My god son would like to upgrade his wheelset this year and has been lusting over some carbon wheels from China, as he’s only 16 I want to make sure his hard saved cash doesn’t end up wasted.

He curently has a Spesh 2016 Crave fitted with Stout XC Pro wheelset but I can’t find any weight information about them on the web.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for a light 29er wheelset sub £500, he’s only 60kg dripping wet and races XC so it doesn’t need to be a burly set. But still fragile is not good obviously. Doesn’t have to be carbon of course, although that would rate in his bling factor, but I know some of the ally rims about are probably lighter than some of the cheap Chinese carbon rims etc.

TIA

Weigh his current wheels.

Imo, at 16 and his own cash, he needs to have a cheap way of repairing/fixing them, so I would avoid most proprietary systems.

American Classic Wide Lightening 29

Probably better looking for some Crests.

I’ve told him the first step is to weigh his current wheelset so we knows where he’s coming from but he has no scales at home. He needs to ask about and find some so I agree there.

He’ll also save a load of weight ditching his tubes, but I’m a little worried he won’t be able to set it up and take care of it properly. As he’s not local I can’t teach/help him regularly. His dad is not daft but he isn’t a cyclist either!

Scales, any supermarket and £10.

Best spend of cash imo, if you’re looking at lightening a bike. Need to know the facts first.

Crests on Hope Pro4/DT350.

I have a pair of crests/hope pro 2 and they come in at 1670g

That’s lighter than my LB carbon 29ers on SS switch ultra. They are the wide 30mm inner ones though so not a fair comparison!

Luggage scales (amazon etc) would be easier for weighing stuff that tabletop scales, you can weigh the whole bike then too.

Then speak to someone like JRA for what they suggest. I too would stick to easily obtainable components and don’t worry too much about ultralight hubs. Their weight is at the axle so less important than rim weight, a reliable and easily serviced (for a long time) hub is more important than ultra light hubs IMO.

Ps for the carbon argument:

Cheap carbon has greater returns the wider and burlier you go.

Slim and very light carbon is possible but you are looking at expensive rims with high optimisation and more complex manufacturing and quality control.

My gut feeling is aluminium will be a better option for him for weight, cost and repair potential. But happy to proven wrong if you can find some cheap and very light race style carbon rims.

at 16 he should be crashing at every opportunity, learning his trade.

decent alu rims (Crest, DT) on Hope is the way forward.

He sent me this link earlier: Light Bicycle XC light carbon and they seem well priced at $800 but my concern is he won’t be able to take care of them alone.

Agreed on sentiments above, if something goes he’s going to need to find the money to sort it.

He’s not going to want his bike to be up on bricks for a summer whist he washes pots to get the money together for a new carbon rim.

So, decent (Hope/DT) hubs on decent alloy rims are the way forward.

One of MoonGlu’s handbuilt offerings would be a good place to start.

Also, for racing sometimes you want to keep on riding through a mechanical- soft tyre or flat or a load of busted spokes- which I’d rather do on a £60 crest than a £150 carbon rim…

(At this budget, I wouldn’t do Hope, I’d be trying to find some cheap used DT240S. They’re better, lighter, more reliable hubs- ridiculously expensive new so **** that, buy a set of 26er wheels with the hubs in for about £100-£150. (I’ve done this 3 times now! It’s the one good thing about 26ergeddon)

That’s a great idea Northwind but we don’t know any wheel builders local enough to do this for us, and I simply don’t have the time to build my own yet alone his!

Whereabouts in the country are you ?

I’ve not bought from them but they are very competitive.

https://www.actionsports.de/en/wheels/custom-wheels/mtb-disc-29-/?p=1

I’d go handbuilt, mainstream hubs (ie DT, American Classic.

Carbon rims allow the use of lighter spokes ie DT revolutions and still remain stiffer than Crests. Crests are (I am told) too flexy and need the next step up ie Sapim D light spokes. At that weight you could reduce spoke count on carbon rims but 4 spokes per wheel it’s hardly worth it and resale is likely poorer

Alloy nipples

Light weight discs, tubeless and keep an eye on tyre weight without doing stupidly puncture prone.

To give an idea DT240, D light, alloy nipples, 32h Crests are approx. 1500-1525g, the same with carbon rims about 100-150g lighter.

Shit happens to wheels – sticks, rocks etc. Personally I don’t think the carbon is worth it.

Tubeless is a must. Godfather lesson required!

bikestacja (or however it’s spelled) in Poland have some great deals on full builds, well worth checking out.

He lives in Jönköping, Sweden 😯

mavic crossmax SL Pro on offer on CRC

Thanks for all the replies, impressed with Bikestacja, DT Swiss 240s ZTR Crest 29″ 1490g for 456€!

def the crest on 240. I run expensive ENVE carbon hoops now, and on a 29r notice the difference in stiffness compared to my crest 2nd set. However at 16 and 60kg he will be more than fine.

I got a set of light bicycle carbon rims (RM29C06)and on a set of super star switch ultra light hubs with CX ray spokes and they came in under 1500g (I can’t remember the exact weight).

I got a local shop to build them for me and they have been awesome.