Morning all.
Anyone on here using Hunt Race XC Wide wheels?
I'm considering ordering a set and look for any user experiences.
Ta in advance.
Light, cheap, valves included, pre taped, lots of freehub and axle options and hassle free. Nothing really to dislike.
I did manage to catch a chunky stick in the rear wheel which mangled a few spokes and started to pull an eyelet on the rim out a bit. They already ship with spare spokes but I was a bit worried about the rim. On contacting Hunt they offered a new rim or new rear wheel at cost price which were both next to nothing and had it sent out the same day. The damage was my fault but with their help it was a quick and cheap fix. Customer service really does seem top notch which was one big thing I seemed to keep finding when looking for online reviews.
I love mine. They seem to be rolling nicer now than when they were brand new.
Brilliant customer service as well.
Have a set. The tape they came with was badly applied and had to be replaced before using. Build is ok, spoke tension not very consistent and wheel could be a lot straighter. As said above they are pretty light and fair value for money.
Their customer service is pretty good but I think they have to be as my experience of quality is they are all over the place. Note I have also had 2 x rim brake wheelsets that had to be returned. First rims looked to have been dropped before being sent to me, second set were carbon and the rim thickness was all over the place, plus they were miles out of true.
Any alternative recommendation for similar spec/price? I ,like beamers, was thinking about buying but comments have put me off. I have some Hunt road wheels which have been fine for 3 years but the XC seem a little hit or miss.
Mine have been absolutely faultless.
Can't really fault the Hunt wheels I've got on MTB and gravel bikes.
My trail wides were great until a 15cm crack appeared in the rim without any evidence of being dinged. Then there was the saga of waiting 3 months for a warranty replacement rim which I have to get built up myself.
Thanks for the feedback so far.
Light, cheap, valves included, pre taped, lots of freehub and axle options and hassle free. Nothing really to dislike.
The first two words above are what prompted me to ask the question.
Yeah, they are defo not strong!
Cheesy rims, ali nipples (ffs!), rumbly AND bitey freehubs is my experience.
ETA Oh and a mate just discovered a massive crack too!
For comparison , anybody used the JRA Trail Dog Al. wheels? More money and don't include valves but could be stronger?
My wife has been riding JRA trail dogs with stans crests. Spot on. Needed a retrue once but they have been crashed a fair bit so that's not bad. Not needed to do any hub maintenance yet so can't comment on the ease of that.
rumbly AND bitey freehubs is my experience.
I've got trail wides, I've found the exact opposite, so much so that the bike genuinely seems to roll faster.
Not really tested the rims on rough terrain yet though
bitey freehub means the cassette eats the splines. Like all Novatechs.
I've not considered those JRA Trail Dogs. They look good, customizable colours as well for the same price as the Hunts.
I use them, they're great. Would buy again.
I got put off by a similar thread on here about the Hunt Enduro wides.
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/hunt-trail-wide-v-h_impact-carbon/
I cancelled my order and I got some DT wheels from fitwheels.eu on ebay for a similar price.
Currently 3.5 months into my wait for a warranty replacement rim on my trail wides, as above mine cracked from standard use.
Ive also had the free hub fail & I'm having to do the bearing already, all on the rear rear. Ive done about 300/350 miles on mine.
I couldn't recommend them based on my experience despite the ok customer service.
I’ve only had a few rides on the standard XC Wide but they seem good so far. Build was ok, seem well put together and they’re plenty light enough. Now welsh lockdown is over the real riding will begin, so will see how they hold up. They seem to roll well too with little drag and the free hub is getting louder too, which I like.
Another shout out for Fitwheels.eu, but it's worth emailing them for a spec and price. My set of 29er XM481 rims, DT 350 hubs, brass nips and 36 tooth ratchet upgrade (as recommended by a STW user who am I am very grateful to!) came in at about the same price as the Hunt Trailwides.
Had them since January and can't fault them. Would definitely buy again!
I just picked up some wheels from fit wheel.eu
Seemed to be cheapest to buy from their eBay store - paid £410 for XM481’s on DT 350 hubs (18t star ratchet) with Dt spokes and Dt brass squorx nipples. Came pre taped too with DT tape.
They seem perfectly true : reasonably even tensions and from order to delivery was 9 days.
I’d take that over Hunt mtb wheels.
