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The stock wheels on my One One Whippet are quite heavy at 2.3kg (without cassette and tires). They are WTB i29 on Novatec hubs.
I know the usual saying is "Light, Cheap, Strong...Pick 2". However these would be for XC rides and I'm only 59kg so I'm happy to sacrifice the strength side of things a bit to save weight.
Anything out there for under £400 worth looking at?
In my opinion you can't go far wrong with these for your budget.
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-race-xc-mtb-wheelset
I've been running a set for 18 months or so and they've been absolutely faultless. Considerable weight saving from your current wheels as well.
They are WTB i29 on Novatec hubs.
WTB i29's are mega heavy for what they are, circa 580g each iirc... You can lose 1lb of rotating weight, just by getting these rims swapped out on your stock hubs. Something like a Stans Crest Mk3 would be fine for someone at your weight...
You could go to lighter spokes too, probably saving you another 80g or so...
If you swap the hubs, there's maybe another 100-150g to save too potentially, but this isn't anywhere near as important as saving it at the rim.
I built some sub 1500g 29er wheels a couple of years ago on a crazy budget. Scored some 2nd hand 28H DT Swiss 240S hubs for £100 (nobody wanted them cos they were 28H!), PlanetX had a clearout on some Pacenti rims (the TL28's which at 430g each were just about ok for my near 90kg weight rather than their lighter offerings!), and went for DT Competition Race Spokes which whilst slightly heavier than DT Revolutions (I'm near 90kg remember) are still a lot lighter than normal DT Comps and quite a lot stiffer than Revolutions, and alloy nipples. Cost me around £180ish all in (the rims were like £15ea on PlanetX at the time!) which is crazy... Total weight was 1485g before rim tape and valves!
In my opinion you can’t go far wrong with these for your budget.
HUNT Race XC Wide MTB Wheelset
To be fair, if you can't be bothered with building your own or getting your local shop to build you some, then you could do far worse than the Hunts... 👍🏻
Similar requirement here, although 90kg rider.
I've just had the second rear hub issue in quick succession on my wheels (American Classic 225 hubs on Light Bicycle Carbon rims - 1420kg) the wheels are six years old on a Turner Czar, non boost. American Classic are no longer in business.
I would buy the Hunt Race XC Wide but they are Boost Only. So need to find an alternative, but as the frame is six years old I'm looking for some future proofing.
So I'm considering Hope Pro 4 on Stans Crest Mk3 from Moonglu at £500. The rims are a little lighter than the Hunts but hubs heavier but can be converted to boost in the future should I change the frame. I understand outer rotating weight is the important thing with wheels.
I'd be interested in alternatives that are reliable, off the shelf & a decent weight.
HUNT XC wide are available non-boost and still pretty light. 90Kg may trouble the rider weight limit though. I'm similar weight and slightly buckled the rear first time out - quite a rough trail though.
If going for Hope, I'd just go with their own rims. Reports of failures on mk3 Stand rims you might want to check. I always found Crests too puny and changed to Arch.
I've got superstar V6 and Stan's flow rims, they're very light for a burly wheelset so if you get arch or crest rims instead they would be a very competitive weight. Not as light as the Hunt but if you wait for an inevitable discount they will likely be under £300
From memory a hope pro 4 hub weighs roughly 100g more than a dt Swiss 240 hub but they are cheaper and easy to maintain.
What size tyre do you want to run? If its on the whippet and your don't want to go wide then you might be able to pick up a bargain for some untrendy narrow rims which will be fine for 2 to 2.3 inch tyres.
Do you just do xc? Are you easy on your rims? You could probably get away with some stans crest rims which are about 365g.
I picked up some carbon rims last rear with 23mm internal rim (same as crest) on hope pro 2 evo hubs with xt ice tech rotors. No one wanted them as they were so narrow but suited my summer fast build with fast tyres on.
You might be able to get a Newmen SL wheelset for that price, thought probably more like £450.
Very similar hub to DT Swiss but slightly lighter & a fair bit cheaper. I went from DT Swiss to Newmen and am happy with them.
Reviews suggest they are slightly stronger for the same weight category as well which is impressive.
Other option for DT Swiss is a french store (RCZ Bike Shop iirc) which sell OEM wheelsets for extremely good prices.
What about hope pro 4 hubs on WTB kom i25 rims are approximately 1410 grams then light double butted spokes.
I’ve got the hunt Xc on one bike. No problems so far but they have only done 400 miles or so. Mostly of that has been pretty smooth with a couple of trips somewhere rockier.
I bough a set of those eBay carbon wheels with nova tech hubs yesterday. I’ll report back when they arrive 😀
Just got new factory built stans arch for £385 off ebay. 1785gms inc tape and valves so saving over 400gms on my stock rims. taking another 200gms off with new tyres so I expect to float up the next climb.
If you fancy doing the rear wheel only for now then I was very interested in THIS until I couldn't find normal QR caps for it, seems a real bargain to me.
Cheers.
Mavic XA elites are 1780g on my scales & impressively tough for 24 spoke wheels
I got mine for 200 from CRC & often reduced
a few left here
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/mavic-e-xa-elite-mtb-wheelset-1/?
Another vote for Hunts from me.
Looking at the Hunt wheels its interesting that the 28mm Carbon wheels are heavier than the 30mm aluminium. Not by much but just find it surprising.
Id like to stick to something about 28 - 30 mm wide due to running very low pressures on a rigid build.
I've got Crest Wheels on my cross bike and previously had them on the MTB (well, the OEM ones with eyelets). I'm not 85kg, was 115kg at one point so they've taken a pounding!
