Shimano M475/Alex XT16 wheels: any good?

A mate gave me a pair of wheels last night; they’d been his shed, since before he moved in. They need a clean up, and there’s one missing spoke on the rear, but they don’t look too bad. Disc hubs, V-brake rims, so versatile, anyway!

What are these, Deore level? Anyone got owt good or bad to say about them? Worth cleaning up and sorting out, or just cheapo stuff?

They’re OK, not top end by any stretch, but for free, they’re fine – they’ll last a reasonable amount of time. As usual, with any half decent wheels, it’s the build/spoke tension that matters waaay more than the components. That’s not to say that better rims don’t make a better wheel, just that the best/strongest rims ever will still bend easy if they’re built badly.
In my experience the weak point with Shimano hubs is the freehubs tend to slip occasionally after a few months use. This has happened to me on every Shimano rear I’ve ever had! Not so with Hope!
So, if you know what you’re doing, when you replace the spoke, loosen the lot & re-tension. Then you’ll have a set that’ll do well & last a while.

I have a similar pair of wheels in my shed same hubs but the rims are TD17 disc only. The hubs need regular re-greasing because the seals arent very good and when I bought the bike the spokes were a bit slack which was sorted out by a friend. They lasted a year of off road riding before they were replaced now they are my spare set.

For a budget set of wheels they are pretty tough but weigh a lot well worth keeping for a spare, or fitting with slicks for a commuter bike.

Nice one. Ta. So, worth sorting out, then. That’s what I wanted to hear. Otherwise, struggling home last night, in the pissing rain, after I’d had a few, with a wheel on each end the bars, would have been pointless!