Which Hope Hoop?

Giraffoto

As the title suggests, I'm saving up my pennies for some new wheels, and like everyone else I want the ideal combination of light, strong and reliable. Also I like the idea of investing a few quid in Lancashire's economy, so I'm thinking Hope. Now for the questions . . .

What difference (if any) do straight-pull spokes make to the weight or strength of the wheel, assuming the same number of spokes per wheel?

If I only ride cross country - through woods, along bits of the Ridgeway, up and down steep gravel tracks, occasional pothole - is the Crest rim up to the job with around 90 Kg of rider + pack?

The Crest one appeals because it looks like it's the lightest option. All opinions (including "don't do it" or "get something else") gratefully received

sanchez89

i have the crest hoop set and mine have been fine so far. only 1 small buckle from an OTB crash, but was easily retrued.

i have done a bit of downhill over Stile Cop on mine aswell, clearly not what they were designed for but they lapped it all up.

the only problem is some tyres may cause you problems with fitment.

benpinnick

Straight pull is in theory stronger, as the weakest point of most spokes is the bend. However its also normally heavier as the amount of extra material in the hub is more than the j bends in the spoke (but not so much you'd actually care). Straight pull spokes are far harder to replace as nowhere seems to keep much stock of them. That said your hoops should have 2 spare spokes thrown in just in case.

As for the rims, its down to your style. I am 80KG and ride crests almost everywhere without issue, but I am also fairly smooth (or at least I like to think so) so easy going on the rims. If you want surety, go for flows, they add around 80g per wheel, but are alot wider and probably (I don't know from personal experience mind) stronger.

I also run some DT rims on hopes, and they have been flawless. They are only 4.2ds so quite light, but I will ride them anywhere, including DH. Oh yes, and as Sachez says, crests are often a beeatch to fit tyres onto. Which is annoying.

njee20

Straight pull Hoops are lighter, but truing can be a bitch and getting spares nye on impossible unless you're near a Hope dealer. I'd not bother myself, they're still not featherweight!

Crests are a tough rim, you'll be fine. As above some 'tubeless ready' tyres can be very tight, particularly Schwalbe, which is a pain as the older stock has pretty much dried up! Find combinations that do work though and they're fantastic.

Giraffoto

benpinnick wrote:

I also run some DT rims on hopes, and they have been flawless. They are only 4.2ds . . .

Which one is the 4.2d? Hope are currently listing the XR-400 (50g more than the Crest) and the EX-500 (35g more than the Flow) as DT Swiss options

simonp123

njee20 wrote:

Crests are a tough rim, you'll be fine. As above some 'tubeless ready' tyres can be very tight, particularly Schwalbe, which is a pain as the older stock has pretty much dried up!

I don't know if the Crest rim is much different to the Flow which I have, but I found the Schwalbe "tubeless ready" Nobby Bick I put on a while back was an easy fit on the rim and was a swine to get to inflate as it was quite a loose fit.
I can vouch for Stan's rims though, I've had two and a half years on my Flow equipped Hoops with no issues, very strong.

benpinnick

4.2d was replaced nominally by the 400. They shaved 20g somewhere, but the rims are pretty much identical as far as I can see.

jonnyboy66uk

One more here for the crest rim, Have had them for 18 months and they have seen all action.. They have served me well in the lakes, brecon and various trail centres and so far no issues what so ever.. But I am only 65kg....

Again tyres can be tight, But I run a Nobby nic and RR on mine tubeless and once sealed they have been been brilliant..

Def the best upgrade I have done...

t0pc4t

I went for pro 2 evo hoops with stans flows on standard spokes and am really pleased with them.

I have them on the anthem and they don't strike me as overly heavy. I run Nobby nics (2.25 I think) and they were easy enough to get on the rim. I don't run tubeless though

Shackster

Between the crest and flow rims there is the Arch EX, which doesn't come as a 'Hope Hoop' yet but you can get them custom built for not much more at Moonglu and others.

http://www.moonglu.com/shop/hopepro2evo ... ns-archex/

I've just got some of these and tubeless set up was easy (they come from moonglu with stan's tape installed, all you need is a valve) with tubeless ready Nobby Nic Evos. They sent me the spare spokes and stickers etc as if they were hope hoops.

I would probably have been OK with Crests but went with the Arch as I'd just totalled both of my rims in Scotland (DT Swiss X1700, canyon specific) through not seeing a nasty pointy rock. I realise that a strong rim would still be vulnerable to such impacts but I had to justify the extra expense to the wife somehow

Briggo

I'd certainly recommend the Crest rims, got them on my Stumpy and they are awesomenesses.

Giraffoto

Well, I bought my new wheels, and went for the DT Swiss XR-400. Only 50g heavier per wheel than the Crest rim, one of my many irrational prejudices surfaced and I couldn’t buy a rim without eyeleted spoke holes. Also, conventional rather than straight-pull spokes – for the use I’ll be putting them to, there seemed little point in going for the less conventional variety. £297 from the LBS (bargain!)
So: first impressions . . .

They may be 50g per wheel heavier than the wheels with the Crest rim, but they must be 250g per wheel lighter than what’s come off (Alex rim, Specialized hub)

Smaller valve hole = presta tubes. Woohoo! Proper bicycle valves at last! Now it’s possible to ride out to the woods with a decent road going amount of air in the tyres, then let them down to a cross country pressure in a couple of seconds

No problem fitting tyres – Specialized Fast Trak (folding) going on with just thumbs

A couple of creaks and squeaks from the spokes, and then they settle down to work in silence. Until you freewheel . . .

Absolutely no flex under braking, so they’re stiffer than the old wheels as well as lighter. The reduction in weight makes climbing just a bit easier, and the bike just generally seems to react faster to pedal or steering input

I can cope with a noisy freewheel when I’m going downhill

Overall verdict – very, very worthwhile