New wheels and brakes advice please

stayhigh65
stayhigh65 Posts: 611
edited October 2007 in MTB buying advice
Morning All

Hope everybody is well and enjoying the late sun :)

Im rebuilding my bike and had been looking at some Mavic rims with nice red Hope Pro 2 hubs and a set of Hope Mono brakes which would cost me the fat end of a monkey. Or £500 if monkey's fat ends aren't your thing :)

However I've just seen advertised on Merlin a set of Mavic Crossride wheels plus Hayes HFX 9 Carbons fora mere £200 which is nearly half price.

What would you recommend/advise?
Wow great ship man. Looks like a fish, flies like a fish, steers like a cow.

HECKLER
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Comments

  • ddoogie
    ddoogie Posts: 4,159
    Unless you require something specific of your wheels or brakes then you don't need to spend lots of money on them. £120 can get you XT hubs on Mavic rims. £120-150 will get you a set of Avid/Shimano/Hayes brakes that work day in day out.
    S-works Stumpjumper FSR

    I'll see you at the end.

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  • Andy B
    Andy B Posts: 8,115
    Have a look at Merlincycles.co.uk they are one of the best (& cheapest) wheel builders on the web.

    They do disc packs inc wheelsets at very good prices.
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  • Splasher
    Splasher Posts: 1,528
    http://www.stif.co.uk/stifwheels2007.pdf

    £386 for ProIIs in EN321s with Mono Mini brakes.
    "Internet Forums - an amazing world where outright falsehoods become cyber-facts with a few witty key taps and a carefully placed emoticon."
  • stayhigh65
    stayhigh65 Posts: 611
    Thanks for replies, always helpful. I'd been looking at the Hope hubs on Mavic rims as there supposed to be very good but cant really ignore brakes and wheels for £200. Does anyone use Mavic Crossride wheels?
    Wow great ship man. Looks like a fish, flies like a fish, steers like a cow.

    HECKLER
    exercise.png
  • dawnophile
    dawnophile Posts: 157
    I wanted to buy crossrides for my old rigid that I use for commuting and off-road work in the winter. My LBS warned me off, saying that they were OK, but spares were difficult to get. I put some cheap nasty things on (probably a better option). I'm not a massive fan of Hayes brakes, and you can pick up Avid juicys for silly money now.
    Having said that, I've got Pro II's on DT rims, and Hope mono mini's on my proper bike. They are very good.
    Pro II's are perfect if you want to be left with options. At some point, I might put a fork with a maxle on it ont' bike, so for me, they're spot on.
  • Thorpey_on_a_bike
    Thorpey_on_a_bike Posts: 2,732
    I've got pro2 hubs on both of my bikes, and have nothing but good things to say about them. You can't go wrong with the pro2s.

    Rims... if you want mavic, you can't go wrong with ex721s, or else you could choose something more specific to your riding (you haven't stated?) to save some weight if thats your thing.

    Brakes, having used mono minis in the past I wasn't impressed with their reliability (both brought on leaks themselves through normal use). I would have recommended Avid Juicy 5s, great brakes on all levels, although I got a new bike recently that came with Shimano XTs with 180mm rotors. Now THESE are good brakes, I've been more than impressed by them. They feel that bit nicer (the feel of brakes is quite hard to explain really) than the Avids, but also have more modulation. I'd happily run Avids still, but I was unexpectedly impressed with the XTs.
    SX Trail

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