Temudgin Jr would like to replace the excessively weighty cartwheels on the XC bike with some carbon bling!
The deal is that if I buy the new wheels, £20/week will be reimbursed to my account. I’m happy with this arrangement as Jr has a good credit rating with Bank of Dad from previous loans.
The question is which wheelset to buy?
The short list is:
Hunt Proven
Syncros Silverton 1.0
any other recommendations?
(id go for ally DTswiss rims with nice hubs, but Jr knows best!!)
SPORTANDLEISURE.COM Those are a great price, but no sram xd option at the moment.
I’ll have a look to see if anyone else has them in stock when I get home.
cheers
Hunt Proven
I have the Proven Trail's on my Stanton FS. They spin up nicely and fairly zip along without feeling harsh (IMO). They've not had too much abuse yet, but I believe the Hunt warranty is a good one. Guy Kesteven rates them, but don't know if he was paid to say he likes them.
Centre lock only though
I've no idea what they're like, or how available spares would be, but these seem a ridiculously good deal if boost are what you need.
MERLINCYCLES.COM I haven't ever seen them anywhere else, there's a thread on here about them somewhere
ive got them on my top fuel, for about 18 months, general trailbike duties.. no complaints (80kg) but others have killed them
I'd be getting quotes from one of the Chinese OEM's (Zen, Serenade, XMCS, etc) for their own rims to your required depth, width and weight limit, built with steel spokes and brass nipples on their own brand DT Swiss style hubs.
Get the ghosts and rebuild the back onto a DT hub (solves the XD issue. Or get a microspline cassette.
I bought some Cannondale Hollowgram carbon wheels from Merlin (
). Still selling them, not sure if I got them cheaper then that, or man-memory. They're boost both ends and have a microspline freehub but it's DT so easily swapped. The back wheel has daft/sensible cannondale offset but I did some checking and then just retrued to central using existing spokes. They seem OK to me but I'm not very rad, man
Those are a great price, but no sram xd option at the moment.
If your 12sp then I'd not get hung up about XD option on these. A MS cassette isn't a huge outlay. If you're 11sp on XD then fair point.
nixie's point about rebuilding the Ghosts onto a different hub is worth considering. I did that, rebuilding onto Pro5s (I did the front too cos I'm too much of a tart to have mismatching wheels). Approx 1550g. Would be lighter with DT hubs.
How stiff are those ghost c26? I've got some DT 370 / xm421 wheels a the moment, can definitely notice the flex.
So are those Mavics no good?
They're pricier but a sizeable chunk off. Sram XD too.
Thanks to all for the recommendations!
The Mavics are now the firm favourites, but I do like the price of the Cannondale option, but then it’s not my money!
Those Mavics are 650g lighter than the current setup, I hope they’re not too noodle-like.
cheers
I bought the hunt xc race about a year ago
Given them quite a beating and they are still running true. Zero issues. That's on a hardtail with 2.6" tyres.
I find them good comfort wise and a decent weight saving over what I had on before.
The ghost wheels above are a bargain but I thought too narrow, although they weren't as cheap as that at the time!
I also priced up the various Chinese options and couldn't get anywhere near the Hunts on price, and to have no warranty etc.
Not my ideal choice of hubs but otherwise a no brainer.
How stiff are those ghost c26? I've got some DT 370 / xm421 wheels a the moment, can definitely notice the flex.
Early days but I’ve not noticed them being overly flexy. 89kg on a Tallboy 5 on general trail use, no XC here. They replaced sturdy Reserve HD 30 carbons which are now getting more appropriate use on another bike.
My backup wheels are my Pro4/xm421s I used for years for similar riding. Broke a couple of spokes in that time, whether that was flex or just wheelbuilding quality (me…) I don’t know.
The ghost wheels above are a bargain but I thought too narrow, although they weren't as cheap as that at the time!
They’ve been as cheap as £292/pair - I got lucky. Measured 27mm internal rather than the quoted 26mm.
The ghost wheels above are a bargain but I thought too narrow
I'm guessing that you're referring to with 2.6 tyres you mention as, for XC, i thought 25mm internal was about right. Both my XC wheelsets are 25mm internal run with 2.25-2.35" tyres but maybe I'm not up on modern norms
^^ yup, 2.4's on the ghost wheels which i see as being about the best max, and probably on the biggest end if you want true XC tyres?
Reserve 28 XC’s can be had for £900, they come with the Industry 9 1/1 hubs
Had mine for almost a year and they have ben spot on
Who’s spending money on 29 inch XC wheels 😂
I've got a set of Hut Proven XC carbons and know a fair few people who also have them, they are (as ridden by Isla Short) WC capable XC wheels.
I've had mine for 2 years now and they're as good as the day I got them, been on 3 bikes including 12 months on a Scott Scale with my 82kg frame bashing them round trail centres and XC courses with not an issue, I think they're currently going for around £770
I’m looking for some XC wheels for longer days out on my Hightower… nothing gnarly, all rollable XC terrain, but on a bigger bike with more travel… can’t currently justify an XC bike AND keep the Hightower! So these are kind of an “advance” purchase to bridge me to a 2-bike future - unless one bike 2 wheel sets wins!
Figure the riding, rather than the bike I’m putting them on should determine wheel choice and the Reserves or Hunt XC Provens would cope with Quantocks and Exmoor bridleways?
Would swap to my big wheels for non XC days
I've no idea what they're like, or how available spares would be, but these seem a ridiculously good deal if boost are what you need.
25mm internal width and 24 proprietary spokes, it's a no from me
STRADAWHEELS.CO.UK 
