Hi

Just a quick one, Not sure what wheelset to get for my Marin MV
Narrowed it down to two choices
1. Merlin – Mavic XM719 and XT Hubs
2. Superstars – Mach 1 and Slick Hubs

Really only got £150 for a set of wheels
Any other suggestions?

Cheers

go for 1.

or put an add in the classifieds and see if you can get hope pro II's laced to mavic rims, if you dont mind second hand of course 😀

I picked up a set of Fulcrum Red Metal 5s for £143 last week including shipping. From Germany though, but shipping was fast with UPS. Very happy with them after the couple of rides I've had so far (I had XT hubs on Mavic 317s previously): stiff, light(ish), fast pickup and nice looking too. You don't seem to be able to get them in the UK for less than £200 so I got mine from here. There's a button in the top corner for the english version of the site.

I can give Superstar a thumbs up for speed of delivery and price, I got a set of wheels from them last week. They look great, run smooth and seem to have good quality freehubs (faster engagement than cheaper Mavic hubs I have on my hardtail) and rims etc. You get a full choice of hub adaptors too, all at the same price.

I can't tell how long they'll last yet, but first impressions are really good.

I been usin a set of Mavic Crossrides for the past couple of years which are lasting well. You should be able to pick some up for around £125 but as mentioned before, the engagement could be better and the hubs have a little flex in them too.

I went for the Superstar Switch Hubs and Voltage rims and have been impressed with them so far.
They arrived quickly and have stood up well to my cack-handed riding!

i'd be tempted by option 1 even if i had unlimited funds, tbf.

I'd be asking about availability of spares

if you are limited of fund, by the way, they've also got deore hubs with xc717 rims on there for £120 – good buy.

Superstar list a whole array of hub spares so shouldn't be a problem with them hopefully.

Just to let you know – the XT 6-bolt disc hubs are very heavy (I have some) and they are quite an old design. See if you can find out the weights online – IIRC they were considerably more than LX or Deore centrelock hubs, the rear hub especially.

What poppa said. Note deore hubs have poor sealing

I have some brand new Deore 2010 hubs (QR front) with Alex SX44 rims (wide-ish XC rims) I'm looking to sell. Came on my new bike.

£78 posted. Drop me an email if interested.

Well went with warpcow suggestion of the fulcrum red metal 5
Should be here tomorrow, ready for a weekend thrashing.
So i`ll let you know what there like

Cheers all

I can also recommend the Fulcrum's, i have them and like them , good wheelset for the price in my opinion.

Woo! Do I win something? 😀

Still liking mine for the money.

I got the 719's disc with xt hubs from merlin, no complaints not much heavier than 717's and they will hold a 2.3 much better than the 717's I had on my old giant.