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About to embrace the world of 650b, with all the new standards. Frame will be a new Soul.
Where should I look for wheels? Always used to purchase hubs and rims then get them built up, is this sensible these days or should I be looking at all the wheelset options?
I'm a big advocate for light wheels due to the handling effect, though I'm a little north of 120kg loaded and ride heavy. Use will be Xc and trail center and I'm not really a jumper. I'd also like to get a fast engaging hub, possibly to take the new XT cassette.
So, where should I look for light and strong? Budget is midrange with a little scope, not £1k.
Thanks all.
It depends what you want really. The Hunt wheels for mtb are getting some good reviews and seem good value for money. DT Swiss wheelset also seem good in my experience.
Alternatively, you could go the custom build route and get something decent, albeit a little more expensive.
Given your weight I think I’d probably go the custom build route and build a pair of 32 spoke j bend wheels. At a mid range budget (say £400-500) and with a need for a shimano micro spline compatible hub then I’d go with DT Swiss 350’s and try to get them with a 36t ratchet in them.
Rim wise you need to decide what width you want - but a 25mm internal width would do the job for xc/trail. Maybe go strong for the back wheel with an ex471 and go a little lighter on the front with an xm421 (both DT Swiss).
Spoke wise just use a quality double butted spoke - the brand will probably be driven by what your chosen wheelbuilder likes to use.
Have a look on actionsports.de for custom builds. They do a lot of DT Swiss and have had good reviews on the wheel build quality.
For strong/light you can't really beat DT rims and at 120kg's I'd be looking at the EX471 (25mm internal) or EX511 (30mm internal).
I have a pair of wheels with 511's and I'm 100kg's, had no issues at all.
I like a theme, thanks for the suggestions.
On the DT 360 hubs 36t ratchet and std, anyone able to offer a comparison on the freewheel engagement and how this compares with CK hubs? I run them on my 26er currently but are north of 15 years old and need to be retired. I'd like to keep the pickup slack as minimal as reasonably possible.
I’ve got a 370 hub which is either 18 or 24 points of pickup I think (pawls rather than a ratchet like in the 350 hub). I also have a Hope Pro4 which is 44 points of pickup.
I don’t really notice the difference when out cycling in either option - other than the Hopes are a bit louder (although the DT Swiss aren’t quiet either).
Also got a Mason X Hunt wheelset which is only meant to be marginally slower than the Hopes (10 degrees vs 8 degrees) - again the pickup seems similar.
So for me it would make a difference I don’t think - if there’s a big cost increase for the 36t option over the 18t is just give the 18t a whirl.
If you aren’t tied to Shimano Microspline then I’d consider the Hope Pro 4’s as well as the DT350’s. You’ll either have to use a sunrace / sram nx cassette for 12 speed with a standard hg / shimano freehub or go with Sram XD and run an eagle cassette.