Custom hardtail build – alternative to Hunt Wheels?

I’ve just landed one of the last Sonder signal Ti frames,which is due to arrival in a couple of weeks 🙂 and need to start buying bits…

I’ve budgeted around £500 for a set of light but stiff XC biased wheels & have got my eye on the Hunt stuff. Before I commit, I just wanted to check if there were any alternatives I should be looking at?

Weight for the Hunts is around 1600g so anything lighter would be a bonus. Any thoughts appreciated.

You could consider DCR Wheels in Lewes. Independent wheelbuilder.

Probably a little over budget but worth checking out whatever Newmen have to offer that suits you. At the slightly wider end of things they are both light and really nice quality.

JRA Traildog

Any lighter and you’d need to go carbon but then reach for your wallet

Hunt wheels at that price V weight are possibly one of the best options you have

Any lighter and the rims will bend like butter so depends on what type of trails you’ll be riding ….

buy some bitex hubs, dt comp spokes and dt xr rims and get someone to build them for you. or build them yourself if you are that way inclined.

https://siltmtb.com/

These are the off-road version of scribe wheels, very good value wheels and well worth checking out. They sell out almost immediately when stock is listed though so best to jump in quick.

Hunt are great, as are DCR and I’d definitely have a look at Strada too – worth chatting to Darren.

That’s a second for Strada great service and mega strong build I got and had quite a bashing down far and straight and true (hope pro4/flow mk3)

Just waiting for the posts slagging off Hunt lol.

I’ve got the trail wides and they ride beautifully and are lighter than most carbon wheels.

I did crack the rear rim but it was replaced under warranty.

for the price you can’t fault them.

Oh, I forgot to mention that they are on my Signal Ti which is an amazing hardtail.

I would personally get DT Swiss, they make the most reliable hubs and best rims IMO. You could probably get a bit lighter but DT Swiss should last as long as you need without hassle.

Signal Ti and Hunt Trail Wides here, too.

I would have preferred to build 350s on XM481s or the 511s, but then I looked at the Hunts and realised I could press buy then and have the bike built and riding the next day. So I did that instead.

I like the quick engagement, but I’d rather they were quieter. I put a big fold in the rear when I came up short on a jump and cased pretty hard on a root. Laced over to a discounted replacement rim from Hunt.

It didn’t feel like a huge impact, and I was a bit surprised at the damage, but without repeating the case on a different rim, we’ll never know how a similar rim would fare. Still happy with my choice.

Hope pro4 and dt swiss xm481.
Hope customer service and spare part availability is legendary and dt swiss make the best rims.

Hope pro4 and dt swiss xm481.
Hope customer service and spare part availability is legendary and dt swiss make the best rims.

I’m looking at rim options and keep on coming back to these, not the lightest but when the tyres have 2kg of mud on them it’s not really an issue…

Probably a bit overkill for XC use though.

I’d be looking at the Newmen Evolution XA.25 wheels, under 1600g for the pair.

Front – https://r2-bike.com/NEWMEN-Front-Wheel-29-Evolution-SL-XA25-Aluminium-FADE-6-Hole-15×110-mm-Thru-Axle-BOOST
Rear – https://r2-bike.com/NEWMEN-Rear-Wheel-29-Evolution-SL-XA25-Aluminum-FADE-6-Hole-12×148-mm-Thru-Axle-BOOST

If you go anywhere near rocks, I wouldn’t bother with Hunt. The hubs seem OK, but the Trailwide rim is made of kitkat wrappers and is simply not up to the job*. I’m not entirely convinced about the quality of the build either.

Not tried JRA Traildogs, but I’ve got a couple of pairs of their roadwheels which have been superb. Build quality is stunning – tightest laced wheels I’ve owned and they’ve not needed any maintenance in 6 years now. If I was going for a “Taiwanese bits built in the UK” wheel, they’d get my money.

