Good Pair Of Wheels For XC

stevet1992

Ok im looking for a reasonable pair of wheels to use for XC. Budget is around £100-£150 but would prefer if was at the lower end

Bike is a carrera vulcan disk spec 08

saw These and with my budget that seems to suit good maybe upgrade to sun rims, are they good value ?

supersonic

XT hubs on Mavic 717 rims with double butted spokes is a budget favourite. Problem with those CRC ones is that they are using old XT hubs - a couple of generations old actually. The M760 series is better, and the m770 series the latest - are a lot lighter as the M750 series, whilst strong, weigh a ton! Still decent wheels though.

stevet1992

Ok thanks for that do you know of any sites that stock the newer ones ?

supersonic

Merlin did - though at the moment they just say 'XT'. I would contact them first!

The Spiderman

The Merlin XTwheelsets that come with as a complete package with brakes are marked as eing m770,but I have a feeling that their sale only wheels may be previous generation XT.

Anonymous

how much do xt hubs and 717 wheels weigh?

supersonic

It seems that the M756 is the only 6 bolt XT hub available, and not even listed on the current Shimano site.

Anyhow, M765 front hub is 180g, rear is 370g. So with 2x717 rims we add another 800g, then about 380g for 64 spokes and say 40g for nipples. The bare pair with no rim tape or skewers would be 1770g.

M775 can take 40g off for the rear, and 10g off for the front.

M756 add about 80g for the rear and 60g for the front.

Anonymous

under 1800g is very decent i reckon but if you want 6 bolt, you are probably gonna end up with wheels closer to 1900, i bought a pair of crossrides from merlin for the newest stumpy and they weigh in at about 1900.

so i would recommend a set of crossrides, they are pretty light, very good looking and they come specced on some very expensive bikes.

supersonic

Crossrides are good, only problem really being the availability of spares (spokes, bearings, axle bits) though I believe the UK importer and service centre side of things is set to improve. 32 spokes probably a bit more durable on the XT set up, but new lower price of Crossrides makes them an attractive proposition.

Anonymous

would prob be a safer bet to get xt set up.

i chose the crossrides as i like mavic (used xm819, crosstrail, cross lands and now crossrides) and know they will stand up to a 19stone thumping and as im sure you already know, i like a nice looking thing.

supersonic

I got a set of Crossmax Enduros, similar wheel really. Seem to stand up well, though I can notice a bit of flex in the reduced spoke count.

dsmiff

Just received my xt hub / 717 rim from Merlin, yes they are the M756 hub's they weighed a little over 1900 grams (inc skewers).

hitchen92

XT ones from Merlin? Or a 2nd hand Hope Xc's/Bulb? You can get a decent pair for £100. What about crossmax's?

toasty

Crossrides are fantastic for the price. 717s may be slightly lighter but it's hardly a fair test, the Crossrides have 19mm rims, a comparable 719 wheelset weights 130g more than 717s. You also get quite a bit more tyre choice, 2.3" max width recommended for 19mm, 2.1" for 17mm.

Mine are on their last legs now, they were on my XC bike so they didn't ever get too hammered, they've done tons of miles though, including road through all of last winter. The freehub body is going now causing slight play in the cassette, apparently the bit that is wearing isn't replacable.

Fortunately a new wheel will set me back about £60, if I'd needed a new XT hub + respoke I'd have probably paid as much with a lot more downtime. I've never noticed any flex, I've never had spoke issues, the rim is true as the day I got it and spokes all very tight. I'm using the XT M775 factory wheelset now with some UST tyres, it's a bit lighter but to be honest quite a bit more flexy. Once again, I went for the XT wheelset for the 19mm rims, I wouldn't like being limited to 2.1" max.

The Crossrides still get used on my mile munching wintery/commutey bike though When it dies I'm sticking another one on!

supersonic

717 have a 2.3 max. If you look at the rim the sticker actually says 2.3.

You could also say not a fair comparison as the crossrides have 24 spokes a piece, not 32. The 8 spoke difference is nearly the difference in rim weight.

toasty

Well ok, not maximum, recommended though:

http://www.mavic.com/mtb/products/XC-717-Disc.323324.aspx

It's easy enough to find stories of people using too wide tyres on thin rims and finding the tyres unstable and worming around underneath them, especially if you run a lower pressure.

I'm not sure how the weight of spokes compares, I'd assume those bladed spokes are heavier though, as I mentioned, my XT wheels with fairly heavily butted spokes are much flexier than the Crossrides.

supersonic

I think generally the lighter you go, the flexier it is going to be, and my Crossmax are very noodly despite being 'Enduro' wheels.

I ran Contis 2.3s on 217 rims for years, perfecrt combo, but some tyres do come up bigger.

Horses for courses really: the new lower price of the Crossrides make them a better bet as a couple of years ago they were heavier and about 130 quid, while XT on 717 could be got for just over 100.

Another option is the Fulcrum Red Metal 5, but same problems with spares and a higher price for this year.

stevieboy

supersonic wrote:

Crossrides are good, only problem really being the availability of spares (spokes, bearings, axle bits) though I believe the UK importer and service centre side of things is set to improve. 32 spokes probably a bit more durable on the XT set up, but new lower price of Crossrides makes them an attractive proposition.

You're right, the wheels are now sorted direct through mavic rather than Chicken (or so I was told)

I will say that the Crossride's on my Scale are spot on - not the lightest around, but they look the part and can take a beating.

Anonymous

i looked at the fulcrum ones a couple of times but was undecided as i havent seen them on many bikes as oem kit and wondered about their longevity and about spares (not something i was worried about with the mavics as they are to be seen everywhere)

i was almost prepared to take the plunge but the deciding factor ended up being the colour !! :oops:

stevet1992

:shock: all you guys talking about a shaving the grams off

just to let you know im not looking for the lightest ones out there :roll: just ones that are in the £100 region and are good value

will have to have a look on merlin for the XT's and all of the other wheels

thanks for everything guys

Anonymous

shaving grams is one thing but you dont want to be buying a pair of anchors. we are just hi lighting that you can get alot for you money and be aware, saving weight at the wheel is the best place to do it on the whole bike

stevet1992

just looking i do like the look off and the price off the Xt disc brakes and crossride wheels

is it worth paying the extra 80 squids for the hydros?

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supersonic

Its a good deal if you like DCL controls.

The Spiderman

I havre dcls and find them quite intuitive,but know a lot of people can`t get on with them.They work best with a rapid rise mech so that both levers are operating in the same plane,eg tap down for upshift,flick upward for downshifts.
If you use them with a conventional mech your left and right lvers will be going differenet ways,and will get really confusing.