I've been on the lookout for a good quality 26 inch wheelset for my touring bike. It had to be XT or Deore hubs to a high quality rim.

Luckily I came across a wheelset on Kijiji for $100. 26 inch wheelset with XT hubs and Mavic m231 rims. The wheelset has only been used once (maybe a 50km trip or something), but the hub still spins smoothly and both wheels are true.

I'm only slightly concerned because the wheelset are 32h, but they're laced with DT swiss spokes (I think DB).

Overall, I feel like I made a good purchase. The wheelset is really nice and light. I think I'll opt for some Schwalbe Supreme tires on them for my tour later this summer.

What do you guys think?



I just have to figure out what cassette it will take. Do you think a Deore LX RD + Ultegra bar end shifters will be compatible with a Sram cassette or should I just stick with a Shimano?

The brake tracks look like they are showing quite a bit of wear for 50km.

Nonetheless, it should have a lot of life left in it.

I think that looks like a standard 8/9/10 freehub, and it should accept a variety of cassettes. Is that a 7 speed spacer?

That is a bit on the high side to pay for 26", but it appears to have good hubs, and good double walled rims.

I agree I think the rims have a bit more wear, but they look like a great set of wheels.

The money is spent. I’d ride the crap outta them!

Nice find. I don't think $100 was too much to spend on that wheelset. Yes the anodizing is gone on the brake track, but that doesn't necessarily mean there were a lot of miles on the bike. A couple rides in the rain can remove a lot of anodizing. Just repack the hubs, lubricate the spoke nipples, and you're good to go.

The Parallax hubs had some design features to work well with a suspension fork from the mid 90s, when the hubs came out. Namely, the hub shell was oversized to increase stiffness and strength. The important dimensions for interfacing with a fork are the same as a non-Parallax hub, so they should work normally with a regular non-suspension fork.

Re: cassettes - you can use SRAM or Shimano. The derailleur and chain won't really care which you use. Just make sure your shifter and derailleur are matched if you want indexing. I believe that is an 8/9/10 freehub body with a 7 speed spacer on it. So should work with anything from 7 to 10. Remove the spacer if using 8/9/10.

Hard to go wrong with those wheels. There’s a reason they were everywhere in the 90’s-early 2K
I have almost the same set, but with silver rims and black hubs. 20+ years of service.