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They're novatech OEM hubs with Hunt stickers on, nothing special but on par for a sub £400 wheelset.
Cheap hubs with super fast engagement is usually not a good recipe for long term reliability but the Hunt MTB wheels haven't been out long enough to properly gauge whether or not this is the case with the version of Novatechs they spec.
Can't believe people rave about these hunt wheels.
They are cheap as chips novatec hubs, superstar were knocking out wheelsets for £75 with the same hubs.
Rims out of a Taiwan catalogue.
Get DT 240 for real quality and their rims as above.
In fairness to Hunt there's a lot of different Novatech models out there and you may not be comparing apples with apples there.
They're not bad for £350, but they are a £350 wheel, not some unbeatable mega bargain as their marketing would have you believe.
The 240's an awesome hub, but priced accordingly.
369 GBP Now.
I have decided to cancel them and go for some ex511 on 350 hubs.
The Enduro Wides might be okay, but they would be something I constantly worried about.
I cant see past the various DT Swiss rims hand built onto DT 350 hubs that are Ebay at around £400 for a bombproof Ali build
92kg, one year on XC wide.
The rear rim has split as a spike has pulled through the rim.
It’s getting picked up on Tuesday so we will see what they say. It’s been ridden on on sandy smooth trails.
Pacenti dl31 rims for the win, not bullet proof but survive my fat arse
80kg I've been on the trailwides with a huck norris on the rear on my hardtail for over a year, no dings, no dents...no issues.
Also have Hope Enduros on my full suss which are also supposed to be made of cheese, no issue with them either.
The novatec are not bad hubs.
I bought freehub from hunt for my £75 superstar wheels.
Bearings can be variable quality but just press in skf when the cheapie wear out.
Anyway thats not the point, my point is that you can get much higher quality hubs and wheels for the price of hunt.
I had a pair of Hunt XC wheels. The hubs seemed rather nice. No rim dings but the ride quality didn't impress. They may have been updated but at that point the XC rims were quite deep and therefore laterally flexy and vertically harsh. Also owing to the inner rim profile, the way Hunt hadn't applied the tape properly (which split) and the valves (which didn't fit the rim shape or seal) they were a bastard to set up tubeless. The 60 day ride and return policy was made use of and Hunt were decent to deal with about it.
I've done one ride on my repaired rear Trail Wide and have got another dent in it, despite using the tyre inserts. It looks just like the first of Mintyjim's pictures:
singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/hunt-trail-wide-v-h_impact-carbon/#post-11308315
Wonder what rims have the same/similar ERD for when it needs replacing again?
I have a set of wheels with XM481 rims and a set of the Trailwides. The Hunts are really soft. The XM481 have been smashed around the Alps, Molini and bike park wales over the last four years and are still in better condition than the four month old hunts. I'm 100kg and really good at casing jumps. As Hobnob says ^^^, if you're happy to spend carbon money, get the XM1501s.
As above. I originally specced the Trail Wides for my latest hard tail but the rims were trashed pretty quickly, despite foam inserts. Hunt kindly swapped them out for Enduro Wides when I pointed out that they weren't fit for purpose and didn't match their own intended purpose according to their marketing. Enduro Wides have been fine so far but I didn't really want a wheel set that wide or heavy, should have stuck with Stans.
I'm also 'surprised' by the positive journo reviews...
There seems to be lots of dodgy posts on here 🤔. I’ve got Trail wides on my hardtail and they are unmarked. Ridden them pretty hard in South Wales, I’m 83kg 25 psi rear 17 psi front. Love them, better than my Hopes with ARC rims and better engagement.
I've put 1500 miles on my Trail Wides now - on a Solaris Max. For reference I am 89kg + kit on top.
They've been through early winter grime until March.
A few Surrey Hills trips
Some biggish (70 mile) all dayser as well as as a mix of South Downs rides.
As documented above. I dinged the rim on a XC ride. It still works fine tubeless. No other such issues since.
Hub - end cap just fell off one day. Torqued back up and no such issues since.
