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As per the title, I've sold my 26er SS so I'm looking to upgrade the wheels on my 29er SS and am seeking a good buy.
I've got £150 to spend, might stretch to £200. Would prefer Spinal Tap-esque "none more" black wheels if poss - black hubs, rims, spokes. MIght not be possibl though I accept. They need to be 6 bolt fixing, and QR compatible front and rear which counts out the very keenly priced Shimano 29er wheels from Merlin (they're centrelock) and quite a few of the wheels I've seen at CRC (15mm front).
Have seen that superstar are doing stans crest on switch hubs for £200 - I can get black hubs and white rims there which make me squirm, but I could live with it.
Ideally I'd like Hope Hoops but can't double my budget 🙁
So, what have you seen?
I got the MT55 shimano ones from Merlin then bought 2 centre lock rotors from On One at £3.99 each.
[quote=cupra ]I got the MT55 shimano ones from Merlin then bought 2 centre lock rotors from On One at £3.99 each.
I'm running original hope minis so need 185 and 165 - can't get those sizes 🙁
Get the shimano wheels and [url= http://www.xcracer.com/shop/viewproduct.php?productid=206 ]these[/url] to run your hope discs 🙂
I got a set of Superstar XCX29er wheels for £130, black rims and hubs but silver spokes.
They seem decent to me. don't seem to heavy either.
There's some Halo wheels about that could be well within your budget if you don't mind polished alloy rather than black. Find a LBS with an account with Ison.
pacenti rims on switch at superstar for 195
seem to get good reviews, comparable with stans but eyeletted
Fulcrum Red Power 29 from bike-discount.de
Bought a set for my Karate Monkey last year and have been really impressed with them. Have taken a proper hammering over Dartmoor granite and still true as when they came out of the box. Not too heavy either. Great service too...were faster on delivery than Chain Reaction from whom I also bought a couple of things on the same day.
http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a63922/red-power-29-sl-disc-6-bolt.html?lg=en&cr=GBP&cn=gb
Those flucrums are good value. What is the freehub noise like 😉 Bike Discount are great for service.
Er...I'll see if I can get a recording of it for you on the way home!
Not as loud as Hopes, but louder than Shimano hubs if that's helpful.
They're great for the money either way.
Spot on. Thanks.
I was joking about the recording by the way.
If you can wait until April you can have the wheels off my new Commencal Meta as I will be upgrading to Hope Hoops.
Rims: Fulcrum Red Power XL 29
Hubs: Fulcrum 15QR front, 142x12 rear
Spokes: Fulcrum
Tires: Maxxis Ardent 2,25 front, Maxxis Crossmark 2,1 rear
They will be brand new, unused and in the UK at the end of April. You can even have the tyres.
Nice but I need regular QR and regular width front and rear.
will check out the links later, cheers
if you get switch hubs you can get them adapted to take f & r through axles to fit std qr dropouts which while not 15mm or 20mm is an improvement over std qr.
Gutted 🙁
I know you were. Spot on referred to your eloquent description of the sound 🙂
The Fulcrum hubs are easily converted to any standard fitting by replacing the end caps.
+1 Fulcrum Red Power XL 29er.......brilliant vfm, got a set for £169 from Bike24 a while back nearly £240 in theUK. Freehub is lovely and quiet a real breath of fresh air after yrs of hope hub buzz.
The ones in the link above (which I have) are the SLs - £169 for the XLs is a cracking deal though.
XLs at bikediscount.de for £167 too, bargain.
Just been through this. Superstar crest deal is hard to beat if you want tubeless rims. I couldn't bring myself to buy white rims :oops:so I stumped up another £80 for Hope Hoops from Progressive. Stretched my buget but well worth it I reckon
How about Stans Arch 29er rims on Deore hubs for £125? Bargain!
I'm not too bothered about tubeless - tried it, not that impressed.
Hub wise, I prefer cartridge bearings so not that keen on Shimano
Looks like the Fulcrum Red Power XLs from germany are the leaders at the moment then - need to find out if they're cup and cone or cartridge. Anyone know?
It says they are sealed cartridge on the Bike24 site.
It also says
The graphics of the Red Power™ family, too, make your oversize wheeled bike all the more aggressive.
Sounds just right for you 😉
Crest are great rims, though. Very light, which for me is important for a 29er wheel. I was also tempted by the Merlincycles offer but I always seem to kill Shimano rear hubs in a year or so
GRRRRRRR
Hear me roar, for I am SHONKY
Looks like the Fulcrum Red Power XLs from germany are the leaders at the moment then - need to find out if they're cup and cone or cartridge. Anyone know?
My SLs are cartridge bearings - would imagine the XLs are the same.
Full tech manual on the Fulcrum website:
http://www.fulcrumwheels.com/en/collection/offroad/xc-all-mountain/products/red-power-xl
Those Fulcrums look like a great deal. Anyone run them tubeless? Wondering if they need rim strips or just the tape.
I looked at the Red Power XL's before but was put off by the 19mm internal rim width, for me that's too narrow to run my favoured 2.35 Hans Dampfs 🙁
XLs are cartridge bearings too.
Superstar pacenti DL31's on tesla hubs
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I'm considering the fulcrum red power xl from bike-discount. Can anyone answer the question about the 19mm diameter rims and decent sized tyres. I want to fit Hans Dampf tyres on there. My arch ex (26s) feel a bit narrow compared to flows and I think they're 21mm.
Any real world experiences? I did look at the pacenti as well but the reviews of the wheel builds on the site didn't fill me with confidence.
FuzzyWuzzy - Member
I looked at the Red Power XL's before but was put off by the 19mm internal rim width, for me that's too narrow to run my favoured 2.35 Hans Dampfs
i run 2.35hans dampf on my 717 rims no probs
I run 2.2 or 2.25 tyres on my fulcrums...mostly maxxis ikon no probs.
did you get some in the end alex? Have now sold my bike and have the money to buy new wheels, so it's time to make a decision. If you've bought some, the decision might well be "wait 6 months till Alex buys something new then get a very lightly used set of wheel really cheap" 😉
i ended up going with stans/hope from merlin. lots more cash but wanted wider rims/tubeless/fit and forget. think jamesd bought some fulcrum xls so he msy be able to comment
oh and six months? get in line 🙂