two and not fold them it would be great. What you you recommend?

so in short Im going to use these to race on and do XC trail centers.
Any ideas? and weights?

A set of these Hope Hoops. About 1500g from memory, but not too pricey. American Classic is another good option but £200 more for 100g weight saving

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=52907&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=Google-Products-UK

A2Z hubs, Alpine rims, Revolution spokes, a whisker over 1300g and less than £300. Got a full compliment of normal j-bend spokes too, I’d avoid straight pull spokes like the plague!

Alan, American Classics are selling for only £14 more than that! (£399)

Thanks for the ideas. Njee20 – Can they withstand alitle abuse? or stricty to race on.

IMO you’ll give them more abuse racing than any other time!

But yes, Alpine’s are plenty tough enough, if you want a bit more strength then Crests aren’t much heavier, if you want slightly stiffer then Super Comps wouldn’t add much weight either.

I used my Hope Hoops yesterday for the first time in 2 months (on Crests – 1585g) and they were horrible, so slow, draggy hubs, generally unpleasant! Much much prefer my A2Z/Podium wheels – although those rims are of questionable longevity!

do you have a link for the a2Z hubs / alpine wheelset njee?

Any budget ?

If your prepared to spend a bit then look at the Mavic Crossmax ST. Not as light as some of the recommendations here but I abused a pair for 18 months after swapping them out from a Shimmano XT wheels. The difference was noticeable instantly; lighter, faster, solid and went through everything from hub deep fords to Scottish snow without a single problem.

Biggest issue I have with those A2Z hubs is they’re QR only. I’ve not even had a play with some, though I hear like most A2Z stuff they’re very high quality for a reasonable price, but lack of ability to convert to bolt through axle is a big downer IMO.

IMO you’ll give them more abuse racing than any other time!

Would agree with you for the most part, but something like the black section of Whites Level at Afan is far more likely to cause damage to a wheel than any XC course I’ve yet to ride, except perhaps the Olympic XC course with it’s big rock gardens.

Just bought a set of Specialised Roval Traverse EL’s myself. Very light at 1550g for a wheelset with 26mm wide rims, DT hub internals, tubeless ready rims, and fully compatible with any axle. Cheap too at the moment. I was previously scared off by the factory wheelsets, but so far pretty happy. Though if you do want a wheelset that spares are readily available anywhere for, the Crests on DT 240s hubs with DT Supercomp spokes would be my choice if money isn’t tight.

something like the black section of Whites Level at Afan is far more likely to cause damage to a wheel than any XC course I’ve yet to ride, except perhaps the Olympic XC course with it’s big rock gardens.

I disagree, there’s the one very short rocky bit on the black on White’s, which is unlikely to do much damage IMO, it’s what, 5 seconds of trail?

You’re much more likely to screw up a line choice in an XC race, mistime a jump, or take a tight line to overtake someone and find yourself nailing a tree stump!

do you have a link for the a2Z hubs / alpine wheelset njee?

Custom build. Hubs available from any shop with a Windwave account, rims from wherever you want, and spokes from ActionSports as they’re the cheapest by a fair margin!

Biggest issue I have with those A2Z hubs is they’re QR only. I’ve not even had a play with some, though I hear like most A2Z stuff they’re very high quality for a reasonable price, but lack of ability to convert to bolt through axle is a big downer IMO.

I do agree with you for general use, but for a race biased wheelset they’re spot on – the rolling resistance is very impressive, they feel great! Despite the sealing appearing minimal mine are lasting perfectly, no water or dirt ingress at all.

njee do you actually use the A2Z hubs? Been looking at reviews on the web and they don’t come up favourably – been some issues with the freehub failing after a few months use.

