Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)
  • What 26" Wheelset should I buy?
  • mattw
    Free Member

    Hi all,

    I need some new hoops for my Santacruz Superlight. Been running Old Hope XC hubs with Mavic 717 rims (i think) but a large crack in the rear wheel and dent in the front means it’s time to upgrade.

    I’m on 6 bolt rotors. I mostly ride XC and tend to be pretty smooth (the old wheels have survived about 6 years of abuse with only 2 or 3 bearing replacements on the rear).

    Looking at spending in the region of £500 for the pair give or take. Primary requirement is lightweight but need to be strong enough to take the usual weekend warrior abuse.

    So…. What do you recommend? XTR? Mavic Crossmax? Etc, etc??

    Cheers!
    Matt.

    dickie
    Free Member

    I’d buy Hope Pro II Evo hubs with Stans No Tubes ZTR Crest rims at about £300.
    Light, reliable, serviceable, option to go tubeless.

    bungalistic
    Free Member

    I second what dickie suggests, I have pro2 hubs laced up to the Stans Flow rims and can’t really fault them, Stans Crest rims are just that bit lighter so should be bob on for the riding you describe.

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    nuke
    Full Member

    I’ll third what dickie says for all the reasons discribed

    mattw
    Free Member

    Nice one! Thanks guys!

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    DON’T DO IT! TRAILS EVERYWHERE WILL BE KILLED!

    Or at least not be brought to life….. 😉

    mattw
    Free Member

    i think somebody has had too much caffeine today? 😀

    OK, so i’ve had a quick goosey gander at these bad boys and they look ideal! What’s the deal with standard versus straight pull? Is it just an aesthetics thing and performance is the same or is one better than the other from a practical point of view?

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    i think somebody has had too much caffeine today?

    NO? I’M FINE!

    (2 redbulls after a 5am start… 😳 )

    plyphon
    Free Member

    Be warned –

    Some tyres do not play very nicely with Crests at all.

    Also there is a massive knack to getting tyres on. People are pretty unanimous that it can be learned quickly but decided that life was too short to wrestle tyres on, sent my crest back and bought another 717.

    YMMV ofc.

    joeelston
    Free Member

    I have Flow Ex on pro 2 evo hubs. Around 330 a set on wiggle. Really really good and lighter than my mavic 819s. Schwalbe tubeless ready tyres were easy to fit.

    nuke
    Full Member

    What’s the deal with standard versus straight pull?

    SP supposedly stronger. Some say spokes are harder to get hold of if you break but then Hope Hoops come with spare spokes and, when I was getting some spare spokes for my Hope ProII SP with Flow wheelset, it was no hassle at all.

    Just get standard imo

    MarkN
    Free Member

    I have never broken a spoke yet but I have heard that SP are/were not as easy to get hold of as J bend spokes. So if you broke spokes you may struggle to get a replacement. The advantage as I understand is speed/ease to change a SP. But hey this could all be wrong.

    mattw
    Free Member

    thanks all

    i have issues getting my (UST ready) Nobby Nics on 717 rims!!!

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Is there a compelling reason to Bin the XC hubs?
    or would it not make more sense to have them rebuilt with some posh new rims if they’re still serviceable?

    mattw
    Free Member

    cookeaa – you raise a valid point. any idea what they might be worth?

    mattw
    Free Member

    Decision made. I’m going to keep my Hope XC hubs (I’d forgotten I went for Ti free-hub on the rear), get a pair of ZTR Crest rims and 2 sets of spokes and get them built up by my LBS.

    Thanks all!!!!

    Matt.

    verticalclimber
    Free Member

    i have hopes/crests and personally crests quite soft, tend to ding quite easily on things. admit on a hardtail and its the rear only thats gone a bit off.

    jonjonjon3
    Free Member

    Just remember that if you keep your Hope XC hubs you can only ever run the front one as QR i.e. no 15 or 20mm bolt through options.

    daveh
    Free Member

    Come on people, the OP has £500 to spend, this is no time for austerity. Light Bicycle carbon rims (to your taste, I’d take wide), CX Ray spokes and (OK then) ProII Evo hubs. Much more like it.

    andysredmini
    Free Member

    If weight and strength are your primary concern you could buy my nearly new Hope 1295’s for £350 posted.
    They only weigh 1295g as the name suggests and feel as strong as my crossmax.

    kelvin
    Full Member

    Crest on the front, Arch EX on the rear.

    dirtydog
    Free Member

    Stans Crest wheelsets carry a recommended max rider weight of 190lb, if your close to or above this you may want to consider Arches or do what Kelvin above suggests.

    Steve77
    Free Member

    If I was lacing new rims to old hubs for XC use I’d be going for a pair of cheap chinese carbon rims like one of these: link

    pymwymis
    Free Member

    American classics. Plenty of axle compatibility / swap ability with simple kits somyoumswapmyour wheels between bikes. You can find them for £200 – £300 on eBay.

    jonnyrockymountain
    Full Member

    Ditto for American classic’s

    Ben_H
    Full Member

    I have Hope Pro2 hubs front and rear and have used DT XR400 rims, which I’ve found to be light and reliable.

    The great thing about the hubs is that they will covert to the various axle standards and I was able to do this when I went to 15mm QR up front.

    As others have said, I’d keep the hubs and get some new rims.

    mattw
    Free Member

    I’ve been reading up on my old Hope XC hubs (rear has Ti freehub) and general opinion is that they’re as good – if not better (assuming happy to stick with QR) that the Pro2.

    So I’m going to get a pair of ZTR Crest (£62.99 ea from Wiggle/CRC) and have them built around my Hope XCs for around £50 by my LBS. Means I can get a decent quality set of wheels for around £175. Nice.

    Thanks for all the tips and advice!

    Matt.

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    dirtydog – Member
    Stans Crest wheelsets carry a recommended max rider weight of 190lb, if your close to or above this you may want to consider Arches or do what Kelvin above suggests.

    That weight limit is for the Stan’s own-brand Crest wheelsets – they list no weight limit for the rims. And 29er rims will explode anyway, so it makes no difference.

Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)

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