Carbon XC Wheels - Any recomendations

I've had the controls for 2 years and they've great. Only issue has been snapped 2 or 3 rear spokes but easy enough to replace and true. Not used on an xc bike. Used them on a ti hardtail, orbea occam, and cotic flaremax. Mainly on Sheffield/peak trails and trail centres.

I’ve also got Control 6b’s. Not had any issues with them at all, great wheels.

Was going to ask a similar question to this in the new year but I was going to add JRA Karve Carbon. Kind of settled on the JRA given the company had been around for years, Hunt have mixed reviews in general when i read about them on here and the like plus Silt was a bit more unknown as i havent seen much about them

However, at the moment, the dt swiss carbon xc wheels on merlin trump them all given they're currently a similar price to all of these mentioned. 25mm internal rim but that's fine for xc & light trail purposes

I’ve been debating whether or not to go with some of the Hunt Proven wheels this past couple of days. With the current discount they’ll be about £750. <br />Obviously there’s a few folk who’ll start beating their gums about how shit Hunt wheels are but in all honesty, I’ve had sets on my two MTB’s which have been faultless, same goes for my commuter and road bike wheels from them. <br /><br />

The DT Swiss wheels on Merlin look pretty good, again with the current discount they should be about £900 which doesn’t seem bad.

If I could get a set of the Specialized  wheels for £860 I reckon I’d happily choose those over any of the others though. 

Good call on those wheels from Merlin, hadn't seen them.  So they are £900 and I have some loyalty points with Merlin that would bring them down to £875 (assuming I can combine the two offers)

So the choice looks more like the Roval Control 6B's which re 29mm internal vs the DT Swiss XRC 1200's which are 25,mm internal.

I usually run 2.2-2.4 tyres so either set will be fine with these tyre sizes, the DT Swiss have the better hubs (180's vs 350's).

I'd get the Rovals.

I know it isn't what you are asking exactly, but having spent a small fortune on carbon wheels over the years, I settled back to DT 240 hubs and aluminium rims both on and off road some 3 years ago and have never regretted it.

Perhaps on the road there is some aero advantage (assuming you are fast enough to justify it!), but off road there doesn't seem much point. They are more susceptible to rock hits, they are no lighter and from the perspective of maintenance you really can't go wrong with decent hubs, j-bend spokes and good aluminium rims. I also prefer the ride quality.

You will get a very high end bespoke pair of handbuilt wheels with aluminium rims for less than some bog standard carbon wheel from the likes of Hunt.

I’d get the Rovals.

Why? Genuinely curious...I do get it if you say internal width but, aside that, given the DT Swiss are top of the range, I cant see why you'd choose Roval

good aluminium rims

I do get what you're saying (And I recall your high end bikes over the years on here) so which brand rims would you go for?

Anything from the DT catalogue really. You can't go wrong, Wouldn't touch Mavic these days.

The beauty of DT is that they offer a weight and profile of rim for every occasion, depending on your tyre width and desired use. Some of their XC rims are a little narrow by modern standards (I use the XR331 on a gravel bike for example), but their all mountain rims are competitively light for a decent width.

A DT XR391 rim on a pair of DT 180 hubs with DT Race Lite spokes will be lighter than carbon, more serviceable, better built (if you can find the right builder - Harry Rowland has always been my go-to), arguably better riding and will be cheaper than carbon too.

Depending on your weight, you could go 32 hole out back and 28 up front which will add to the bespoke experience and is something that you just can't match off the shelf.

https://www.dtswiss.com/en/components/rims-mtb

IIRC Rovals have the 4mm wide rim edge to protect against dings.
Hub weight 180 over 350 is negligible as it's not rotating weight in the same way as the rim is.
25mm is gravel bikes these days, I'd go 30mm with 2.4" tyres (actually I have i28mm with Stan's Arch MK4).

Fair point on the 180's. My point was more that for ultimate light weight, and for the same price as average carbon wheels, you could go high end on the hubs and max out everywhere on the spec.

The 180's will spin forever and would be a real indulgence vs the bog standard hubs on Hunts as an example.

Alternatively you could go for the 350's and the same rims and spoke and save a chunk of change and end up with something decent.

