Budget of £200ish for a pair of wheels.

Going on a Cotic Soul for rocky XC.

I know nowt about the the Fulcrums, but they seem to get good reviews. And Superstar? Hmm…might be a lottery with build quality. Switch EVO hubs with XM719 possibly, but there’s so much choice on their page, I’m not sure which is the good/bad hub choice etc!

Good old fashioned QR at the moment, but the forks will be going 15QR soon..

Fulcrum

Fulcrum spares are expensive, factor that in. They’re also not the easiest wheels to work on (IMO). For those reasons I’d go superstar TBH – much more of a “traditional” wheel build and easier to maintain.

superstar if you are confident to tension them up properly when you get them. The parts are good, but the build quality is poor. Half an hour with the spoke key and mine have been very solid for the past year.

Superstar, but might need to factor in new bearings in a few months if you ride in the filth. Switch hubs are good IMHO, as has been said check your spoke tension on them when you get them. I’ve had 2 sets with no real problems. I changed the bearings on 1 set, when they got a bit of play in them, for decent SKF’s and they’ve been great

I have Superstar road wheels (i now thats not what you asked about), they’ve been good, rode all summer and didnt need any attention, the bearings are cheap but easily replaceable cartridge type so some nice ceramic items will slot straight in.
As others have said, they are a traditional build so your LBS can work on them easily and the keen/competent amateur can have a go too.

superstar all the way. As mentioned bearings build could be an issue, perhaps freehubs occasionally. But in my experience they are the best/easiest hubs to service of all the brands.

a factor to take into account is the pick up of rear hub.
i have some industry nine wheels and the pick up is instant. i have just bought some Fulcrum xl and the pick up is quite good, im not sure how good it is on the superstars, but its still a factor for me

My Fulcrum wheels are good but the company aren’t, spares are at best expensive but more often just unavailable, customer service is nonexistant. If I’d paid RRP I’d be fuming, as it is I’m just a bit disappointed but at least it avoids future expensive mistakes.

I’ve not owned Superstar wheels but having checked out a few, the quality varies- some were really well assembled, spot on. Some were pretty crap. But even if they need rebuilt they’re still normally good value, and if they don’t then they’re even better.

I’d go with the Superstars out of those two options.

If you’re considering secondhand, I’ve got some Hope pro2 evo/flow wheels in mint condition now surplus to requirements (email in profile).

superstar

a factor to take into account is the pick up of rear hub

I’d say probably one of the lest important factors, but that’s just IMO. etc.

its still a factor, and different people find different factors more important.
i personally would rather have a wheelset that had better pick up even if it didnt last as long as a different wheelset.
im not fussed about customer service from the manufacturer as you have the retailer as the first port of call if there is a failing.
i change my bikes quicker than the wheels wear out anyway, although my mojo has had industry nine enduro wheels for 5 years, none of the spokes are loose and the wheels are still true, and i am 16 stone kitted out, and i would never sell them

re pickup, not saying it’s not a valid concern for some folks, but I just recently fitted the DT upgrade to double the number of pickup points in my DT240s, and sure I can feel the difference but it makes no difference whatsoever to my riding.

Lester – Member

im not fussed about customer service from the manufacturer as you have the retailer as the first port of call if there is a failing.

Your warranty/relationship with the retailer won’t help if you break a spoke or ding a rim and replacements can’t be sourced.

Northwind
when i ding a rim :-)i will cross that bridge when i come to it, the hub would still be alright so i suppose i could buy a different unstickered rim, and i take your point about the original spokes, but are we saying that i couldnt find a replacement spoke elsewhere?
i know it can and often does happen, but i havent damaged a wheel or broken a spoke yet, yet lol

The pick up speed doesnt make any difference at all to my style of riding either, but it certainly adds to the experience for me. Can i ask why you added the upgrade to your dt24os if you couldnt see a reason for it?