Mountain Biking - some excellent XC wheelsets

Sorry, I am not writing to endorse one particular wheelset. Rather, I want your advice.

What I'm looking for is a fairly light, fast and tough wheelset. I ride a fortuitously acquired Seven ti XC hardtail. I use it as my all purpose, do anything bike. (Well, not downhill or jumps.)

I ride trails, gravel, and road on it, sometimes all three on the same day. I get groceries with it, and I tow the kids in a trailer. I also tour (on and off road) with it, and I'm going to get a Bob trailer to do more touring.

So, please recommend a couple of wheelsets that are not going to slow me down, and which will let me do some multi-day off road endurance touring too.

Thanks

industry nine

all you need to know.

crank brothers cobalt....just cause i want to see someone buy them;)

Thanks!

Those are both seems like great wheels, particularly the Industry Nine ones.

I'm wondering if they are tough enough. For one thing, I'm 210 lbs. And I ride through water a lot. (And mud.) Plus I carry gear.

Anything a bit tougher, and a bit cheaper?

I9s are tough.

Call Larry at Mountain High Cyclery to get better pricing than the I9 MSRP.

I was thinking maybe White Industry hubs and Velocity disc rims -- maybe built by Dave Thomas of Speed Dream. ??

Thanks!

Those are both seems like great wheels, particularly the Industry Nine ones.

I'm wondering if they are tough enough. For one thing, I'm 210 lbs. And I ride through water a lot. (And mud.) Plus I carry gear.

Anything a bit tougher, and a bit cheaper?

They are more than tough enough... I weigh 290, but usually don't ride with a lot of gear. I have only had my I9's since July 11th, but they are built exceptionally well. I chose the I9 for their lateral stiffness; my previous wheels (Syncros rims laced to Phil Wood hubs with Wheelsmith 14G SS spokes) would flex when pedaling hard. The Aluminum spokes do not flex like the Steel ones did. I chose the Enduro wheel set (the front axle is interchangeable). These wheels (tubes & tires, etc. included) were almost three pounds lighter than the previous set.

I9 Front:
http://gallery.photo.net/photo/7540824-lg.jpg

I9 Rear:
http://gallery.photo.net/photo/7540828-lg.jpg

My vote:

http://www.syncros.com/wheels.htm

How about: DT Swiss 240 hubs, spokes and rims? Handbuilt, 500$.

Then I can save up for the I9 or the cobalts. (The Syncros don't have very favourable reviews at mtb review. But then again neither do my XTR hubs and I've been reasonably happy with them, though now they need to be replaced.)

I was thinking maybe White Industry hubs and Velocity disc rims -- maybe built by Dave Thomas of Speed Dream. ??

I have a set of wheels built by Dave Thomas (CK hubs / Bontrager Mustang rims) and think they are awesome. That being said, today I'd probably pick up a set of industry 9 wheels. Back when I got my wheels I wasn't even aware of i9.

I can see that you're looking at the $500 price range so the industry 9s are definitely more expensive. If I were looking to spend $500 I think I'd look at Hope Pro II hubs and Mavic XM719 rims. Have them custom built.

I recommend contacting Larry @ MtnHighCyclery. http://mtnhighcyclery.com as he's a very good wheel builder. He's also very Canadian friendly by avoiding UPS, using US Postal Service and by properly filling out the customs declarations paperwork (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). I've used Larry so often that he has my mailing address and credit card on file, all I have to do now is just send him a quick email asking for stuff.

I9's are bomb proof.

I9's are bomb proof.

Mine were anything but. I broke a lot of spokes riding in rocks, and then the rear hub developed a nasty creak/pop noise which quickly escalated to a skipping chain. Apparently the area where the freehub bearings pressed into wore enough to allow the freehub to move when I was really putting down the power.

I know of 5-6 people who had these wheels and no longer have them. My other friend who still has them is CONSTANTLY breaking spokes. It seems like everytime you nick/smack them w/ a rock they're going to break, sooner rather than later. At 5 bucks a pop that's a lot of cash.

The other issue w/ breaking spokes is if you're running stans. You have to put a hole through the tape covering the rim to put a new spoke in.

I sold them and replaced them w/ Chris King hubs/Arch rims and I'm much happier. The CK wheels were actually a hair lighter (the I9's had DT rims however, which are heavier) and seem to me to be just as stiff. I only weigh 165 however.

The I9 customer service was astounding though, and if you do have troubles they'll do right by you. I just preferred to have wheels I could trust.

Dave

I can see that you're looking at the $500 price range so the industry 9s are definitely more expensive. If I were looking to spend $500 I think I'd look at Hope Pro II hubs and Mavic XM719 rims. Have them custom built.

