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Budget of £500 max, Hope I've always gone for but the new fortus 30 weigh in at 2450gr per pair ideally I'd like something sub 2000gr. Halo, Hunt, Stans, any experience with mentioned, cheers
DT E/M1700 depending on how tough you want them to be.
E1700 are under 2kg in the 30:mm wide rim option and lighter still in the 25mm option
M1700 come in well under 2kg in all rim widths.
Nothing to stop you running an M1700 up front and an E1700 rear for shrugging off rock gardens.
Some bargains to be had depending on rim diameter and hub widths.
I think I’d look custom for that budget - DT Swiss XM481 on Hope Pro4 hubs. Or go full DT and the E1700 if within budget.
Having had both Hope & DT, I'll be sticking with DT from now on.
I picked up a set of E1650's (EX511 on 350 hubs) from CRC/Wiggle for about £160 for the pair a while ago. Great build quality, light & tough.
Only thing I would change is to go for a 36T ratchet over the standard 18T.
E1700's are around 500 Euro's on Bike-discount.
Note that the M1700’s (and I assume E1700’s) come in a variety of widths. I’ve got a 30mm set but due to a CRC blowout last year, the 20-something sizes are way more common SH. M1700’s are the ‘Goldilocks’ wheel in DT’s range. The 1900’s get the pawl hub not the ratchet and the 1501’s are just strong and light with no reference to ‘cheap’. If you ride tech you will definitely notice the slower pickup of the default (strongest) 18T and might want the 36T upgrade but ride them first because you may just not notice, many are fine with it.
It’s hard not noticing actionsport.de’s wheel builder if you’re keen to blow £500 and want all the choices. They’ve been getting great feedback on here for a couple of years now...
What Sillyoldman said + 1
Tweeks have a few E and M 1700's on offer, depending on the exact spec you should be able to get them well under £500 without having to deal with Germany if you have an issue.
https://www.tweekscycles.com/uk/search/shop-by/q/DT%20Swiss%20M%201700/wheel_size/27_5_inch,29_inch/
I've just got some pro 4 on dt xm481 from moonglu. They are £500
Neal @ Moonglu builds a good wheel, comes down to your hub preference really.
I got a Halo Vortex rear wheel, my mate hates it because he now can't hear his own Hope freehub over mine 🙂
I like it and it feels noticeably lighter to pedal than the narrower WTB i29 that preceded it although that was both the stock rim on my G170 so probably not the lightest and still had a tube in (despite LeisureLakes assuring me they had done the tubeless conversion before I picked the bike up)
I went with ex511 (29) on hope pro 4 hubs from Moonglu and have had them just over a year now.
Not light at 250lb and although I don’t smash through rock gardens, I have ridden rocky descents in the peaks and all manner of trail centres.
Took the tyres off the wheels to swap over to a new bike build and the rims are still straight and true.
They’d be my choice again if I had to make one, although I don’t really know how much they weigh.
My Halo Vortex's are amazing....also sounds like you're being chased by a swarm of angry wasps!...If that's your bag.
I'm no expert, but my E1700 are lovely, light, strong, stiff.
I'll be upgrading the rachet to 36T soon, 18 is a bit wide if you have to back-pedal to ride a rock or something.