XC wheels c.£400

looking for a set of XC wheels at a budget of around £400.

need boost. not fussed about wide 22-25int is fine for what I do, but would like light, c 1500g the pair or thereabouts

Currently hovering over a set of Hunt XC race, as they fit the bill, but wonder if there’s anything else I should consider?

Silt are an option, once in stock, but have read reviews about them being super flexy.

I’ve looked at Chinese carbon, the elitewheels get decent reviews, but can’t see the benefit of 50g weight saving over the hunt, plus the risk of returns should anything go wrong.

I’ve looked at building myself a set, I have a pair of XR331 rims that I could use, but by the time I factor in sapin D lites or CX rays, and a set of hubs (even the goldix cheap hubs, or bitex)  I keep coming back to what the advantage is over the hunts….

so, is it hunt then?

Silt XC alloys are definitely worth a look, we’ve got 2 pairs and they’re excellent.

https://www.justridingalong.com/range/monitor/

with the discreet graphics option

Very happy with my silt xc here.

Ended up going for the hunt race xc, the silts are out of stock.

:-)

I’ve got a pair of the Hunt  XC Race and they’ve been really good (apart from a tape job that looks like a pissed hamster did it)

Ordered at 2pm yesterday, arrived at 10:30 this morning.

look nice. fully taped by a sober hamster ;-)

1520g inc tape and CL lockrings.

Tubeless valves and 3 spare spokes included, and a little sticker.

I like getting new stuff quickly.  :-)

Ha! So it wasn’t just me who had Hunt wheels taped up by the in-house work experience kid.

To be fair, they were a good price, haven’t broken yet and ride really nicely… but first impressions when pulled them out the box were underwhelming.

I went for these myself.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003510224290.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.69.d3021802TC0SAs#nav-specification

I’m waiting for Specialized to send me the tyres I paid for 6 days ago to test them, they’re not responding to my emails despite having my money.. I’m right near Rutland so ordered via their Nottingham/Rutland local store thing on their website, but given collection didn’t save me any money over delivery, opted for that.

With regards to the wheels, I didn’t need to pay for my wheels until they arrived, and they were built to order, so there was a lead time.  I also paid the DPD costs to cover duty and stuff and it was about £400 all told, with duty etc paid.

Elite stuff seems to review quite well, but time will tell.

the elite wheels were a serious contender, but for me it came down to, well, probably just being impatient, as I was getting lead times into mid October for seller shipping method. plus 1470g elite wheels vs 1520g hunts..

Yeah the lead time is fair enough.  I’ve got tyres on mine now, and tomorrow I’m going to chuck it around the woods to see how they are.

I’ve got a set of Hunt XC Alloys and a set of Silt XC Carbon.

Both are great, and to be honest with you I don’t find the small weight gain of the Silts all that noticeable. Maybe the purists among us will argue otherwise.

Both are really great value, and both are British brands which for me is a plus.

Hunt customer service is outstanding, those folk really know how to look after their customers. Silt aren’t too shabby either.

I run a Garbaruk cassette and there is a compatibility issue with the Silt hub so I tend to use it on the Hunts.

The Silt ratchet hub is innovative and I do prefer it to the pawl type on the Hunt, although neither hub has given me any trouble in that respect. Silt told me that they invented that type of ratchet, and that others (such as DT Swiss) then made similar iterations.

As with any MTB wheelset, you need to service them regularly to get the best from them. I clean mine every couple of rides to rid it of any grit etc.

I’m not so sure I needed the carbon rims, I think the Silt alloys would have suited me just as well.