Hi all,

I’m in the lucky position of shopping for new wheels for my new build. It’s a 456 carbon frame, with 140 foxes going on. I spent a good part of the last 2 nights surfing around for some new wheels, and now my head’s spinning!

I have the brakes, so the hubs need to be 6-bolt fittings, and I have a budget of up to “around” £350.

Anyone care to suggest something that’s light-ish, suitable and in stock…?

TIA

Cue the flood of recommendations for Hope Hoops with ZTR Crest or Flow rims………………………… and for good reason

the great thing about hope is that they are convertible to just about every wheel standard. worth having if you change frames/forks often or have a few bikes and like swapping wheels around from time to time.
if i were just buying for a QR race bike set up, probably these at your budget http://www.justridingalong.com//shop.php?product=7261. if vyou wanted something a bit tougher, you could probably have something similar handbuilt the same price, but substituting heavier duty spokes.

+1 neninja

Almost certainly Ninja is right.

How much do you weigh, where will you be riding and what is your riding style?

The key issue will be how you want to balance weight with stiffness. If you’re light and weight saving is a priority then you could happily go with a wheel built around the Stans Arch using DT Swiss Super Comps spokes and alloy nipples. You’d still have something that is very stiff.

If you’re heavy, say over 15 stone, and you wanted to prioritise stiffness, then definitely go with the Stans Flow built using the slightly heavier DT Swiss Comp spokes with brass nipples.

With a hardtail, the wheels do take more punishment, the rear especially, so it’s important to have something just a little stronger and stiffer than you would expect to run on a full suss trail bike.

If you’ve got more budget to spend, then the Mavic Crossmax STs are brilliant if you’re lighter (say sub 15 stone) and the Crossmax SXs are also as good if you’re over that weight – the latter are strong enough for light freeride use, but still only weigh 1700g a pair.

For comparisson, the Flows on Hope Pro 2s will with DT Comps will come in around 1850g, whereas the Arch on DT Super Comps would come in around 1700 (best guess).

If you want to get really pimp and get the lightest, strongest wheel you can find, then the Easton Haven’s are also excellent by all accounts. Although I’ve owned/had experience of all the other wheels I’ve highlighteed here, the Havens are the only ones I can’t do anything other than relay what I’ve read elsewhere.

Thanks for your help, all – more surfing this evening, maybe with the wallet out this time…!