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Please can you recommend a 27.5 enduro wheelset around the £400 mark?
I've been looking at the new Hope Fortus 30w, current rims are 29mm. I'm just a bit put off by the weight which is 2305g when the 35w is 2100g.
I suppose I could go for the 35w...
Thank you for any help
Usual recommendation is Hunt Enduro Wide or DT Swiss M1900 or M1700 if you can find them on sale
Hunt Trailwide are 30mm internal, 1757g for £349 - https://www.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-trailwide-mtb-wheelset?variant=12211059687501
And the Enduro Wide are £359, 33 internal, 1994g
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/collections/mtb-wheels/products/hunt-endurowide-mtb-wheelset?variant=12211070566477
Hope really seem to have messed up with their new wheel range, the weights are just miles off, and it's not like the 35w are a super tough wheel at that weight.
Hunt... oh they're only using X hubs, or the rims are brand Y, i can build them for £7.50 cheaper etc.
right, now that's out of the way; just buy the Hunt wheels
The Fortus 30 is a downhill wheelset - if you look at the rims they're a different design from the 26 and 35mm rims and are much heavier.
The Hunt wheels are good, but the hubs aren't anywhere near Hope quality, and I doubt they'll have the same longevity.
Hope really needs a 30mm wheelset that is more enduro focused. As it is, when I replace my rear wheel it will be a custom build with a Hope rear hub and a Stan's Flow or similar rim.
JP
Spank Oozy 345s for £340 on CRC if 142x12 is your thing (and the colour graphics suit your bike). 30mm internal width. Pretty bombproof, but not as light as the Hunt wheels.
Standard answer: Pro4s or DT350s on Stan's Flow or Arch, depending on your type of riding.
Not the lightest, but robust ride nicely.
Thanks all.
The Hunt Enduro wide looking good at the moment. Hope 4 with Flows could also work. Does anyone sell them or do I need to buy the bits and get them built?
If I found an extra £100ish down the sofa would that make a big difference?
Hope rims, personally I'd stay well clear... Every wheel they've manufactured bends like cheese.
Likewise, not a fan of the hubs either. When compared to decent hubs, the lack/delay in
engagement is really noticeable.
Look for something more solid and ideally with a dt Swiss hub...
Lol - nothing wrong with Hope hubs - 8 degrees is pretty standard on decent hubs, unless you go for something super fast engaging (and put up with more drag from the freewheel).
I've never had any problems with their rims either, so are you going on hearsay or actual experience?
JP
Just to throw another option into the mix:
JRA built Flow MK3 rims on their Bitex hubs for £420.
I’ve never had any problems with their rims either, so are you going on hearsay or actual experience?
Experience. The enduros, the old DH rims and some 35ws.
I've got a barely used set of 35ws which are in excellent condition (replacement front after bucking old ones)... I'd be open to sell if anyone loves hope wheels.
Fair enough. You're wide of the mark with the lag, though - the DT Swiss XM1501 wheels that won MBUK's test a while back have 2 degrees more lag than the Hope wheels.
JP
I just bought a set of DT350 boost hubs on DT XM481 (35mm width) with DR Comp spokes for €400 Bikestacja
I had the older hope wheels (pre Fortus) bent the rims pretty quickly. Ended up getting some ex511 rims built on the hope hubs. They were crazy strong.
On hunt enduro wide and have to say that so far they are phenomenal. 3 months in after being plowed into and through everything and they haven’t flinched.
I found the hope hubs to have a noticeable delay before engaging. Flat pedally sections where I needed to get on the gas I noticed it most. Mates wheels with dt hubs and ratchet upgrades worked better for sure. As do the hunt in my opinion
I would buy the hunt. Not heard a bad word yet!
For off the shelf wheels the Hunts seem to be good value. I also had good service from Hunt when I needed a replacement road rim after an arguement with a pot hole.
When I had about £400 to spend I bought Hope Pro 4’s, DT Swiss spokes and some Dt xm481 rims in 30mm internal width. Love that wheelset - I’d recommend that combination. I can’t say I’ve noticed any lag on the hub at all.
Equally you could do the same rim and spokes but use DT Swiss 350 hubs - preferably with a 36t ratchet rather than an 18t if you’re sensitive to freehub engagement. I don’t think I’d personally have a problem with the 18t engagement though.
You’d need to find a wheelbuilder for the custom options obviously and they will likely cost a bit more than the Hunts.
I'd just buy a used set of XM1501's for that sort of budget. You arn't going to get anything new close to as good 🙂
If I found an extra £100ish down the sofa would that make a big difference?
Yes, you could get a set of DT EX471 on Hope Pro 4, or 511 if you want wider.
actionsport.de will build a set of DT 350 (36T) on EX511 with DT Comp spokes for EU449. Shimano freehub/non-boost..
Totally bombproof set of wheels.
I don't know about the Mtb wheels but JRA (recommended above by timmy1) were really good for my road bike wheels. And local to me so that was a plus...
I recently got a set of Hunt trail wides and I'm very impressed. I got them as a second set alongside my DT Swiss E1700 so that I didn't have to keep swapping tyres over. The quality is great and the rear hub engagement is insanely good compared to the DT 350 hub.
I have just bought a set of bontrager line elite 30's after much deliberation. Not spent much time on them but so far really happy with them. 29mm internal rim with 54 POE standard, an extra 15 quid gets you 108POE. They are straight pull spokes if that puts you off though. Weigh in at just over 1700g. I've looked at I9's, DT swiss 240's and a whole load of others. I've spent loads on wheels in the past but have become a tight arse as of late and these seem to tick all the boxes for the right price. You would need the extra £100 though plus £80 if running a sram driver. Dicks don't give you a choice and they come with shimano.
Bikestacja are always worth checking out, looks like they have XM1501s in 15/100/ 12/142 sizes, 650b for about £350
Just had a knackered (badly dented) arch mk3 rim replaced with an ex471 which seems pretty bombproof. Heavier than the arch but also seems a lot less prone to denting.
I reckon you could get a set of pro4s with ex471 rims for around £450
I've always liked the choices (and prices) at actionsports.de:
https://www.actionsports.de/en/wheels/custom-wheels/mtb-disc-650b-27-5/
Every wheel size, good choice of hubs and spokes and not crazy expensive. I remember looking at XC 29er wheels last year and worked out I could get DT240s, CX Rays and either Stans or DT rims for about €550 with a weight around 1400g the set.
Worth a play with the configurator 🙂
Thank you all for the advice.
This may or may not be of any help to you:
I was in the same position last year, I kill rims all the time, EX471 & EX511 on Hopes was my go to but you're looking at somewhere around £500 for a set, then £100 every time you kill a rim.
Disclaimer: EX series rims are awesome and pretty indestructible, the best alu rims I've used, it's just me being heavy on wheels. Extremely heavy for a 12st guy!
So I bought some carbon ones instead on the cycle to work scheme, Sixth Element ones with lifteime warranty which after the cyclescheme tax breaks will cost me about £550. £50 extra for carbon wheels with lifetime warranty, and, almost annoyingly, I haven't broken one yet!
Of course if you don't have Cyclescheme not much use but may be of use to someone else