A simple question. What is the best 29er wheelset below £350 for hard trail riding, tyre size up to 2.4 max.??

Suggestions welcome.

Thanks

hope hoops on stans flow

For less than half that I picked up Pacenti TL28’s on Superstar Switch Evo hubs. So far they’ve been excellent!

Of course “best” is quite subjective, but I can wholeheartedly recommend these wheels so far at half the price of a set of hopes. Of course if you’re happy spending the money though, Hope Pro2’s on Flows would make a great set of wheels too.

Wait till next month for the new hope hub with 40t ratchet

Current thinking are the new Hope hubs with Arch EX or Spank Oozy Evo in cool silver……retro. Thoughts?

For that money just get the Hopes. Job done.

26″

Just got stans flow on SS switch evo for £180…
you risk superstar tho…

Had a set of SS with Flows…….awesome until the bike got nicked! Hope/Stans are the obvious choice, just hope the new hub will be a little quieter. It is nice to be different though, hence thinking about the Spank Oozys. All the reviews have been good and they look bling as well as being light

Flows on Hope 2. Fat knacker tested for 2 years satis. Just got another set for my next slow build project.

I’ve been very happy with Crest tubeless rims on Hope hubs, from Stiff. 2.5 years, still straight & no punctures yet. (Cotic hardtails, Ardent tyres)

The Pro2 40T/Flow EX wheelsets are already shipping, I have a set waiting to go on a Banshee Prime

I have a pair of new Bontrager Rhythm Pro Tubeless wheelset for £150 or £180 with new tyres. Wide rim for 2.4″ tyres. Comes with the tubeless strips ready and converted.

Just got myself some Hope hoops with Arch EX rims for my Trance 29 from Moonglu cycles, they were the only ones I could find with Arch Ex rims in stock. Only had a few rides on them, but initial impressions are good, very little flex in them compared to the wheel set I had before them. Considering another pair for the Solaris now 🙂

hope hoops on stans flow

that would make for an interesting wheel 😀

Easton Haven 29 from chain reaction. I have 2 sets. Both cost less than £350. They are light (1700g) stiff, bling and have sealed ust rims so no crappy tape required to run tubeless.

How do people find the haven hubs? Are they as bad as rumour suggests?

Pro2 40T/Arch hoops are the other option as I don’t want to go to the £500 for some lb carbon wheels.

Crc don’t have any hope hoop stock at all at the moment and I’ve got vouchers to use!

I really like my Havens. They aren’t quite as stiff as Flows but they are a good chunk lighter and still strong enough to cope with rocky descents and the odd trip down a DH track. The rims appear to be less prone to denting than the flows although i did manage to put a small dent in the rear a couple of weeks ago after landing badly on a drainage bar. The rear hub has been fitted with the upgraded bearing kit, which came free with the wheels, and the sealing seems to be fine with no problems in 10 months of use. I wouldn’t have paid the original £700 asking price, but they are definitely worth a punt at £350 as long as the rear hub has been upgraded, or comes with the kit.

Will have to call crc and see if theirs come with the upgrade.

Stans Arch EX or Flow EX Hope Hoops.

Chipbutty, so you would definitely recommend the Hope/Arch combo. Any idea of the weight.? I am really considering the same, but wouldnt go the Hope Hoop route, instead having the wheel built.
Bruceandlauren, Yetiman, you really rate the Havens. I brought a set but the rear hub was not the upgradeable one (serial number needs to end in 1) so sent them back. Should i add them back to the list?

Love my Arch EX/Pro 2 Evo combination on my SS.

Flows on Hope Pro II +1

mase – I do like my Havens. I have one of the early rear hubs with the serial number ending 121. I ran them for 3 months before fitting the upgraded bearing kit, and during that time the bearing pre-load adjuster kept working loose so I had to add a bit of thread-lock to it to stop it happening again. Since fitting the upgrade kit (a 20-30 minute job following the Easton You Tube instructional video) I haven’t had any issues whatsoever. The latest wheels have definitely got to be on the radar when looking for a 29er wheelset, as they’re reasonably light, reasonably stiff and the spokes stay nice and tight, but I’d only buy if the rear hub can be upgraded.

Yetiman, how long and in what conditions hva you been riding with the upgrade kit fitted? Long enough for things to gonwrong if theyre going to?
I have heard only positive things about the upgrade and can’t see a company like Easton cocking things up twice by bringing out an upgrade that doesnt work!!
One more thing, what axle did you go for and how convertible are they?
Thanks

mase, it’s been about 5 months now since I fitted the upgraded bearings. <fingers crossed> no problems yet but it’s been a pretty dry few months <fingers crossed>

Axles are 15mm front and 135x12mm rear. I believe you can convert them quite easily (according to my LBS) but I haven’t looked into it myself.