Hope wheelset standard or 35w

Hi all,

I am currently building a Stanton switchback next gen, I’ve decided to go boost as it as it seems the way things are going.

My dilemma is which hope wheelset to go for? Do I go for the standard width hope tech enduros on pro 4 hubs or the new 35w hope tech enduro rims??? I will be running 2.3/2.4 tyres.

Any advice would be great!

Cheers

Steve

Which tyres?

Maxxis high roler or magic Mary’s

Id go with the new 35w on Pro 4s

Both tyres are pretty square and suited to the standard Enduro not the 35w, I’d have thought.
If you go for the wider rims, consider rounder tyres, or tyres designed for wider rims (like DHF WT).
All about where the side knobs end up.

If you go 35 can you run 3inch tyres?

My experience of wide rims (Ibis 41mm) is it really limits tyre choice.

Maybe go for a custom hope build,hope pro4s,Stans Arch MK3 @26mm internal and nice and light around £407 delivered from CRC.

Big, Big or Biggerer? New wheel options available now.

This blog post from the bird chaps is worth reading, and sort of says you are committing to WT tires by going 35mm. A slightly narrower rim might be a better compromise for running a variety of tires.

Probably slightly contentious but I’ve found 30mm internal rims to be about the sweet spot. Just wide enough to provide support for full 3″ tyres but also has a nice profile with Conti MK’s 2.4, OO Chunky’s, WTB BO 2.5 and NN 2.8. I’ve tried all the above on my rims and yes, I do have a tyre fetish.

Here’s the original with discussion comments too:

Posted by Bird Cycleworks on Saturday, November 19, 2016

Its also worth noting that the 35Ws are pretty heavy as mentioned in that post. Im planning on rebuilding mine with DT XM521 rims and a mix of comp and comp race spokes using alu nipples – that will shed around 10% from the wheel weight which I think is worth having as the WT tyres are heavier too, and Im looking to get back to a 3.6kg tyre & wheel weight which would be getting on par for a 25mm/2.3 trail set up.

From my testing to date, the big tyres on 35W wheels are not faster. They are more assured and offer more grip, and have a nice indestructible feel to them when you ride, but the additional weight is offsetting that advantage overall. Getting that weight down will be the key I think to this set up being actually faster.