[Closed] A 'What lightish, strongish, cheapish XC wheels' thread!

£119.99 at Merlin(plus delivery). Can't really complain at that:

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=780&categoryId=99

717's on xt's sounds like the perfect combo then

Oops, they're for rim brakes, sorry.

They're still £119 if you select that combination from hadbuilt wheels - £64 rear, £55 front.

😮

That seems like a bargin.

Merlins wheels are pretty good. Had them on a few bikes.

The Mavic sets start reasonable cheap as well.

Just saw that I can also get DT Swiss 4.2's on XT's for the same kind of cash. They have a wider rim profile of 23.8mm, compared to the 717's 21mm, so the profile of the rubber might be better. They weigh about the same too.

Anyone any experience with DT 4.2's?

Yeah, I've got some(from there), and they've been just fine. I recon they cost more than that at the time too, around £132.

AB, defo reccomend Merlin wheels, my mate had some merlin XT/717's for three years. He rode all the trail centres on them on his hardtail, competed in lots of polaris challenges and would often do 3 foot drop offs on them. All this and he weighs 17 stone!
The only limitation may be the max tire size you want to run as the 717's are narrow (as xc rims are!)

How wide a tyre can you run on the 717's, as the DT 2.4's are a good bit wider so they might be better if the 717's won't allow 2.1 - 2.25 tyres

Or go for some secondhand Hope XC hubbed wheels for about £100 off the classifieds...

I have a set of Merlin 717/XT wheels on my bike. They've been there for 2 years now.

I run 2.3" tyres on them comfortably and never ever had an issue. I had 717s before that and ran the same size tyre. I'm running 2.1s at the minute as it's muddy up here again they are more than adequate. Check the mavic website they have recommended tyre widths.

I'm not a gentle rider, not heavy at 12st but I like to throw my bike around (456) and do occasionally jump, do 3ft drops to flat, take a crap line through boulders/rocks etc. run the occasionaly downhill course and they have held up very well.

I'd be surprised if you broke them! THe only draw back is that they are not the lightest hub in the world but to go any better with Merlin you have to go up to hopes which adds a fair whack to the price.

Another one to recommend some Merlin XT on DT rims (455's?) for my old Sub 5 - took a couple of years pounding round the Peak with a yearly true/tighten. They stayed round n true, until the front spokes all started shearing at the same point - I think it was a duff set of spokes TBF.

I'd go for 719 rims over 717 for general trail riding, a bit more width for wider tyres but still pretty light and they seem to be bombproof.

Just finished my first ride on the new bike with Merlin 717s on XT hubs and have to say they did a perfectly good job. Obviously early to tell about longevity but nice to read good reports on here 🙂

i rebuilt my mate's merlin 717 back wheel after poor maintenance related hub death. He has ridden it pretty hard for dozens and dozens of long rocky rides. Gave it a spin in the wheel jig before i dismantled it and it was still absolutley round and straight, within less than half a mm if not perfect. I was well impressed.

Fulcrum Red Metal 5 Disc?

1805g
2:1 spoke ratio
Sealed bearings
Oversized bodies, axles and flanges

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Light, strong, bit different. I like mine. <£150 if you shop around.