They spin fine, they're light and they are, IMO a reasonable sweet spot for weight/money. I'd obviously prefer DT240's laced to something flash...but doubt I would get that for £349.
I have also had warranty issues with a road wheel. They sorted it just fine for me, and they are up the road from where I live so I like the local support.
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<div class="bbp-reply-author d-flex align-items-center flex-wrap">jonundercover
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<div class="bbp-reply-content p-0">There seems to be lots of dodgy posts on here 🤔.
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What do you mean by that?
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Had my Trail Wides for a couple of weeks now.
First Impressions: They roll really quickly and the freehub engagement is really quick too.
They aren't loud, they are quieter than the Mavic wheels I was using and nowhere near as loud as Hope hubs.
The were an absolute doddle to set up tubeless with Maxxis tyres , pushed the tyres on by hand and inflated first time with a track pump.
I've not really ridden anywhere I'm likely to ding them yet so time will tell on that aspect but I'm impressed with them so far.
Only negative was the amount of time it took to get them. I ordered them in May for deliver in early July and ended up waiting an extra month.
DT rims on Hope hubs.
Pretty much everything you want in a burly wheelset. You don't have to use squorx nips either. Hope hubs aren't bullet proof but easy to re-bearing, once you have a press. All sizes and freehubs accommodated. I think the Hunts are good for road/gravel and carbon fine for XC/weenie but mtb is all about toughness.
So I got my Trailwides back from Hunt after 6 weeks. 3 rides in and I’ve picked up a ding in the back, through a WTB Verdict Tough 2.4 AND a Rimpact (@25psi). It’s not a huge one by any means, but really…
My back wheel now weighs over 3kg, or ~5% of my body weight and I can’t half feel the mass whilst trying to ride.
Not impressed.
I’ve not really ridden anywhere I’m likely to ding them yet
Doesn't matter...
3 rides in and...
a new record? at least they're improving
At the end of my tether with these now. 28psi with Rimpact and I ended up with another ding on yesterday's ride. This one meant that every time the tyre flexed on that area a bit of air leaked out. Eventually had to remove the tyre insert and fit a tube for the rest of the ride. The thing is that when I've dinged the wheel I haven't damaged the tyre and when I've fitted a tube I've not been pinch flatting, and I've never damaged a set of wheels (beyond minor cosmetic dings) before, so it's not like I'm a clumsy buffer with a habit of wrecking wheels and tyres. But with these it's a new, noticeable if not ride-stopping dent on every ride anywhere rocky.
With the original purchase, the repair after the first ride and the Rimpacts I'm down the best part of £500 and don't have a set of wheels I can rely on.
Few weeks ago I saw a Hunt wheel fold in half when a guy cased a drop gap that Ive seen lots of others tag and not have their wheel ruined.
I’d just replace the Hunt rim with a DT Swiss one. XM481 for 30mm wide or XM421 for 25mm wise (inner widths). That’s assuming general trails use - my XM481’s were initially on an enduro bike but now a 130 trail bike with a robust build (Lyriks / Codes etc). They’ve been bashed about at Antur Stiniog, down the Ranger Path at Snowdon, the blacks at CYB, several uplift says at BPW / BMCC etc. No inserts, Maxxis Exo tyres (except Antur / Snowdon where I stuck on a trailboss tough for the stronger casing) and run around 25psi for rocky places and a few psi lower for more mellow stuff. I weigh just over 80kgs at 5’9.
If you need stronger wheels then EX511 / EX471s are the boys.
For the record my road Hunts are generally ok. I damaged a rim beyond repair the first week I had them but that was a freak issue banging the bike into a huge pothole that hadn’t been in the road the day before and I only saw last minute as it jumped out at me from under a van! Bruised my big toes in my shoes such was the viciousness of the pothole impact. Rebuilt it with the same spokes which in hindsight wasn’t a good plan as I was snapping a spoke from time to time. Rebuilt the rim / hub with aci double butted spokes and been perfect since.
I’d buy their road wheels again - but I hear too many bad things about their mtb wheels and DT Swiss rims are just so good.