Which rims for hope hubs?

vonbonbon

Hi Guys

New to these forums...so please be gentle!

I have 2010 Rockhopper and have been MTBing for a couple of years now. I tend to ride 7stanes red routes, the odd black, but am pretty slow and rubbish but looking to improve. I am slowly replacing it bit by bit as I wear stuff out or break it off

I am now looking to replace the wheels as they are getting a bit bashed and bent. Looking at reviews Hope Pro2 hubs seem to get good reviews. But I cant decide on rims. DT XR400 get a few posts saying they are soft and I as I do like to crash I am thinking these arent for me. At the other end of the scale are the mavic 721. These look ideal other than being really heavy. I dont want to do tubless so would EX500 or 521's give me the strength and lightness I need? Or are the XR400 up to the job.

Thanks for any pointers...

ride_whenever

Stans rims are really the only way to go, pricey but very strong and light. I'd suggest the flows if you have a propensity to crash as you might find the crests a bit too fragile.

vonbonbon

Can you get stans on the factory wheels or are they a custom job?

warpcow

There's no reason to put 721s on that bike for your riding. As ride-whenever said, Stan's rims are pretty much the way to go if you're buying the prebuilt Hope Hoops. Flow is a good blend of strength and low-ish weight (lighter and wider, but basically as strongs as 521s), Arch EX is similar but narrower, lighter and probably the best 'all-round' choice.

Superstar wheels are also worth a look: good choice of rims with Stan's and Pacenti. Pacenti are a bit of an unknown quantity but have some good user-reviews online.

vonbonbon

Ill check out Superstar.

With the stans I could run them with tubes, then go tubeless at a later stage? Is that right?

rockmonkeysc

Mavic XM719's are lighter than flows and more than strong enough. Mine have done a couple downhill races with no problems. If you're running tubes then Stans are no better than Mavic's.
Flow's are a downhill rim and way over the top for XC riding. They are also too wide if you want to run narrow XC mud tyres.

vonbonbon

I dont think the 719s are available as factory prebuilt are they?

stubs

vonbonbon wrote:

I dont think the 719s are available as factory prebuilt are they?

Merlin do Mavic 719s on Hope hubs http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/wheels/mountain-bike-wheels/custom-wheels-disc/front-handbuilt-hope-wheels-disc.html

vonbonbon

Cheers for the info, tho I think my brain is going to melt with options

warpcow

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Mavic XM719's are lighter than flows and more than strong enough. Mine have done a couple downhill races with no problems. If you're running tubes then Stans are no better than Mavic's.
Flow's are a downhill rim and way over the top for XC riding. They are also too wide if you want to run narrow XC mud tyres.

The thing is you're comparing the wrong rims: it should be more like Flow vs 521 and 719 vs Arch EX. I just put an old 719 on my scale at 462g, which is so close to a Flow (470g claimed), and so far from an Arch EX (413g weighed by me), as to render it completely pointless. Don't get me wrong, the 719 is a solid 'workhorse' rim, but nowadays it just doesn't cut it compared to newer brands.

rockmonkeysc

Flow's are claimed 510g on the notubes website, 460g for the 719. The Flow is a DH rim, no one needs a DH rim on an XC bike. I'm 16 stone and ride a hardtail on the quantocks and I ride very hard on the rocky descents, I have never felt the need for DH rims.
My DH race wheels only have EX721 rims which aren't exactly heavy duty and I don't have to true them very often.
It's more about the build than the rim for strength.

Northwind

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Flow's are claimed 510g on the notubes website, 460g for the 719. The Flow is a DH rim, no one needs a DH rim on an XC bike

That's the weight of a white Flow, black ones are 470g. Wider than a 719, tubeless ready, and a chunk stronger. They're not competitors really, but they just happen to have comparable weight.

But you're right that the Flow's not the right price for our man here. Arch Ex at most, but Crest ought to be absolutely fine. Arch Ex is 400g, Crest is 340g.

rockmonkeysc

Northwind wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Flow's are claimed 510g on the notubes website, 460g for the 719. The Flow is a DH rim, no one needs a DH rim on an XC bike

That's the weight of a white Flow, black ones are 470g. Wider than a 719, tubeless ready, and a chunk stronger.

