Im looking to get some new wheels for my bike and am unsure what to get. i want something that is tubeless, reasonable light and strong. i have been reading some horrible things about the mavic hubs, warranty and customer support.

i sometimes ride quite aggressively as my background in riding is downhill/freeride and dirt jumps.

The wheels i have beeb looking at are in 650b/27.5:

Mavic Crossmax Enduro WTS
Mavic Crossmax XL WTS
Sun Ringle Charger SL
Spank Oozy 295
Custom wheel – hope pro2 evo with spank Oozy 295 rim.

what would people recommend?

Hope/Flow EX?

Saw these rims the other day in the flesh looked superb like a matt/ano finish. 25mm internal width so Flow ball park
Ask for Neil @ Moonglu will build you a superb set.

i sometimes ride quite aggressively as my background in riding is downhill/freeride and dirt jumps.

If you’re expecting to bend/break things then you really want to avoid anything with fancy hubs/rims/spokes. Something along the lines of Mike’s suggestion would do the job

http://www.light-bicycle.com/carbon-650b-rims-38mm-wide-hookless-mountain-bike-rims-tubeless-compatible.html

with your choice of hubs

mikewsmith – Member

Hope/Flow EX?

Yes, this.

If you’re expecting to bend/break things then you really want to avoid anything with fancy hubs/rims/spokes. Something along the lines of Mike’s suggestion would do the job

i havent damaged any wheels for a long time but dont really want to be caught out and i had previously been running hope hubs on mavic EX729 in 26″ which are pretty bomb proof.

as for the hope/stans combo i did consider it but wasnt too sure, had read on some DH topics that the flow isnt too strong, but this could be down to wheel building.

frampo – Member

as for the hope/stans combo i did consider it but wasnt too sure, had read on some DH topics that the flow isnt too strong, but this could be down to wheel building.

I’ve been running my Hope/Flow (old Flows so lighter than EX) combo for about two years now. I’m 12.5 stone and admittedly not a very smooth rider. I’ve used them for enduro races, dh races and local rides. My back yard trails are basically dh tracks. They’ve stood up brilliantly. I’d happily put EXs on a DH bike and many World Cup racers do.

Hope + Flow working for me. Been running them for about 8 months, zero issues.

Flope’s here too, what’s not to like.

Have you considered the Roval Fatties? £400, DT Swiss hub internals, Spesh customer service and 29mm internal width. I’ve not heard much on long-term durability of the rims though cos they’re quite new.

If you’re looking at those Mavics etc then imo it just makes a ton more sense to get lightbicycle rims or even nice alu rims on a good quality hub with proper spokes, for less. If you’ve absolutely got to tie yourself into proprietary bullshit then Mavic are probably the only company you should dream of doing it with but even so.

Re the Crossmax Enduro, specifically, it’s a bloody stupid design with the rear rim flimsier than the front, there’s no other manufacturer that’s ever thought that makes sense. Which is why a bunch of their sponsored riders are going around on different rear wheels, faked up to look the same as what they’re selling to punters.? Pretty crappy on all fronts.

If I had your budget, Lightbicycle carbon on DT240S- lighter, stronger and more reliable than anything on your list and cheaper than some

Superstar Tech 4 with DS25 rims – I have the 29er version and they’re a great alternative to Hope/Flows.

There was a code on Pinkbike that made them £150 a pair – might have been for all of February.

Hope Pro II and Flow EX’s, plenty strong enough and tubeless is a doddle.

Flope’s

Bravo!

Actually thinking of selling a new set of Mavic Crossmax Enduro and changing to Light Bicycle

Hope and WTB frequency i25s. Been excellent on my bike. Done uplift days and Mega with no attention required so far.

im still not convinced by carbon rims, so would prefer to stay alu at the moment. has anyone tired the spank Oozy rims or the Sun Ringle Charger SL wheels? they both look like they could be as strong as the Stans Flow but at a lower weight.

Lightbicycle carbon on DT240S

Northwind, how much do you think a set of these (made up) would cost?

@ Wrecker, mine ended up somewhere between £400 and £450- not sure exactly. That was with used hubs mind (bought in a wheelset) but used 240s are a safer buy than most new hubs.

(the one good thing about 650b mania is that it’s easier to get cheap wheels with good hubs)

Sheesh. looks like Flopes for me.

