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For a trail 29er wheel with a DT Swiss XM481 rim? They’ll be going on a Flare MAX, so short travel and will be ridden reasonably hard (some might say clumsily) around the Peak, Lakes etc. by me at 75-80kg.
Or should I play it safe and go for Sapim Race / DT Comp? Or go for the bigger/stronger on just the rear?
I'm running CX Rays with Flow MK3s on my 180mm Commencal Supreme SX, I'm 82kg.
My wheels survived a week out in the Alps this year, go for it.
I have no long term experience with 29ers though.
Used them for the last two years on a custom built set of Pro 4's and Arch MK3s and they've been spot on. Went for a 28h build to save a bit of weight and help compliance and *touch wood* I've not had any issues yet. They've been on my Whyte T130 and are now on my Cotic Soul for winter and both get ridden pretty hard round North Wales and have stood up to a big coast to coast from one of Scotland to the other and back again, so they've had their fair share of abuse. Would be my first choice if I was to build another set of wheels again, great value, tough, light and build up really nice. Highly recommended!
I’m a fan of them. You could probably go 28 hole front and back if you’re running a tyre liner.
I like the D-lights and have used them on quite a few wheel builds, but stepped up to Race when I rebuilt the wheels on my Commencal 29er (not a million miles away from a flaremax in general outlook- demoed one as a possible replacement). D-lights seem to be quite 'tough' enough for a nebulous value of tough but I was hoping to get a little more stiffness out of the wheels. I'm never entirely sure how much spoke section contributes to this, but I've got a kom i25 built up with d-lights and an arch mk3 on races and the latter wheel feels like it's probably stiffer. Could be placebo, could be the rim, who knows.
If it helps my OH has had a d-light spoked rear wheel on the back of her pivot for years and that's happily survived trips to Antur, BPW etc with barely a sniff of the spoke key. She's a fair bit smaller and lighter though!
90kgs here with D-lights on all my wheels, including the big bike that sees Spain, the rocky side of the lakes and BPW.
Can say I've noticed too much snappage or general flexiness. That said my lightest duty wheels are a set of Flows.
Thanks everyone sounds like it's the way to go.
I should have said I've been using them on a 27.5" mk3 Flow/Arch wheelset and had no issues, was just a little worried they might make for a flexy 29er wheel.