I’m a big fan of the Roval Traversees… Mine have done 2 years now, they’ve taken a fair beating and they do show it a little but they’re still round and going strong. Way stronger than a wheel like that should be. I raced out a gravity enduro stage at innerleithen with a flat front tyre, wincing every time I went over a rock or a root, bong bong bong… Barely a dent. I did manage to break a spoke crossing up a landing on the fort william worldcup dh route, though, and put a fair size dent in the rear while bashing through a Learnie rock garden with an almost-flat rear tyre, but that was just stupid.

njee do you actually use the A2Z hubs? Been looking at reviews on the web and they don’t come up favourably – been some issues with the freehub failing after a few months use.

Indeed I do, I was slightly put off by the reviews, but thought they’d be alright for a race only wheelset – they’ve been absolutely perfect. I’ve checked the hubs several times (they’re like a Hope/DT in that the freehub body just pulls off), and they’re still perfect, all the original grease still in there. They’ve been jetwashed and various races, done Mayhem, SiTS, some horrifically wet XC races and plenty of riding on the Surrey Hills.

I don’t know if the design changed, a lot of the reviews suggest they’re the same as Rotaz and other hubs, where I’d not say mine are, but I’d certainly have another set, in fact I’m thinking of selling my Hope Hoops and building a set on Crests/Alpines for normal riding.

njee do you actually believe you can fell hub bearing friction while pedalling?

I may have to have a lie down if so – on one mattress not 40 though 😀

njee do you actually believe you can fell hub bearing friction while pedalling?

No, I don’t, where have I said to the contrary? I do believe that faster rolling wheels require less effort though, even if it’s only 5W, that’s less effort to put in for a given speed. It may give me 2 seconds over a 2 hour race, but that’s the edge in a sprint finish. From hubs that cost sod all and weigh less than DT240s/Tune/XTR each at more than twice the price…

Steve Peat, other top DH and XC racers and virtually the entire road peleton agrees with me – hence running hub bearings without seals or fitting ceramic bearings.

You said:

njee20 – Member
I used my Hope Hoops yesterday for the first time in 2 months (on Crests – 1585g) and they were horrible, so slow, draggy hubs, generally unpleasant! Much much prefer my A2Z/Podium wheels – although those rims are of questionable longevity

Which I took to mean bearing friction not freewheeling friction, given you will be pedalling for most of a race.

5W? seems a hell of a lot, got any data for that?

Oh and remember when the pro’s took ages to try out clipless pedals? 😉

I’m with Northwind on the Traversees. Got two sets. I’ve broken two or three spokes in the last three years, but they’re still perfectly round despite me being heavy, clumsy and lacking in talent.

I recommend a lightweight wheelset that can take abuse.

Janesy
I’ve been running Alpine rims all this year in mostly the Yorkshire Dales. You tend to have ‘fragile’ in the back of your mind all the time on the downhills, but they have held up happily with a fair amount of xc abuse, incl little jumps and drops. I’ve got Sapim CX-ray blade spokes, which although quite expensive, I find very stiff and they are lightweight. My wheels were hand built by SSC with Titanium Superleggera hubs, total price was just under £400 and weigh 1370gms on my scales. I weigh 82kgs BTW

Aren’t Hope hubs and Stans Crest rims the answer to every “what wheels recommendation” question?

Nah, sometimes we recommend Flows on Pro 2s.

cx rays are no stiffer than revolutions.FACT

Which I took to mean bearing friction not freewheeling friction, given you will be pedalling for most of a race.

5W? seems a hell of a lot, got any data for that?

2 separate statements then, they’re heavy, and they feel slow!

All I know is that if I give my Hopes a really good spin they’ll turn for 10 seconds or so, whilst the A2Zs will still be going after a minute. That’s akin to riding the A2Zs with the brakes on very marginally. Next time a hub bearing seizes, you can save yourself the money and not change it, you can’t feel any drag after all 🙄

cx rays are no stiffer than revolutions.FACT

He’s right. Higher fatigue life, but in no other way are they superior, they just cost far more. I personally found the increased fatigue life pointless too – it just meant nipples broke instead!

I would stay WELL clear of any American Classic wheelsets – I’ve had two and had nothing but problems with them, mainly due to seals and water/dirt ingress. VERY light (one set of mine were custom for racing on) but they just don’t last.

