Trying to get a rear wheel built up for daughter, hope xc 36 hole and use trail riding/xc/clumsy choice of lines riding, tyres nothing less than 2.1. I wanted a Mavic XM719 disc rim to match the front but I am lead to believe they do not do them any more so ended up with a Mavic EN521 disc, bit wider and smidge heavier, are these rims any good? Should I have gone for XC 717? or should I have gone for Stans? Tell me what they are like in the real world not some free ride heaven…….

I found 717s a bit fragile for my tastes. Well they dinged easily. Have now got an EN521 also, liking the extra width for for tire support.
First i've heard of the 719s being discontinued.

How heavy is your daughter?

ive got the 521s and smash them into alsorts due to my skills 😉 they are still ding/dent free and run true

Wasn't the 521 a downhill rim? I have built wheels with rims for commuting for a friend and on mavivs website they are used for light freeriding!

2.1!" tyres are min on 521 rim as they run 2.5s downhill on them.

(719 is still on the website and was new in 2007 I think.)

521 / 721 is a downhill rim but is very light for what it is 560g iirc, they are brilliant and thats why they've been in production for at least a decade i reckon. the 717's i have on my xc bike seem to have stressed around the eyelets a lot, especially since I didn't build them mad tight.

Worth noting that EN521 is not the same as a D521, also needs different length spokes.