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Want some new wheels for my bike to replace the OEM ones that are 2.1kg. They will get plenty of rock strikes. I want them to be strong, wide reliable and lightish. Budget £400 max. ish...
Something like a Hope Flow EX is what is my first thought. Pondering DT wheels like the E1700 and also something a bit wider like a Velocity Blunt on a Dt350.
Any ideas?
Ive been running Mavic 719 rims Hope Hubs (26er) for at least 8 years now, its a combination that seems to find the right balance between strength, weight and durability.
I have ran 2.3 width tyres on the above too with no problems, the Stans flows type rims may be the way forwards though, with a trend towards fatter tyres and puncture protection systems like pro-core requiring a wider internal rim width.
Will sir be wanting clown size or normal size 650b 🙂
Not had 19mm rims on a mountainbike since my first custom wheels - Mavic 321 SUP ceramics on DX hubs back in 1993 🙂
Semi-clown, not full clown thanks Rich. Oh and for normal non-attention seeking sized tyres.
I have had WTB ST i23 rims on Hope Evo in the Lakes for two years -with dings but no calamities, and they've stayed incredibly
true. Bit heavy maybe (rims 520g) but cheap...
Knackered 719's, Flows, 721's, etc etc but have a 4 year old set of 521's on Pro II that have been trued once and utterly smashed on the roughest Lakes descents and they are without dents.
They weigh a tonne though!!!
Another vote for 521's here, ran a set on a hardtail years ago, entered some of the inaugural UKGE rounds in 2011 on them too, swapped them over onto my Saracen Ariel for a while and they did sterling service on that bike..... Never needed trueing, never dented the rims etc....only criticism I can think of (and I'm clutching at straws now) is that they looked a bit boring in plain black!....and may be considered a touch narrow these days at 21mm but I never had a problem sitting 2.35 High Rollers or 2.5 Minions on them.
DT EX471s are really nice. Super stiff, set up tubeless easily and are a good width (25mm internal).
New XM481s are worth a look too, but are likely to be less robust in rock strike situations as they are a similar weight for a wider rim (30mm internal), so wall thickness must be less.
EX471 seemed to hold up well under Gwin in Leogang despite the lack of tyre.
I had 521s on Hopes that were battered as hell for 3 years but never missed a beat. Shame they were on my bike went it got pinched the other year 🙁
Its probably a toss up between Hope and DT hubs at the moment.
Rim wise top choices are EX471s or Flows, but those XM481 look tidy.
If you're looking at Flows I'd consider these too...
http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/superstar-t-ready-ds25.htm
They are significantly cheaper, a mere 10g heavier and [i]at least[/i] as tough - probably a bit tougher TBH - tested on the four passes and similarly rocky Scottish mountains.
I wrote a blog review on the wheelset...
http://unduro.co.uk/mtb/review-superstar-components-tech-4-wheelset/
I'll also recommend the WTBs. I've had some frequency i23s on the longish travel 29er for 18 months or so and only in the alps this summer has the rear developed a slight wander.
Feel plenty stiff, go tubeless nicely, fairly cheap. You could have the KOMs instead as they're a fair bit lighter but I believe a little less tough. The Asyms which are due out soon split the difference I believe.