29er wheel options for XC(ish) riding?

Looking at getting a new set of 29in wheels, which I’ll be putting on a trail/XC hardtail.

I weigh about 75kg and I’ll be using them for the odd XC race and general XC-style riding – mainly woodsy stuff but with a few rocks and the odd trail centre. Just small drops and jumps.

Needs to have 15mm front & 142×12 rear axles, and importantly, an XD driver (I’d probably have got something from Superstar already if they had XD drivers for their Switch hubs).

Ideally I’d like something light, strong and cheap – with some flexibility on the the “cheap” bit for the right wheels. Stiffness is a priority for me, so I’m wary of Crest rims (I thought the 26in ones were flexy).

I’ve previously been sceptical of carbon but I can see the appeal for XC 29ers, so I’ve been looking at these…
http://www.light-bicycle.com/Hand-built-All-Mountain-Cross-country-carbon-29er-MTB-wheelset-30mm-wide-tubeless-compatible.html

Any thoughts on 28h vs 32h? DT Comps vs bladed spokes? Hub choice?

Thanks 🙂

Got a nearly new pair of Mavic Crossmax XL’s for sale if of interest? XD driver, comes with all the bits for 135 and 142 back end and 15mm and QR front…

Awesome wheels, just don’t need them any more so will be going spare.

You could try velocity blunt ss rims- betwen (last gen) crests and arches on weight, I’d say on stiffness too, nice and wide. Build on hubs of your choice?

I’ve just ordered a pair of Spank Oozy 295s from CRC – bargain at the moment. Bit concerned about the rear only having 28 spokes and some individual customer reviews saying spokes came loose and freehub metal like cheese, but the mag reviews all seem good. Spank’s philosophy is all about developing aluminium as a viable and cheap alternative to carbon weight, so I hope their products back that up. They’re aimed at a bit more trail than pure XC but they’re about the lightest wide rims I could find. Think I’ll be running the rear at 30psi until I’m confident they’re strong enough!

Thanks for the suggestions. I think the XLs and Spanks will both be a touch heavier than I’d ideally like for an XC bike.

The Blunt rims look interesting, but pre-built wheels seem to offer better value.

After a bit more Googling I’m also now considering Hope Tech XCs and the new Crossmax Elite (when available).

Hope xc or Crests on hopes, never had an issue with my Crests over the years

For the same money as lb carbon you can pick up a pair of dt Swiss spline r1501. About 550 euro from the German sites. Same weight, but not carbon. M and ex versions if you can live with a bit more weight for a stronger rim.

Recently got some new hopes, been really pleased, noticeably lighter than my old whfwls (which were admittedly fairly cheap ones)

I don’t think you get the same benefits for XC with the LB rims- they’re wide and strong but not particularily light compared to a good alu XC rim. (basically they bring enduro wheels down to XC weights… But you don’t need light enduro wheels so why pay more for that?)

I’ll use mine in the XC bike but that’s just because I already own them, I wouldn’t buy another set for that job, I’d go with some sort of skinny puny less expensive alu rim.

I already have some nice 29in enduro wheels that weigh about 1800g. Looking for a lighter set that’s still nice and stiff.

I’m not particularly keen on carbon for wheels, but it seems to make a lot of sense for xc rims, where it’ll get less of a beating.

I’ll happily take a bit of weight in exchange for stiffness. Hate flexy wheels.

Bump for the Monday massive.

Still undecided.

The DT’s are a good recommendation, I’ve got a factory wheel set on my new bike with are DT Boost hubs, essentially 350 internals with the funky star ratchet and XR331 rims.

The rims are 380g each, which is nice. They spin up really well and are nice and stiff.

They’re excellent and look proper nice with their shiny silver hubs.

I’ve got the Hope XCs on Hope hubs – still fine after over two years and nearly 6000Km of riding.

Agree with the statements about cheapo carbon, you’re better off with a decent alloy rim and much nicer lighter hubs for less money.

You’ll also cry less if/when you clout a rim.

I’ve been thinking about something similar of late. Problem for me is I have a lefty fork so currently wondering if DT Swiss do off the peg wheelsets with their lefty hub?

Slight hijack so apologies but I may be interested in those XL’s mboy.

You’ll also cry less if/when you clout a rim.

I’ve stuck with alu so far for this reason, and I’m leaning towards it again mainly for cost and speed of availability.

I could just get an XD driver for the Crossmax XLs on my FS 29er and use those for the time being.

The new Crossmax Elite look good – 1615g and 22mm internal width. Selling for about £400 (including tyres).

The only thing I’d say about CrossMax is that they’re fine until something breaks when they have the potential to be a pain in the butt thanks to dedicated spokes, rims and hubs.

A few years down the line you may find yourself desperately trying to track down the last ones in the country so as not to write off an otherwise perfectly good wheel-set. Don’t ask how I know etc…

Ditto replacing rims which used to be fraught with expense and difficulty – Mavis’s own rebuilds have a good rep but are silly expensive.

There’s something to be said for standard issue rims, spokes and hubs when things go pear shaped ime. Nothing against Mavic, I have three sets of their wheels – two are road wheels – but there are potential downsides if you don’t view your wheels as break and throw away disposables.

Light, strong, stiff and cheap. Three are possible, four is going some.

LB rims allow you to run Revolutions and still be stiff. With a decent hub like a DT240 or AC, 32x and alloy nipples they come in at high 1300s/low 1400s. They are noticeably stiffer than my training wheels which are

Hope Evos with Crests, Sapim Dlights and alloy nipples for about 1600ish. You could substitute the rims for something chunkier but you’ll be knocking on 1750?

I presume the Mavics manage light and stiff on alloy by virtue of fewer but stronger straight pull spokes at massive tension. Cost is over the lifetime of the wheel and personally I’d not go there.

These guys can offer some amazing bargains.

http://www.bikestacja.pl/en/bicycle-parts/mtb/wheels-mtb.html?cat=1508

I bought a pair of DT350s custom builts from them for less than a Hope rear. The parts appear genuine and they’re still going strong 2 years on.

Not sure on weight but I’ve just bought a pair of Probuild Chosen hubs/Alex volar rims on recommendation off here. Pickup is instant, seem quite strong, and as an old hope customer in the past I’m genuinely impressed!

Light, strong, stiff and cheap. Three are possible, four is going some.

Yeah I was sort of hoping someone would point me towards a mega deal in the sales.

I presume the Mavics manage light and stiff on alloy by virtue of fewer but stronger straight pull spokes at massive tension. Cost is over the lifetime of the wheel and personally I’d not go there.

I’ve had six pairs of Mavic factory wheels and they’ve served me very well. Just the odd freehub issue (covered under warranty). I don’t tend to keep wheels longer than a few years anyway.