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I'm looking for a fairly light and strong wheel for general riding and I don't know a lot about wheels. It will need to be able to take a beating on rocky downhills. It's for a steel hardtail.
It will be about 23mm rim ish with a cartridge bearing hub. I like the idea of getting one with 9mm bolt through, is it worth it?
I have Superstar XC430 with Switch hubs on one bike which I've been pleased with but are there other good wheels for a budget? Thanks.
My most reliable wheel ever (better / more reliable than a hope hoops stans) is a SS Switch and AM490.
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=49&products_id=350
£97 built with basics.
you can't get 9mm thru-bolt rear wheels, nor quick release 9mm rear wheels
10mm thru-bolt and 10mm quick release you can get. I dont know why but QR open dropouts are 9mm front and 10mm rear
If the hub you choose has thru-bolt compatibility then why not go for it? Unless you're wanting it slightly lighter, though wanting 23mm wide rims and a steel frame suggests not?
If the claimed* wieght on the SSC AM490's is to be believed, then a build on Switch Evo's should be a good budget-ish build?
*the eyeletted am490s are claimed only 30g or so off non eyeletted Stans ZTR Flows. I believe SSC rims are made by mavic who quote weights without eyelets. I read on here the other day the am490 might be more like 550g, which could be a with eyelets weight?
Still a better weight/width combo than mavic EN521/321 for eg
James- good point on the rear QR standards - my bad.
I've got Hope Pro2 / Flow and also the SS Switch / 490's and the weight difference is within 20g. The SS hubs are more reliable (ime), better sealed and way easier to service imo. Where SS fall down is in builds ime. I'm an optomist mostly - but even my SS bargain wheels needed a spoke tweek from new.
Lastly - to the OP though - it sounds like you've got a normal QR frame. I'll stand by my rec - for less than £100 you'll be in the pink. In the long run - spares may not be available in years to come. But hopefully you'll have them ridden ragged by then anyway.
OK thanks guys. So it looks like I was buying my wheels from the right place after all! Weight is an issue but not a big one. My current back wheel weighs a ton and I'll be saving weight by switching to a cartridge bearing hub and changing my drive train from 2x9 to 1x10. Didn't realise the rear dropouts were 10mm, that explains a lot.
Are you looking for a 23mm internal rim width, or external? As without wishing to point out the obvious, these are quite different...
A 23(ish)mm external rim is a lightweight XC rim, like a Mavic 717, a Sun Ringle EQ23, a Stans Olympic, a DT EX400, possibly the superstar XC430. Generally these rims are around 400g or so (notable exception the Stans).
A 23mm internal rim will be much wider, like the superstar AM490 (actually about 550g according to google search on them), the Sun Ringle EQ31, a Stan's Flow, a Mavic EN321 etc (though the last is only 21mm internal also). Most of these rims are quite a bit over 500g, Stans excepted.
Go for the former if you predominantly want to run 2.1" tyres or narrower, the latter if you're into bigger rubber.
As for hubs, as an alternative, check On One out right now. They're doing their own branded cartridge hubs for £40 for a rear right now (and they look pretty good on paper!), Sun Ringle rims for peanuts, and you could either buy the spokes and build yourself, or pay your LBS to build the wheel for you and still have change in your pocket for a few pints...
Yeah it'll be 23mm ish internal probably with the 2.25 Advantage or a 2.35 tyre. The on one stuff looks good. I wonder if the on one hub would be as quick at engaging as the superstar switch hub.
Superstar told me the switch evo hub was only* 24 rotation 'click's per freehub rotation.
On One told me they didnt know how fast their £40 hub was
*better than basic 16point shimano, but SLX/XT are 32 and 36point
Hope Pro II 8/9/10spd freehub is 24point