If you’re expecting to bend/break things then you really want to avoid anything with fancy hubs/rims/spokes. Something along the lines of Mike’s suggestion would do the job

+1

Speak to your local shop about some handbuilts. Hope on Mavic EN423s laced with heavier gauge double-butted spokes and 12/14mm brass nipples could work and are very repairable.

Hope or DT Swiss hubs; Ryde Enduro or Pacenti DL31 rims. Built up by someone who knows what they’re doing, with decent spokes. Bombproof, good weight, nice and wide.

frampo – Member

im still not convinced by carbon rims, so would prefer to stay alu at the moment. has anyone tired the spank Oozy rims or the Sun Ringle Charger SL wheels?

I had a set of Sun Charger Pros in 26″ flavor. Very light, fast, easy to set up tubeless and reasonably strong. Nowhere near as strong as a Flow though. 24 spoke if I recall, so getting spare rims can be a bit of a bastard. Sent them back when the freehub shat itself after a few months.

Closer to a Stans Crest than a Flow EX.

@DroverCycles What are the Ryde Enduros like? I have some King hubs that require new rims – I was looking at them as an option.

@DroverCycles, what could you build up a set of Ryde enduros on pro 2 evos for?

has anyone tired the spank Oozy rims

I’ve been running the Spank Oozy 2014 wheelset for about a year now. I’m very happy with it. The rims are pretty strong but I think if you’re going to be riding on rocky ground you might want to trade up to the Spike Race28 Enduro rim, it has a bit more meat on it which might come in handy for someone who is going to ride aggressively.

I’ve used the wheels for a bit of everything from all day XC rides to small jumpy bike park trails, rocky peak district trails and even a bit of DH action. They’ve stood up well to everything but I did manage to dent the rear when in the Peaks. I was riding like a loon and landed a drop on a spikey rock which although put a dent in wheel the tyre and tube stayed inflated (Spank’s design is supposed help with this). It was a harsh landing and I don’t know how a different rim would have reacted.

sack all of the above off and buy these –
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ibis-mojo-hd140-industry-nine-and-rs-revelation-2
I’d be all over them if I hadn’t just bought some nice DT EX1750’s.

DT5.1s for nearly £400?
If they had flows on, I’d have had them.

@Pimpmaster Jazz they’re great – lighter (460g vs 530g) and wider (29mm internal vs 26mm internal) than Flow EX, and they build into a very strong wheel – the rim itself, and the drilling of the spoke holes is asymmetric, meaning you get very even spoke tensions and thus a strong, reliable build. The spoke holes are also drilled at angles which means you get less bending/stress of the spoke at the nipple. We’ve built quite a few now and run a set on one of our demo bikes, and it’s riding beautifully and holding up well to abuse.

@wrecker – thanks for the enquiry. Depending on exactly what you want, from around £400 (that would be silver DT Swiss double-butted spokes, your choice of brass or alloy nipples, delivered to a UK address).

@wrecker – thanks for the enquiry. Depending on exactly what you want, from around £400 (that would be silver DT Swiss double-butted spokes, your choice of brass or alloy nipples, delivered to a UK address).

Interested, drop me a mail? I’d want black spokes though!

YGM! Black spokes no problem, total cost about £25 extra @ 40p per spoke.

@Pimpmaster Jazz they’re great – lighter (460g vs 530g) and wider (29mm internal vs 26mm internal) than Flow EX, and they build into a very strong wheel – the rim itself, and the drilling of the spoke holes is asymmetric, meaning you get very even spoke tensions and thus a strong, reliable build. The spoke holes are also drilled at angles which means you get less bending/stress of the spoke at the nipple. We’ve built quite a few now and run a set on one of our demo bikes, and it’s riding beautifully and holding up well to abuse.

Thanks. 😀

Early days with my Flow EX’s, they feel great on the trail and downhill, having done a couple of fast rocky descents and felt some stone strikes I wonder if they are a bit soft – there are already a few obvious marks on them, one of which looks quite deep. I may have been less judgemental on my older less expensive wheels but my early impression is that I thought they would be a bit harder / chip resistant in the finish, although being black it’s quite easy to touch them up.

The Ryde rims are so soft they make old DT Swiss rims look like they were made out of granite.

Been running DT Swiss XM1501’s for the last year without any problems at all and for a combination of AM/Trail/a little DH type riding out in rocky HK but going to a set of Light Bicycle carbon rims/DT Spokes/HopeProII hubs in the next week or so (when they show up due to Chinese New Year).
For the price I can’t see a better deal?