Mountain Biking - New wheelset recommendations

I am considering a new wheelset for my Santa Cruz Blur. Here are the wheelsets I'm thinking about:

1. Either Mavic 717 or Sun (I can't remember the model the bike shop recommended but supposedly equivalent to the Mavics with Chris King Disc hubs.

2. Same as above with Hope XC hubs (budget option?)

3. Mavic Crossmax XL or SL.

In my case the Crossmax may be the cheaper option due to team sponsorship. However I have heard that the Crossmax SL requires freehub maintenance often (every 40 hours of riding). Is this true? If so does this apply to the XL too?

In this case since I have the wild card of having a Crossmax purchase subsidized, don't consider cost in your recommendations. I would probably go with option 1 if I didn't have the subsidy. Any recommendation would be appreciated. Thanks.

I think all three will yield satisfaction on your part.

Realize that Chris King's make a LOT of noise. The freehub mechanism is very distintinct.

If that's not your thing, check out DT/Swiss Hugi hubs. As loud as the King's are the DT/Swiss are quiet.

Personally, I like the loudness factor of the King's.

Hope's are also very well made.

If you want another budget alternative, Sun/Ringle hubs are very affordable and well made.

Thanks for the recommendation. The loudness of the King hub doesn't bother me. A buddy has one so I'm familiar with it. Any info about the maintenance of the SL being an issue?

I've put 60-70 hours on a pair of rim brake SLs with no problems. I should mention I'm 135 pounds and don't jump much. Most of those 60-70 hours was in the Phx, AZ area... it's a little rocky down there. They're the stiffest wheel I've ever ridden and I love them. The first 5-10 hours I rode them I kept going way inside on turns because I'd expect to drift to the outside of the turn. No drift, they go where they're pointed.

Any info about the maintenance of the SL being an issue?


I never had anything out of the ordinary with them come through the shop. The Crosslands (budget model) had a couple incidents of some spokes unwinding, but nothing besides regular maintenance of the Freehub.

I had one guy cook a set because he rode through a creek past the hubs over a period of a couple months with ZERO maintenance and basically washed all the grease out. That was an obvious "User Error" problem. Mavic covered it under warranty regardless.

I own a Blur with a Crossmax SL wheelset. This wheelset has been solid for me thus far. I've not even had to true the rims yet. I bought the bike midway through 2003, so the wheelset has some hard miles on it. Here you go - we all love pix!

http://home.alltel.net/bacccc/BikePix/Blur2.jpg

dt swiss 240 hubs can be found as low as 60 bucks on ebay, which is better than the $240 at my LBS. They are uber quiet too.

Im using 240's front and rear, they are really quiet and smooth. I have no complaints. I would go toward a traditionally spoked wheel because its easy to service if need be. Im not a fan of premade, i know mavics are good but i think overpriced. If your into weight savings try DT 240's laced to Sun UFO's (cheaper and just as good as mavic in my opinion) using DT revolution spokes. You will have very nice wheels and it wont cost as much