…but my DT Swiss rims have been bullet proof. Running XM421 and EX471 on the hardtail, and there’s rarely a ride goes by without properly clattering the rear rim (Peaks, Lakes = lots of rocks). Not a mark on them after 18 months. As soon as I finally destroy the Trailwide on my FS (again), I’ll be rebuilding with an unfashionably narrow EX471 on the back and am looking forward to just being able to get on with riding and not worrying about rim damage.

*even running Rimpacts and DH tyre casings – no pinchflats, just constant dings.

Any experience of the Hunt Race XC wide wheelset? Got these as a possible for a lightweight 2nd set of wheels to cover gravel/local xc/big days on mellow stuff type riding with some xc rubber for dry summer days – basically replacing what my space chicken did. I’ll also have a burly set for more normal hardtail enduro/trail riding.

Dunno about weight but £500 will get you a nice pair of handbuilt wheels with top-end DT alu rims and either 350 or Hope Pro 4 hubs.

I’d definitely consider spending a bit more for Newmen as well.

And even if the DT-rimmed wheels came out slightly heavier, they tend to “ride fast” because they’re nice and stiff IME.

Hunt trail wides with the new Nobby Nics in 2.6 fitted to my Sonder Broken Road Ti

Light and capable wheelset and the 2.6s give a lovely ride at lower pressures. Really impressed with the build quality and fast hub engagement

My other wheelset is a set of Kinlin rims (essentially Hunt rims) with Hope Pro4 Boost hubs (in bling orange) and Sapim db spokes. These are 29ers and with 2.4 Maxxis they weigh the same as the 650b hunts! Smaller Tyres do contribute to the weight saving however both wheelsets are 30mm internal rim width so really impressed with the Kinkin for weight. They are quite a popular rim with wheel builders.

29er gives me an option to switch the Sonder to a faster roller for longer rides/tours

I genuinely think that I have found my favorite all time hard tail given I can switch it from 650b to 29er – highly recommended this HT
Cheers

If you want light wheels then you cant use hope hubs. Hope hubs have many benefits but they aint light.

Personally I would look at the Neumans or DT. I use DT 240s on EX471 and they are proper tough and light

I use both Hunts and Superstar. No issues with either.
FYI. Annoyingly I bought the Hunts as everyone in the press slagged off the love mud OE wheels for being heavy as ****. The press also said how good the Hunts were. 320 grams difference between the two in favour of the Hunts doesn’t make the love mud heavy. Totally shit name but not that heavy.

@chrismac – yes agree, I spec’d these as this wheelset will also be used on my Orbea Occam full susser and will need to take a beating !

Still a light wheelset tho (lighter than the DT Swiss 1900 that were stock) – mainly due to the Kinlin rims

I did consider Hope RS4 as these are a bit lighter and better for XC duties but as above, needed something that can work across XC and GNAR

from personal experience of a few of the rims and wheels mentioned here, i’d recommend dt rims over the other mentioned (with the exception of Newman and i know nothing about them beyond what i’ve read)

bitex on ex471 (old ex1501 rims) on my hardtail and DT 240s on ex471 rims on my FS

I have had a pair of hunt xc trail wide for the last year and a half.

One spoke through the rear rim after a year- hub rebuilt and wheel rebuilt promptly by hunt.

Smashed all the rear hub internals and snapped axel, all bits promptly replaced by hunt, including a new version of the freehub, and rebuilt by me. I was a bit worried as this was more than a year after I bought them. I noticed the website now states a 3 year warranty.

They have done sub 800 miles.

Cheap, light with a good warranty.

I smashed the rim in the first full lockdown so bought a second hand set off a mate while they were fixed. These are significantly heavier and getting the hunt back on the rear made the bike feel noticeably more sprightly.

I bought a pair of these carbon wheels off eBay. £340 ish delivered ~1600g. I’ve had perhaps 400 miles on these with no problems.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/29ER-Carbon-Wheels-MTB-Wheelset-30mm-Width-Tubeless-Mountain-Bike-Sram-Sram-XD/273593799528?pageci=1b44f475-376b-4512-868e-ed142e1d39ff

If either pair die I’ll be building some dt rims on hope hubs.

