Hi everyone,

I want to upgrade the wheels on my 29er hardtail (currently no name hubs and mavic rims, maxle front qr rear) to something a little more light weight, bomb proof, hopefully wider and well… blingy! 🙂 I must admit that my knowledge of wheelsets is pretty crap.

I use my bike for absolutely everything. I commute on it everyday on a mixture of single track, canal path, roads and the occasional flights of stairs. I do XC and love nothing more than a good trashing round my local quarry with jumps and rocky descents. So a pretty broad brief really.

My budget is £250 max. which I know is not massive but it is what it is.

Been looking at Superstar Component wheelset which seem pretty good value. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

No specifics, but have a look at 2nd hand. Reckon you’d get something very good.

Using WHEELS20 code at superstar you could have a set of Stans Flow (or Arch or Crest) on their Tesla hubs for £280. Can the budget stretch…?

Be aware thought that superstar wheels often have questionable build quality, so only buy if you can trim them up yourself.

Also people have had issues with those Tesla hubs, so for safety their Switch hubs (which are Novatech hubs in reality I think) might be a better bet.

Crests might not meet your robustness criteria but I have just noticed some in the classifieds.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-hope-pro2-evo-stans-crest-29er-wheelset-2

That set is a total bargain but I need 15mm maxle front. 🙁

The budget could stretch a little. I think I’d go for the Switch Hubs over the Tesla anyway. I haven’t looked at the “build your own” sets just the standard ones. Will have a gander.

Any other shops/suppliers people can recommend?

I’ve not tried novatech hubs offroad but on my road bike they’ve been great so I’d not worry about building them for my mountianbike too. The other budget option is shimano, but then you have the argument over cup and cone hubs which some people love (I do) and others (the mechnicaly inept) hate.

I’ve got Crest’s, Arch and DT470 29er wheels and they’re all great, the crest’s aren’t as stiff as the others but I’ve not been affraid of getting airtime even at 100kg!

With wheels build quality is everything, I’ve had wheels built with big name brand components fall apart in a few rides, and I’ve had no name wheels last years, it’s all down to the builder. You can teach yourself to do it with about £100 of tools (and then the tools/skill lasts a lifetime and it’s actualy quite addictive, I’ve got a shed full of wheels for every eventuality just because I was bored one winter!), the Sheldon Brown guide, and a couple of evenings, but somehow some people seem to really suck at it! So if buying custom built wheels I’d research the builder as much as the components.

That set is a total bargain but I need 15mm maxle front.

They’re convertible, adapter is about £15 http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/hope-15mm-pro2-adapter.html so they’re probably the best you’ll get for £255 unless you find some Arch’s for the same sort of price.

You can get a conversion kit for a 15mm bolt thru for around £16

antoine – Member
That set is a total bargain but I need 15mm maxle front.

And you can have it for a few quid

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/hope-pro-2-conversion-kit-front-15mm/rp-prod30152

Got a set of Superstar wheels back in Jan/Feb. No issues with build quality, very happy with them.

Si

I’ve just built these rims http://www.merlincycles.com/stans-notubes-ztr-flow-rims-white-29er-pair-74867.html onto superstar switch ultralight hubs and they’re brilliant!

Be aware thought that superstar wheels often have questionable build quality, so only buy if you can trim them up yourself

My Merlin built Flow EX on Pro II Evos have been far worse build-wise than the Superstar XC430s on Slick hubs that I ran for 4 years or the Superstar Tactic rims on Switch hubs that I’ve been running for a year.

Are you just after brand new, I’ve got a near enough brand new set I took off my new bike,ridden 3 times… dt swiss m1900 spline..

Not fussed about them being new as long as they are in good condition and running true. Ideally I want wider rims than 19mm though and they have to be lighter than my current set otherwise not much point.

Got a set of Superstar wheels back in Jan/Feb. No issues with build quality, very happy with them.

and some people have problems, that’s why I said often…

My merlin wheels weren’t that great either, had them straightened up at Nirvana in Surrey and they have been fine since, although if you actually measure the spoke tensions it is not ideally within range.

Whats the weight off yours at the minute….this is a link can send you pics if you like and are of any interest.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/dt-swiss-m-1700-spline-mtb-front-wheel-2014/rp-prod116932
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/dt-swiss-m-1700-spline-mtb-rear-wheel-2014/rp-prod116908

How about that for a curve ball:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPSHOEMXT/shimano-xt-wh-m785-centerlock-wheelset

I know they are 19mm but at that price…

Dave,

Is your set 1700 spline or 1900?

19mm wide?

They would be of interest for sure. What sort of price?

The 1700, was after £180 for them. I’ll have a quick look on dt’s website and find out

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/switch-ultralite-tactic-wheelset.htm

My next wheelset.

£90 under budget my am-490 on switch have been bombproof.

I think there 19mm, Cant find it anywhere on line including dt’s techbook so stuck a ruler on it and i’m fairly confident it’s 19, there new ones seem to be 22.5 but my eyes are def not that bad,they came with 2.4 tyres on and that seems to be there limit according to dt it’s between 1.9 and 2.4

FROSTY: That is my wheel set of choice from Superstar. They got great reviews in WhatMTB mag too. £199 for the pair you can’t go wrong.

Dave:

Yep the new ones are 22.5 before that it was 19mm. I really wanted to go wider than that to be honest. Thanks for going through the trouble of measuring them for me tho. Much appreciated.

No probs mate

No experience of them personaly but these look cracking value for money.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPOOMAX/on-one-max-adaptable-maxle-wheelset

The Superstar ‘Tactic’ rim is great, it’s light and has an internal width of 23mm…you could spec it on either the Switch hubs which have been in Superstar’s range for years and are rebranded Novatechs which are easily serviceable and reliable….or you can go for Tesla hubs which are lighter and easier to change axle standards as the end caps now pop off rather than having to use spanners….i have some Tactics on Tesla hubs and they been on a HT and FS and been great.

I also run a Pacenti rim, Switch hub combo on my 26 inch bike and they are brilliant too, the Pacenti rim is a good shout actually, light and 25mm internal width….use Superstar’s wheel builder page and see if you can get them under £250 with Switch hubs?

I have Superstar wheels on my road bike too, Icon hubs and Elite rims….just been faultless, getting on for second year of use now and never needed so much as a spoke tension.

You can probably tell i’m a fan, i dont like spending money unnecessarily and three times now Superstar have been bang on the money with decent wheels and good build quality….for those who are cautious about Superstar’s old reputation you can spec other branded hubs and rims to build a wheel containing no Superstar branded kit….DT Swiss hubs, Mavic rims etc….if the build is crap your LBS will tension it all up for not a lot, mine charged £10 when i broke a spoke when a stick went through the front wheels and had to have it replaced and the wheel trued….if it was my money i’d happily go back to Superstar.

A set of used Hope/Crests from here. Assuming you aren’t too heavy and like to keep the rubber near the ground. I love mine but am in the above category. Mine are 26″ so will be stiffer though.