Thinking about changing my Mavic EX 721's to something a bit less burly like the Mavic XM 719's (bit of a weight saving too), or possible going tubeless with the 819's.
How much roughly should I be looking at paying a LBS to swap the rims out?
nothing.
tape new rim to old. Move spokes and nipples over. Tension and adjust. Sorted.
Not a facetious answer, if ever there was a reason or opportunity to learn to build wheels its with a straight rim swap. You dont need a wheel jig, frame, forks, taped on matches/zipties will do fine.
check out www.sheldonbrown.com site for instructions. As long as the rims have the same (or close) ERD (effective rim diameter)it is a straight swap. I swapped 717s for 325s for a weeks Alps riding, and swapped back to 717s when I got home.
if the difference in spoke lengths for the two rims is only a mm or two you can just go up from 12 to 14mm nipples (or vice versea).
Looks like the 721 ERD is 532mm and the 719 ERD is 536mm - is that too big of a difference?
£85/wheel (including an en521 rim and 32 DT spokes)
I DIY'd it for pretty much the same cost for a pair with bits from rose bikes and sheldons guide.
100XC miles and 3 days uplift and they've been fine.
How old are the wheels? New spokes are only 30p each from rose bikes.
Wheels are only a year old - to be honest, the 721's are great rims, but might just be a little OTT for the type of riding I mainly do. Bought them with the intention of doing DH, but seem to be riding more 4x style tracks, the odd bit of hardtail DH on them. Chicksands etc. More Woburn / Aston this year.
you may find it cheaper to move the wheels on via the classifieds and buy 2nd hand ones that have the rim/hubs that you want - it may be 'cash neutral' in the end.
[b]Shameless plug[/b] -
I've 2 pairs of s/h wheels for sale and probably cheaper than a swap out.
One pair would probably suit: QR Deore Hubs with 717's and Stan's rim strips - interested?
eip
cheers br - after a bit of thought think I'm gonna see how it goes with the 721's this season... may replace end of the year.