They're not super wide though, 23mm internally IIRC. But they do build into a ~1600g wheelset with DT Competition spokes and novatec hubs.
If I was building them again I would use Revolutions on the NDS rear. Not for weight weenie reasons, just that the spoke tensions are so low with Stans that you barely get any stretch with comp's on the NDS rear.
Arch (or the version I have anyway) are the same width but 100g heavier. Flow's are heavier again but quite a bit wider.
I've got some Gipiemme Mag40 rims from planet-x's sale to build up which will be ludicrously light!
I'm also looking for a set of light 29er wheels; but none of the wheelsets talked about thus far are... well... actually light? The wheels on my enduro bike are 1650g. XC wheels need to be sub 1400g as a starter for ten.
Would 240s', LB carbon rims and sapim spokes get under 1400?
They probably will be very light but also very expensive.
I'll happily spend 400 on a set of wheels that could save a fair amount of weight and also leave me with a spare set for a single speed set up. But cant afford the cost of 1400g wheels.
Shameless plug I have set of wheels to sell Stans Flow Mk3 rear on Noxon extreme hubs 12x142 & Stans Sentry mK3 front wheel on noxon extreme hub 15x100 so non boost with Sapim race spokes the rear with tyre Vee crown tyre but no rotor 1995g front with Hans Dampf 2200g
Set up tubeless with valves & sealant. Looking around £250 posted
Even without tyres just tape & valve looking at 10g under 2kg, not as light as I thought but strong & well built a set of Arches or crests be lighter as a flow & sentry not lightest of rims but hubs lighter than Hope! my light wheels are lb rims at 400g each & hubs 360g for the pair.
I’m also looking for a set of light 29er wheels; but none of the wheelsets talked about thus far are… well… actually light? The wheels on my enduro bike are 1650g. XC wheels need to be sub 1400g as a starter for ten.
That's a very arbitrary figure. What made you come up with that? I've ridden many sub 1500g wheelsets, they're really very light indeed! DT's Flagship XRC1200 XC race wheels are over 1400g for the pair!
Would 240s’, LB carbon rims and sapim spokes get under 1400?
Yes, just... You'll need to be sub 90kg though and opt for their "Flyweight" layup for the front rim (not sure I'd trust it on the rear no matter even if I was light myself), you should sneak under with Sapim Laser or DT Revolution spokes and alloy nipples. You'll want to be a finessed rider though.
XC wheels need to be sub 1400g as a starter for ten.
Give me your credit card number…
We’re still talking 29er wheels, yes?
You avoid rocks, yes?
XRC1200s are 1410, which would be workable.
Tune, extralight, newmen hubs, cx rays and carbon hubs you can comfortably get down to like 1100g if you're spending the wedge.
https://r2-bike.com/Wheelset-29-XC-Newmen-MTB-Straightpull-6-Hole-Hubs-Duke-Aluminum-Rims
600 euros for 1350g as a starter for ten.
I would also expect most people who are fit (ie they are after some xc racing wheels) should be under 90kg unless you're like 6'4! I consider myself chunky for a cyclist at 78+kit.
Well that link just saw me buying a new set of wheels!
Looks like I’ll be selling a set of Roval Traverse SL in a few weeks-about 1700g the pair (so the above will save me at least 200g.)
Highly reccomend the Mavic XA trail - I have run them in 27.5 and 29 for thousands of miles, currently on a big heavy hightower and absolutely hammered them - they are impressively tough AND a very good weight...
Mega value too, nearly always on offer online.
Got a very good review on singletrackworld.com a while back too.
They're 1940g/pair in 27.5 guise. They ought to be strong!
Where did you get that weight from? I've had a lot of wheels and my 29s are definitely less than that.
Ahh, different wheels to the XA trail elite! Didn't realise there was a cheaper version now.
The ones I have, and the ones tested by STW are these
From memory my Spank oozy wheels are 1800g and the LB carbon on DT350 are 1500g.
1780g does not a light xc wheelset make snotrag - maybe for a 30mm+ enduro wheelset?
What width of LB granny?
To give some indication of carbon rims and lightweight spokes (CX-ray, D-lights and Revs) on not particularly lightweight hubs:
Chris King R45D on Nextie Premium 29 XC rims 21mm internal are 1375g
Chris King ISO on Nextie rims are 1410g. 22/23mm internal though.
Chris King ISO on Nextie AM rims are 1526g with 30mm internal width.
Chris King ISO-B on Nextie 29+ 45mm internal rims are 1835g
What width of LB granny?
30mm ext I think
Very happy with my DT XM 1501 wheelset - about 1,650g in 25mm internal Boost 29er configuration.
I think the hunt 30mm rims look the best value and cant see anything lighter without spending a lot more.
I mean, you don't need 30mm rims on an xc race bike so there's a good load of weight you can save there?
I not racing, but am competitive with my own stats. Since it's a rigid build I want to keep wide tires and might even put a 2.5 or 2.6 on the front.
So, the Hunt wheels are not in stock till end of August. ANyone use fitwheels in Poland? They have some DT XM481's on 350 hubs for not much more than the Hunts.
Anyone ordered from Fitwheels.eu?
Still cant decide which rims to get. They will be for a rigid XC bike with 2.4" tires setup tubeless and quite soft.
my wife has a set of lightweight Hunts. very impressed with them, they've had a right bashing for two years and are still smooth and true. i don't think you can do much better for the money
I was after the hunts but all out of stock till the end of August.
A few fitwheels reviews on this thread - looks OK to me
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/help-picking-350-29er-wheels/