currently my back wheel is a hand built mavic 517 with a 99 LX hub.. i read many reviews and mayn people arent fans of this rim but others say it is one of the best XC rims out.. what are your opinions on this rim with this hub and should i bother making a front one as well. its 80CDN per wheel

HI mate,

I've just bought a handmade pair of Mavic X317 ceramics on Hope hubs, and am very impressed with them, they are super light, and are holding up well to the abuse I'm dishing out to them.

I'd recommend them

Rich

If you like that combination, and it holds up for what you do, then go for it. After all it is you who rides it.

Durability depends on riding style and quality of construction.

The 517 is not a freeride rim, so it won't handle lots of big drops. It's a lightweight race/trail rim that will perform great in the XC world. Even so, aggressive XC riders and racers may push the 517 to its limit.

If your wheel is handbuilt, that is a good thing. Handbuilt wheels are more durable than machinebuilt. My machinebuilt 517/LX wheel lasted about 3 months last year (I'm an XC racer). I took it apart and the rim was fine, so I laced it up myself. It's still true and round. I have two other 517 wheelsets I built. One for racing, one for training and trail riding. I expect to get years of service from them both.

Ride your 517 and enjoy it.

I'm a big fan of Mavic products. When you build on up, they last and last and ...
Working at a shop, you build a lot of different stuff. The Mavic rims are always straight and round from the get go. This makes things so much easier when building one. The spoke tension is easy to keep consistent throughout the wheel building process and you always end up with a great wheel. I would definately recommend it over other products.

BTW, I've got multiple wheel sets, ALL Mavic's

L8R

alright then how do they compare to the rhyno lites or mammoths which ppl give a much better rating

and are the 99 LX hubs alright.

heck.. do they compare to Sun Ringle at all. And also is 517 the highest or is there one higher.. I think 617 or something like that and whats the diff

For strength and durability the Sun is a better choice. The Rhyno Lite and the Mammoth are heavier than the mavic 517. If you are like me and are a heavier rider (190-200) then the Sun will outlast the Mavic. The terrain I ride on out here in central Texas is very rocky and can get very hard depending on rain. When I first moved here I was running mavic 117 SUP on Nuke proof hubs. Then I switched to the Mavic X 217. I promptly burned up both mavic hoops, then switched to Sun. I am now running Rhyno Lites laced to Nuke hubs and haven't even had to true them yet. It does help though, that instead of a machine they were hand built (by me).I even use the Sun sub IV on a Breezer Jet Stream with XT hubs, although they do not take big hits as well as the Rhyno Lites they have held up better than the Mavic's I once used. Not to bash Mavic but for me and my riding style mixed with the terrain out here the Sun is a better choice.
To address your other question, YES the LX hubs are fine. I still have one from an older rig now disassembled that has over 5000 miles on it. Besides the missing decal there is nothing wrong with it at all. Like anything else though the more you keep it up the longer it will last.

well im only 140LBS and yah the decal fell off. lol when i build the front wheel i will use 98 or 99 XT in the front as we are out of 99 LXes

You can`t go wrong with 517, but if you`re not satisfied you can try the 521, a bit heavier but stronger as well, it costed me a lot of efford to get these out of line

thnx for all the opinions.. i think i will go in a couple weeks when i have time cuz right now the shop is busy.. i will go on a weekday and build me my new wheel


btw they are only 32 hole.. how much weaker than 36h is it

Not that much. Unfortunately, everything has shifted to 32 hole so you may as well stick with it for compatibility reasons. If you insist on 36, you won't have as big of a selection of hubs and rims.

oh.. ok werx 4 me