New wheels, which rims?

So need to replace the wheels on my Hightower. Hubs is easy, the right answer is pro 5 😂

Rims however…. I can’t/wont’t stretch to carbon, so which would you pick from DT XM481, Stans Flow mk4 or Reserve HD AL, and why?

I’ve got XM481’s on my hardtail, they’ve been reliable but my riding style is sympathetic.  The EX511 is what I tend to see on bigger bikes with more rowdy riders.

I’ve had a set of XM481’s on my Hightower for nearly four years now without any hint of an issue. I’m probably not the hardest on my gear but I do weigh in at over 120 kg these days and occasionally leave the ground so they aren’t getting an easy time of it either. Would happily replace like for like if they died tomorrow.

After much faffing about with different rims I’ve come to realise that the answer you often get on here- ‘whichever dt swiss is closest to you width/toughness needs’- is pretty sound unless you’re looking for something very specific and/or carbon.

XR391 on hardtail, XM481 on FS. I’m not particularly hard on rims but a friend who a) is a fair bit heavier than me and b) has much more of a ‘charge in’ approach also seems to be doing ok with 481s

Don’t the Reserve HD AL have the same decent warranty as the carbon ones? I’d be tempted by them for that reason alone if the weight is in a similar ballpark to the others

The weight of the reserve rims (580g for 29”) put them closer to the EX511 (590g) than the XM481 (550g). Not exactly loads in it though.

Newmen sl A30 are 510g and ime excellent

The right answer for rims and hubs is DT Swiss

XM481s have served me well, but if not running inserts it might be worth having a look at options that have a wide top rim lip to reduce chances of pinch flats. Few options out by now, but I think they might have all been carbon.

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/video-a-decade-later-and-still-the-racers-choice-why.html

Dt swiss ex 471.

Good enough for gwinn to do a tyreless run.

Good enough for Troy Brosnan to run now.

If it can survive a run or two with them I thought it would be good enough for me after killing a rim at Llandegla. 6 years on my rear is still pretty much round and dink free. I’ve snapped some spokes with branches and wrote off quarter of the spokes in a nasty crash but the wheel was rebuild and is still going strong.

The front is a dt ex511 and that feels noticeably heavy. It was a replacement after ramming the front wheel into a tree in dust in whistler. It feels noticeably slow to accelerate. The difference is weight is tiny, it is probably most in my mind as I know it’s heavier. The ex511 has lasted me 5 years and is still absolutely fine. It’s snapped a few spokes,but when it did hardly went out of true

If you are building them the pr washers on DT.swiss are fiddly as a fiddly thing when building.

Always dt swiss rims (and hubs) for me now, though I’d go for 471s for the 25mm width. Stans rims are probably the worst bit of mountain biking kit I’ve ever used, awful durability for dents and feel like spaghetti flex wise

Have AL SL on my Heckler SL and so far seem fine. Will build up spare front with Hope Pro 5 hub.

Why = warranty looks a winner, rim came with tape and fancy valve 🙂 Hope do nice colours.

Why not = paint wears off with wheel strap on carrier.

Existing ones 29 f and 27.5 rear holding up to heavy / no skills rider. Frequent crasher.

SL front and HD rear might be an option.

As an opposing view to @markspark I’ve run mk3 Flows on my Stooge for 4+ years now. It’s a rigid bike so they take a battering, and I ride it on some pretty lumpy stuff sometimes.

They haven’t missed a beat, still true and go up tubeless incredibly easily (still on original factory tape too I think!).

I agree on Hope for hubs – Pro2 Evos and Pro4s on a couple of bikes and they just work. The Stans Neo hubs on the Stooge have been ok, but snapped one axle and killed one freehub in 4 years.

Can you actually buy the Reserves now? Last I heard they were having trouble supplying replacements for owners, just because they’re super mega sold out, a couple of people on pinkbike got free upgrades to the carbon ones because of it.

Stans used to be good ( I <still> have a gen 1 Flow in use, it just won’t die, I brought it out of the shed to replace the mk3 that was supposed to replace it and which was as tough as a pear), but they somehow went through a couple of generations of getting worse, at the same time as DT swiss were getting really bloody good. So between those 2 it’s a nobrainer imo, I’ve never regretted buying a modern dt rim.

DT Swiss all the way for me.

I’ve been running XM481s on my Sentinel 2.5 years with minimal fuss. I think I marginally straightened the rear once in that time.

I’ve just build a second set of wheels – gone Pro5 hubs with an EX511 rear / XM481 front. Just to give the rear that extra bit of strength.

Has anyone mentioned DT Swiss? 😉

I’ve got EX511 on Pro 4 on my Levo and XM481 as part of DT Swiss factory wheels (some confusing number!) on my Moxie.

Just to be different I like Spank rims, built a few wheels now using spike race 33 and can’t fault them.

While dt swiss is excellent course, stans MK4 rims are some of the best I’ve used. S real step up from older products.

Can’t go wrong with XM481 (has somebody mentioned that yet?).

Relatively light, strong, finish seems to last, set up tubeless easily, readily available and relatively good value. Whilst I can appreciate the weight and aerodynamics of carbon on the road, off road I just can’t see the point when the 481 rim is so light, forgiving and good value compared to even the cheapest carbon.

One of those fit and forget classic bits of MTB kit. Some might say a little dull, but I value dull for rims!

I would get the EX471 rear and XM481 front.

Moonglu do a nice build at a reasonable price, although that combo might be a special request.

XM481 front and rear here on my ‘tough’ wheels – I’m not that heavy but I’ve done lots of enduro style riding on them, run low pressures, and give them pretty much full hammer – I wouldnt need anything heavier or stronger for anything other than full on DH racing.

The DT rims are lovely to build, I really like the Squorx nipples and also the matte, beadblasted anodised finish lasts really well and looks better for longer than a smooth or glossy rim.

Thanks all. Good shout out Chakaping, I will be getting them from Neil at Moonglu, been using his wheels for the last 15 years, he builds a lovely wheel!!

Just to clarify on the EX471 rear.

It’s 20g lighter than than the XM481 (530g vs 550g in 29in 32h version).

It’s tougher.

The narrower profile gives a quicker feel and a nicer shape to a 2.4in tyre IMO.

And I’ve seen some of the pros reckon a 25mm rim is also better protected by the rear tyre than a 30mm one.

Thanks! Looks like the ex471 might be better!

Also recommend the XM481 front EX471 rear. It’s usually the rear that takes a pounding and it’s a nicer profile on the rear for most normal tyre widths than the heavier EX511