I’m on Tune King/Kong’s now on 355’s or whatever they’re now called and they’re pretty light and fairly strong. Pretty stiff too, certainly good enough for racing on.

I’d also avoid Crank Bros wheels, I’ve got a set of Iodines and have ridden on Codienes (sp?) and they’re a) very flexy and b)horrendous if you snap a spoke. They also have the perfect sized gap for sucking rear mechs in, which I’ve done a few times.

As above, any Stans rim will do the job – I’m quite a big fan of Hope but thats just because they require very little maintenance. They are draggy though and very loud!

I had a King/Kong Superscharf wheelset, the front hub was fine, but the Kong Superscharf was utter toss! Fell apart in spectacular fashion, and then weren’t user serviceable, so I had to unbuild the wheel and return the hub, happened again 9 months later!

I think they have now made them user serviceable, and it’s not a problem on the standard aluminium axle hubs like the Kong, but it put me right off Tune!

Thats fair enough – mine have had very limited use so I can’t really speak for durability long term. D2D should sort them out one way or another. I did have to upgrade to the Ti freehub though because the alloy one was made of cheese.

I’m intereste in this as I too want to take some weight off my bike. I’m currently running ProII’s on 819’s and when I take the wheels off they feel heavy, not sure of exact weight.

I went for 819’s as they were tubeless ready and would stand up to abuse, but my riding has changed over the last couple of years and I just don’t ride as aggressively as I used too. But I need a 15mm compatible wheels set, do the A2z’s come in 15mm, if not what else for a sub 1500g wheelset?

It’s a shame really, they seemed nice hubs, and to be honest I wasn’t unhappy with having to do the bearings after a yearr in the first instance, I just couldn’t believe it cost me over £100 (and I’m lucky enough to be able to unbuild/rebuild my wheels) and all that effort!

If the 150g Dezibel hub ever materialises that would definitely be the stuff of ‘dream wheelsets’!

They do seem pretty nice and very light. But considering the cost of them I’d expect them to be better made/easier to service than they are. For occasional race use they’re fine but I use a set of DT1600’s for training on which are bloody heavy, draggy and don’t take to tubeless very well.

Cheap, Durable, light – Pick two i suppose…

I also had issues with a tune rear hub. I tend to use American classic hubs or wheelsets on my bikes now. Never had any issues ,even on two of my rigid bikes. Id like to try the A2Z hubs at some point.

All accounts I’ve heard suggest the newer AMC hubs are a lot more reliable, but I’ve still seen some pretty scary failures!

sorry any recomendations for a 15mm compatible wheelset?

King hubs/Mavic 819 rims, nuff said

too heavy, I already have ProII’s on 819’s

DT240 on Alpines.

Check Action Sports too, they do a lot of deals on their own brand ‘Fun Works’ hubs and often have some storming deals. Bit of an unknown quantity, but all the reports I found about them were positive.

Kings on Stans Alpines have been fine for me.

I had a King/Kong Superscharf wheelset, the front hub was fine, but the Kong Superscharf was utter toss! Fell apart in spectacular fashion, and then weren’t user serviceable, so I had to unbuild the wheel and return the hub, happened again 9 months later!

I think they have now made them user serviceable, and it’s not a problem on the standard aluminium axle hubs like the Kong, but it put me right off Tune

I also have a Tune Prince/Princess. The Princess front have been fine but the Prince is on it’s third freewheel and second axle in 2 years. This is not user-servicable (Poshbikes damaged the axle getting freewheel off!)

njee20 – Member
All I know is that if I give my Hopes a really good spin they’ll turn for 10 seconds or so, whilst the A2Zs will still be going after a minute. That’s akin to riding the A2Zs with the brakes on very marginally. Next time a hub bearing seizes, you can save yourself the money and not change it, you can’t feel any drag after all

yes “very marginally” 🙄

Oh well I guess if you want to use ambiguous language then that’s up to you, eyes should be rolled at you not me!