Roval SL wheelset has 180 hubs for £1980 @ Balfes

MRRP = £2200!

Not sure I'd add them to the "bargain" thread. No way I could do them justice or afford them, but I'd love a set.

Rovals have a lifetime warranty.

Hunt Provens have a lifetime warranty but you have to pay extra.

Good call on those wheels from Merlin, hadn’t seen them. So they are £900 and I have some loyalty points with Merlin that would bring them down to £875 (assuming I can combine the two offers)

So the choice looks more like the Roval Control 6B’s which re 29mm internal vs the DT Swiss XRC 1200’s

Ok wasn't going to post as you weren't originally considering DTSwiss...
But my view is don't buy the DT Carbons.
I got the XMC 1500s a while back and then got a delaminate/ crack pretty quickly from a rock strike. Had a really surreal conversation with the UK handler ( Madison) where he basically said the warranty didn't cover them for riding over rocks.

Your wheel has been rejected for a warranty replacement as this isn’t a manufacturing defect but the result of an impact (mechanical failure), either on trail or impact of another form. There is a chip (impact mark) above the splinter which clearly highlights the above statement and therefore it’s not the result of a manufacturing defect.

The particularly annoying thing was that these were my cross country special days only wheels that never got subjected to anything like the abuse the other sets did.

They wanted £250 to repair them.

The other thing is that actually they didn't ride anything like as good as the aluminium DTSwiss on anything more technical than a fire road. The aluminium ones were just much more flexible and compliant. Made riding tricky stuff much easier.

The roval warranty only covers damage if it's a defect. If you smash it on a rock or get unlucky like thegeneralist you'll have to pay up. Unless you're in the US where the warranty is more generous.

I've been running a pair of those Rovals on my Transition Spur for nearly 2 years, riding definitely on the trail side of XC / Trail. Absolutely no issues whatsoever, but as above, the warranty isn't that great in the UK / Europe so if you crack a rim you're on your own.

I think a two year no quibble accident damage warranty and lifetime defect warranty is fairly good.  https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/roval-warranty?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%20Shopping_UK_OtherEquipment_ROI&utm_id=17855904648&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAs6-sBhBmEiwA1Nl8s9MmB91xoX0AIy6LF22gfcCgq7mX-REvTP7mZOXrh1t4h2RHs5wV2xoC6u0QAvD_BwE

As not already mentioned I will happily recommend Bontrager carbon wheels and have them on all three of my bikes.  The Pro Line 40's on my Fuel Ex, Kovee Elites on my Procaliber and a set of Aerolus 35's on my Free Ranger.  They have been bounced all over from trail centres and natural trails across wales, local woods and trails, gravel and road without ever having skipped a beat.  They pick up quickly and roll fast, the hubs are easy to service and all in all are pretty bombproof.

This recommendation does of course mean that on my next ride some dreadful cataclysm will befall me......

Interesting, thanks bol. Looks like they only introduced it in the UK July 2023. Last time I checked it was US only. 

If OP can get them at the above price then that should swing it.

Specialized upgraded the Roval wheel warranty for the UK in July. 2 year no quibble even if you’re at fault, then lifetime against manufacturing faults.

Interesting, thanks bol. Looks like they only introduced it in the UK July 2023. Last time I checked it was US only.

It swung it for me - although I still went for Traverses over Controls, as I have a habit of breaking light XC wheels however good they are, due to heftiness and lack of finesse. 

What about direct from China carbon wheelsets? There's been some linked to on here before that I'd consider, I've forgotten which though.

Yeah that Roval warranty upgrade thing is news to me. Does it apply to wheels bought after July 2023 only or is it retrospectively applicable?

Explicitly only for ones bought after that date. Wouldn't help me anyway as they've survived over 2 years already.

I looked at some direct from China Wheels, there is Light Bicycle who I know a few people have got their rims and had them built over here.  The other one I saw were Elite Wheels - A few YouTube reviews of their wheels (mainly from the US), but not seen many UK reviews - Seem to be a copy of the DT Swiss Hub with their own rims

Deffo the Rovals, I’ve had 2 sets and faultless, the flat top design is great and laced with proper reliable hubs