Mountain Biking - Wheel Deal

Tax returns are coming in soon, time for some juicy upgrades on my bike.:D I'm interested in wheels, and I want to spend abot $200 on a set. I'm also getting Avid mechanical disk brakes, but I want to get 2001s rather than 2002s firstly because they're cheaper, and secondly becase I have a 2000 model Manitou fork and it seems as if Avid switched over from 174mm mounts to int. standard this year. I think I've found excactly what I want at airbomb.com. They have a handbuilt Sun DS1-XC wheelset with XT hubs. The hubs and rims are disk specific, and they include front and rear 2001 Avid mech disk brakes. All together they charge $299 for this which seems like a good deal to me. I've never bought a wheelset before and I want to make sure I'm buying a good one. If anyone has any comments on the quality of these type of wheels, or maybe another suggestion for a good set of disk specific wheels in the $200 range I'd appreciate it.

Not a big fan of Sun Rims. I had a pair that came stock on one of my bikes and tacoed the rear without much effort. Of course I'm a big guy and all, but I've never had as much problems with rims than I had with the Sun Rims, especially the DS-1's.

However, I've heard good things (never tried em) about the Rhino Lites!

Maybe I should reconsider. Were the DS-1 rims that you had a bad experience with a factory build or handbuilt? Perhaps you built them yourself. I read reviews at MTBR that gave alot of credit to Mike at airbomb for building some diehard wheels. These ones are also built with 36 spokes. I weigh 170 but I do ride hard. Ehhgg...I never realized there was so much to consider when choosing wheels.:confused:

Diligum needs these wheels for $500 with skewers.

Are those disc compatible Klein?

Diligum,
Pricepoint has XT disc wheels with Mavic 223 rims for 169.98. Or XT disc wheelset with Mavic x317 rims for 239.98. They aren't handbuilt though.

Those 317/XT wheels look pretty spiffy. I'm on a quest for a handbuilt set though. I scratched the DS-1/XT set off my list for the simple fact that they ran out of those rims at airbomb. Now I've landed at Universal Cycles checking out a handbuilt SpeedDisc/DT Onyx set for $219. This deal seems pretty damn good seeing as it comes with kick arse swiss made hubs. And it's all black...hubs, spokes, and all which I like.

Originally posted by Diligum
Those 317/XT wheels look pretty spiffy. I'm on a quest for a handbuilt set though. I scratched the DS-1/XT set off my list for the simple fact that they ran out of those rims at airbomb. Now I've landed at Universal Cycles checking out a handbuilt SpeedDisc/DT Onyx set for $219. This deal seems pretty damn good seeing as it comes with kick arse swiss made hubs. And it's all black...hubs, spokes, and all which I like.


Coolio man! Go for it!

I like Shimano hubs (you can find parts at any shop and overhaul them at home) I also like Mavic rims. I've tried other stuff but always come back to what works and last.

Mavic always gets my thumbs up :D

Rich

nope, they aint disc hubs