Another vote for Fitwheels. I've had a couple of sets, been perfect. I've nothing against Hunt but would much rather have DT hubs when the price is so close.
Cheers all, some great advice on here and some interesting alternatives to Hunt.
Went for Fitwheels.eu too. Great service from them.
I’ve had a set of the Jra trail dog carbon wheels for a couple of years now on my enduro bike.
They’ve been ridden hard and a covered a lot of miles and have been faultless. Haven’t touched the hub at all, wheels are still true, would definitely buy them again.
The only thing I don’t like is that the bitex hub is a little bit to clicky for my liking but I like a silent bike, they’re not really loud.
I'd go to my local reputable wheel builder for Crests on a Bitex or Novatec hub - probably similar price and weight but better built. In my case that would be Ryan Builds Wheels https://www.ryanbuildswheels.co.uk/
I have a set of 27.5 JRA AL trail dog 30mm wheels with Stans flow MK3 rims and bitex hubs. Had them since January 2019 first on my Capra and then on my hardtail. They've been faultless despite lots of abuse by a pretty unskilled rider. I haven't had to touch them, seem strong and well built and weren't bad value at £420. Was considering the Hunts for another bike recently, but reading some of the comments above would stick with JRA or look at the Newmen wheels.
I bought some JRA Traildogs SP XC25's in the summer after deciding that a few more £s on UK custom built wheels was worth the money. I'm very pleased so far. Tension totally even. Lovely sounding and rolling wheel. I had a branch go between spoke and valve which ripped the valve off and bent the spoke. John gave me some advice which I followed to get the wheel back to perfect. Very happy so far.Great looking too!
Looks like the Traildogs could be the winners.
Yeah, JRA builds are good. Jon is always helpful too with recommendations for the build/ spoke count etc so worth a call if you are unsure of the spec you are after.
I've had a pair of JRA built wheels for 5 years (Ryde XC rims on DT360 hubs), not needed truing once.. though I'm starting to think they do now. Very good build.
I cant believe people still buy branding hype. Hunt are middle of the road chinese components bolted together with a warranty thats sustainable due to the heathy profit branding provides due to the price hike. No suprises then. Or buy decent components well assembled and get value due to currency benefits. ymmv
I've got a set of the xc wide.
Perfect for a year.
A spoke pulled through the rim on the rear. They replaced the rim and did the freehub which I only noticed was getting a bit grumbly as I stuck the week in the box before the courier arrived to take it away.
Perfect for the last couple of months.
I'd buy them again.
I did get a set of carbon wheels of eBay that were about the same price and similar weight again with novatech hubs. The carbon wheels were 30mm width rather than the hunt 25mm. They did take 3months to arrive, but that was at the height of the pandemic
Has anyone verified what Hunt hubs actually are.
On another thread here they were rumored to be Novatec, why not buy the rim of your choice and a nice set of hubs and give your local wheel builder a shout. I’ve done that for the last twenty years with Hope and DT Swiss hubs and they’ve been faultless you are also supporting local people and Hope’s customer care has been brilliant
If anyone is still thinking about these, my rear hub has just eaten itself.
I'm not light, but the bike mostly gets used on very smooth local stuff. Bit disappointing after 750miles over a year and a half to break the rear rim and the rear hub.
I've emailed hunt. The warranty is 1 year so I would be delighted if they helped me out, and not unsurprised if they didn't.
When singletrack reviewed the endurowides they dinged the hell out of them, but still gushed over them. Hmmmm.
I commented then that the results showed they were a bit crap, this and the other linked thread do not bode well do they.
I really rate the Stan's wheel builds.
Got two sets - Flow Mk3 29" and Baron S1 27.5+.
Same hubs on both - Stan's Neo hubs with the upgraded Durasync freewheel - and they are still running smoothly after 1 1/2 years/2000km on the Flows, and 1 year/1500km on the Barons.
Rims are still totally straight - I was very impressed with the build and tensions, etc. when i got them.
The Barons have been used on my DMR, and taken down some pretty tough stuff, including Quantocks DH trails.
The Flows are on my Stooge MK4, so have been battered by being on a rigid hooligan bike.
I would definitely buy again.
The man I actually spoke to at Hunt answered the phone promptly and dealt with my issue (wrong end caps) within 24 hours.
Let’s hope you get to deal with him.