Mountain Biking - wheel set

I'm currently building a Cove "Handjob" hardtail and am trying to determine the best wheel/hub combination to put on it. Price and durabilitiy are the main concerns and looks are a distant third. I'm a 250# rider who rides aggressive XC and would like XT quality or better on a set that's $200 or less. I also don't need UST or disk, I'm going with XT or XTR "V" brakes and am a stickler for the old innertube technology as well. I'm considering Pricepoint's Mavic 517/XT combo or Sun Rhyno Lite/XT. Ultimately, I'd like black on black as everything else on the bike will be black. Also, what should I know about spokes/spoke configuration/hole count, etc? Any suggestions?

I'm ordering the XT front hub + Mavic 517 rim and getting it built at jensonusa for like $89 or something. I think the 517 only comes in 32holes, but of course so does the XT hub. I hear lots of bad things about the XT rear hub so i would definately stay away from that. Also the 517 seems to be more of a "lighter" riders wheel. I would say go for the SUN RHYNO LITE XL rim in your case. Would you just have pricepoint build the wheelset?

I'm a big rider too, and a big fan of Mavic rims. I'd choose the 517/XT combo over the Sun Rhyno Lite. I've had poor results with Sun rims. Although a lot of other people like them.

Just a consideration, go ahead and get disc ready hubs. Who knows, maybe you'll make the jump to discs sometime in the future, and that's one less thing you'd have to buy.

Nice Frame BTW!

L8R

FWIW, at 250 pounds and riding aggresively you probably oughtta go 36 hole 3X...

I hate my XT rear hub.. it's a total piece of junk. Granted I ride in lots of mud and water, but I expect my hubs to run smooth for at least 6 months, and it hasn't. The front is flawless, but the rear grinds and clacks when it coasts. So now I'm in the process of seeking out a new rear wheel. I'm hoping mine won't catastrophically fail and put me in the hospital or something. Seems like lately a lot of Shimano products have been sub-par. Although I must admit my XT front derailler has been set and forget.

I was going to mention the 36 spoke thing but forgot!

BTW, there is a company in England producing 48 spoke mtn bike wheels. Those things must be HEAVY!

L8R

Get a Chris King rear hub next time. :D

I wish I could afford a set of Chris King ISO disc wheels :(