I recommend contacting Larry @ MtnHighCyclery. http://mtnhighcyclery.com as he's a very good wheel builder. He's also very Canadian friendly by avoiding UPS, using US Postal Service and by properly filling out the customs declarations paperwork (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). I've used Larry so often that he has my mailing address and credit card on file, all I have to do now is just send him a quick email asking for stuff.

This is good advice. The Hope Pro II are good hubs, and Larry builds great wheels. The DT wheelset you suggested is good as well.

One thing the I9/Chris King hubs have is quick engagement. The DT/Hope II wheels are noticeable slower engaging. Coming from an XTR hub you wouldn't notice a difference, but I hopped on a set of AC wheels after riding my I9's and the lack of quick engagement was noticeable.

Dave

These are all very helpful posts. Thanks.

I suppose I should really have entitled my initial post: "best well-priced XC wheelset".

So, since $500-600 is my limit, that means the top-of-the-line stuff like the I9s and CKs are out of reach for me. It is down to the Hope Pro IIs and the DT 240s. Any comments on these two options? The 240s are selling for $450 on Ebay, new. But I don't know the builder.

Btw I had wheelsets priced in Vancouver today, in various bike shops. Non-experts were trying to charge me about $800 for DT Swiss 240 wheelsets. And $1000 CAD for CKs. That's too much! Unless built by a really good builder.

These are all very helpful posts. Thanks.

I suppose I should really have entitled my initial post: "best well-priced XC wheelset".

So, since $500-600 is my limit, that means the top-of-the-line stuff like the I9s and CKs are out of reach for me. It is down to the Hope Pro IIs and the DT 240s. Any comments on these two options? The 240s are selling for $450 on Ebay, new. But I don't know the builder.

Btw I had wheelsets priced in Vancouver today, in various bike shops. Non-experts were trying to charge me about $800 for DT Swiss 240 wheelsets. And $1000 CAD for CKs. That's too much! Unless built by a really good builder.

Call or email Larry. Tell what you want (XC wheelset) and tell him what you're looking to spend. He'll make a good recommendation and offer very competitive pricing. Ask him about CK hubs, you might be surprised with his pricing.

Call or email Larry. Tell what you want (XC wheelset) and tell him what you're looking to spend. He'll make a good recommendation and offer very competitive pricing. Ask him about CK hubs, you might be surprised with his pricing.

Thanks, I'm going to do that. Cheers!

Hadley hubs. Anyone know these? Cheers

I have 3 sets of DT 240 wheelsets and couldn't be happier. The later two are the DT 1540, and Bontrager Race X Lite. They are plenty stiff for my 200 pounds, and have been pretty reliable while remaining super light.

If I were going to pick up a new set, I'd get something by DT Swiss. Larry has a solid reputation around here, but I think the DT 240 wheelset may be closer to the $600 limit.

Thanks for your input.

Here are some options.

CK hubs + some kind of good rims = $700+
Hadley hubs + some kind of good rims = about $600

Larry's recommendation for me (endurance riding, XC, single track, no jumps, touring, towing and me at approx. 200 lbs): Hadley rear, Hope Pro II front, DT Swiss 4.1 rims = $550-ish

Internet specials: DT Swiss 240 hubs, DT Swiss 4.1 = $500??

Thanks for your input.

Here are some options.

CK hubs + some kind of good rims = $700+
Hadley hubs + some kind of good rims = about $600

Larry's recommendation for me (endurance riding, XC, single track, no jumps, touring, towing and me at approx. 200 lbs): Hadley rear, Hope Pro II front, DT Swiss 4.1 rims = $550-ish

Internet specials: DT Swiss 240 hubs, DT Swiss 4.1 = $500??

I'd go with Larry's Hadley/Hope Pro II recommendation.

To answer your previous question, Hadleys have a good rep. I've seen recommendations here.

I'm 230 lbs and ride American Classic 350 Disc on my Pisgah hard tail. I've put 5,000km on the wheels and am amazed at how they have held up.

I'm 230 lbs and ride American Classic 350 Disc on my Pisgah hard tail. I've put 5,000km on the wheels and am amazed at how they have held up.

I had a pair of Deore hubs on an old mtb I used for a number of years, just to ride around town on (I could leave it locked outside stores without worrying TOO much about it). They just kept on going. I trued the wheels every couple of years. Rarely cleaned them or serviced them. Thousands of reliable miles... They are probably still going strong (no, the rear is, but the front is in my basement, awaiting another beater bike).

I'd go with Larry's Hadley/Hope Pro II recommendation.

To answer your previous question, Hadleys have a good rep. I've seen recommendations here.

Thanks.

Another question: isn't it a bit odd to run non-matching hubs? Larry said that with the Hope front hub I'd be saving some money. True. He didn't mention any specific advantage with the front Hope hub...

Right now I'm thinking I can afford another 50 bucks to give me matching hubs.