I'd chasing the impossible dream of really light and really strong wheels with the option to go tubeless at some point. I've never dented my 717 Mavic rims, or even made them out of true. I'm mostly doing XC stuff, roots rocks etc. The odd 1 or 2 foot step when I'm feeling really brave. Currently going onto a kula hardtail, will be moved to 4" FS of some sort at a later date, probably with 15mm front end.

I'm thinking Olympic and 355 might not be that long lasting and hard wearing. For only 50 – 70g penalty the Arch might be a good option. The flow is probably starting to border on the heavy side of things.

I put countless dents into my 717s, but never managed it on an Olympic, they've got much shorter sidewalls, so there's less to dent. If you've not done a 717, you'll be absolutely fine with the Stan's!

I'd say the Alpine (Olympic replacement), unless you like to run >2.3" tyres, or you're a bit chunky, neither of which seem that likely if you've been fine with 717s.

If your no Weight Weenie or not sure go for the 355 or Crest.

If your no Weight Weenie

The clue was in the first 10 words 😉

I'd chasing the impossible dream of really light

You'll be fine with Alpines. On the other hand, if you're buying complete wheels and not spending the earth then the Hope Hoops on 355s (think they're switching to Crests imminently) are stunning value, I wouldn't pay an extra £100 to custom build on he Alpines.

usually only run 2.1 tyres and I'm 78kgs + kit, so might try the lighter rim then. Worst case, I decide I need something more burly and get them rebuilt.

I'm probably not going to have Hope hubs, I much prefer centre lock and a quiet freewheel. I suspect I'll blow the budget and have DT 240s hubs.

Good choice. Revolution spokes if you want to save more weight at the expense of a bit of stiffness.

Edit: or look at Roval Controle SLs, forget what they cost this week, but they may well come out marginally lighter.

might even have XTR to be honest. £100 cheaper than DT 240s, and not far off the weight.

Incredibly free rolling too, but they do need to odd bit of care.

American Classic? Small bearings don't last that well under some people, but light, and large flanges mean they build into a stiffer wheel.

Don't worry about the 355's I've got the 32 version built on to sp3 am (team issue) on my Blur LTc. And they have taken a real battering in the past few months – down rangers on snowdon, countless descents in the peaks, 4/5 ft drops etc etc.

I weigh about 13st BTW