Light is all well and good but I’d rather be riding my bike than fixing it

I’m a bit oldschool and don’t ever trust factory built or all in one manufacturer wheels. Pro 4 and Mavic or DT rims for me!

Blueflow wheels are brilliant. Hope hubs and under 1600g for the pair. Hand made too.
Bit over the £500 though.

“ for the price you can’t fault them.”

Err, yes you can because by your own admission one of the rims cracked

Definitely mixed feedback on the Hunts. Seems to be the old adage of light / cheap / strong…..choose 2.

I was hovering on the buy button until the price went up £30 & delivery went from Feb to may this week (2 days after calling to confirm availability!)

This thread has given me a big alternative list to wrk thru. DTs being a safe bet apparently & ive also realised hope hubs are heavy.

Wheels definitely the hardest choice for the build. Everything else is clear in my head!

I picked up some Xm1501 DTs late last year for less than 500. Check out what deals are on them.

Just to throw another idea into the mix, I have Superstar V6/Stans Flow wheels on my hardtail. They are surprisingly light for burly 29er wheels(around1800g) and I haven’t had any issues (there were some early problems that they sorted by sending out new pawls/freehubs). The same build with Arch rims would be quite nice and lighter.

I got them in a sale for under £300 but if I had your budget I’d still go DT.

Hope hubs are heavy? Maybe a few grams more but it won’t make any difference in the centre of the wheel and at least you’ll know the hubs will still be compatible with whatever weird standards crop up in the next 10 years (or more, my Pro 2s can still be converted to anything and are very old now!).

ive also realised hope hubs are heavy

Hope’s aren’t heavy per se, they’re on par with DT350. Yes there are lighter, but that’s usually at the expense of longevity. Hopes have proper sized stainless bearings and ability to be switched around for different standards. They also keep U.K. people in jobs and pay their mortgages. That’s worth more than a couple of grams to me!

You can get a bitex hub for 1/2 the price of a hope rear and slightly lighter. The front bitex is about the same price and lighter.

On a Ti Signal and went for the Hope Pro 4 hubs on fortus 30 rims definite strong wheels but the weight will make you weep 🙂

Got two sets of Stan’s wheels on a couple of bikes.
The Flow Mk3 29ers and some Baron 27.5+.

The Stan’s Neo hubs seem really good, no issues in over 12mths on the 29ers, and 10mths on the 27.5 wheels.
Sound is quieter (by a little) than Hopes.

Build is great….I build my own wheels for 20+ years, so know what to look for, and these have not needed re-tensioning or any attention.

Both sets go up tubeless with a track pump, haven’t needed my inflator yet!

Weight is approx 1850g for the Flow Mk3 wheels.

Thanks for all the inputs, had a bit of a search around some of the recurring recommendations. See below (Hopefully the formatting stays). Purely cost / weight / aesthetics so far, not got stuck into the detail but the SILTS are looking interesting. JRA a possibility if I can get rid of the lairy decals.

Hunt Looks great, fragile? £360 May 1657g
Dcr No pics, weight is 650b £400 1634g
Newmen Looks good £600 Stock 1600g
Jra traildog Don’t like the graphics £400 Stock 1600g
Strada wheels Stans arch & hope £555 ? ?
Silt Looks great, ratchet drive? £370 April 1510g

For £500 id personally stay away from pre built wheels and go to my lbs and get some hopes on a dtswiss rim of choice built up…. Nothing wrong with hunts, & enough people who have them and rate them, but the hubs of unbranded origin have always put me off.

I’ve recently also had some bargain hubs online (tune, Chris king & hope) so, Tbh id prob spend a week hunting down some nice discounted hubs and rims, and then get the lbs to build them up…

You can order the jra traildogs without the hub/rim decals.

On my Signal Ti I went for Hope Pro 4 hubs hand built into Stans Flow EX3 rims. Dave@Cyclefast in Halifax built these for me. Not the lightest option but they are really strong.

Hope hubs and dt swiss rims, will genuinely last for many years. Job done