Howdo
Im looking for a light weight wheelset for my trek 9.8(2005) hardtail,looked all over the net to the point my head nearly exploded with all the hype and bullsh$t and reviews that contradict/conflict themselves.My riding style on this bike is not hardcore hucking but more like long distance/adventure riding.

My budget at a push is £400,and i've short listed a few wheelsets,all of them come with mixed reviews.
1)second hand mavic crossmax sl's…good wheels but cant afford new ones
2)new FSA XC300 SL…nice and light but have weak nipple problems 😯 so im lead to belive.
3)FULCRUM RED METAL 3…good looking,light,very mavic like hubs and spokes,anybody using these at the moment??
4)SPINERGY XYCLONE DISC…nice looking and i must admit my favourite wheelset,pretty cheap from the U.S.A.But lack of U.K retailers for spares,and some issues with badly machined rear hub,and some bearing issues,but like i said before many reviews also rate them…anybody out there using them?i would like to hear your advice.
thank you for your time

You haven't considered the Hope pro3-sp wheelset? They should be in budget for the standard disc mount verson, and they are pretty light and tough. Also Hope customer service is pretty top notch and they don't use anything particularly funky so spares aren't too much of a problem.

I have been pretty impressed with my set, tough, light and reliable, of course you might have already considered them.

I haven't tried the ones you list though.