I'm not convinced that Flows are particularly strong. I have seen a few completely destroyed by bad landings where I'm sure my EX721's or Nukeproof Generators would have survived well enough to be usable

vonbonbon

Lots for me to consider there!

I want something fairly future proof that will take a bit of bashing with little maintenance. So I am thinking Flow Ex or Arch EX rims, with Maxxis high rollers. The advantage of the Flows is they are cheaper and I dont need a custom build. The advantage of the arch EX is lighter, but more expensive and need custom build.

Fair summary?

Northwind

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I'm not convinced that Flows are particularly strong. I have seen a few completely destroyed by bad landings where I'm sure my EX721's or Nukeproof Generators would have survived well enough to be usable

Mine have dealt with an absolute kicking, including the endurance downhill this year... But the 721 is a very strong, downhill-specific rim! Not to mention, a 590g rim- more than a quarter more than a Flow. If it wasn't stronger, then Mavic would be doing something incredibly wrong tbh.

supersonic

719s are tough rims - not as wide as flows, but deeper and stiffer.

Northwind

Hard, too- easier to dent a Stans rim than a 719. But one of my 719s cracked under a blow that would have only dented my Flows (split around the eyelets) and the other ended up a very funny shape over time. Much less hard use than my Flows, but both built by Wheelpro with the same spokes so directly comparable other than the rims.

But anyway- neither one seems like a good choice to me

vonbonbon

You rekon the cresta or arch is the way to go?

Northwind

Or something similiar from elsewhere- Pacenti maybe from moonglu, they build lovely wheels. But there's tons of good choice tbh.

vonbonbon

Cheers, Ill check that out

leaflite

Take a look at the german retailers such as actionsports.de-their wheels are top spec and really good value.
Also consider American Classic. Custom builds on their hubs are expensive, but their factory wheelsets are quite good value. They have rrps of £500/set, but ive seen them on offer for as little as £300. The hubs are amazingly light yet very durable, which allows for a heavier, stronger rim and spokes for the same overall weight. I have been very happy with mine.

lostboysaint

Ah, good to see all the fanboys for Stans on here as usual.

There's not a lot to choose between the Stans Flow and the Mavic EN521. Regardless of what people say the weights are within a gnats cock (I have had both, now just have two pairs of EN521), they are nicely stiff, they both go tubeless really easily if you want to do that. Best to just see what deals are around and get the best VFM.

(Oh, and I'm 6'4" and 95kg and both the Flows and the 521s have proven indestructable in "normal" use)

leaflite

lostboysaint wrote:

Ah, good to see all the fanboys for Stans on here as usual.

There's not a lot to choose between the Stans Flow and the Mavic EN521. Regardless of what people say the weights are within a gnats fool (I have had both, now just have two pairs of EN521), they are nicely stiff, they both go tubeless really easily if you want to do that. Best to just see what deals are around and get the best VFM.

(Oh, and I'm 6'4" and 95kg and both the Flows and the 521s have proven indestructable in "normal" use)

Except for the OP both would be overkill

vonbonbon

Thanks guys for the pointers.

I am going to weigh my wheels to try and get an idea what the different options will mean to me weight wise and then I can make a more informed decision. Hopefully anyway!

Certainly sounds like all the options are good ones- main dangers are overkill and overprice I think!

vonbonbon

Well after reading lots and then weighing my wheels and taking into account I dont plan any mad DH stuff I have decided to go with Arch EX. Which of course is the expensive option!

Any suggestions on who to have them build them?

Cheers

supersonic

Wheelpro?

Dick Scruttock

supersonic wrote:

Wheelpro?

No longer builds wheels.

stubs

Merlin cycles I have had 4 sets of wheels off them over the years and they have all been well built at competitive prices

Merlin custom wheels

mikewoods

Got mine done by justridingalong.com - great personal service, hugely informative and very reasonably priced.

Northwind

lostboysaint wrote:

There's not a lot to choose between the Stans Flow and the Mavic EN521. Regardless of what people say the weights are within a gnats fool (I have had both, now just have two pairs of EN521), they are nicely stiff, they both go tubeless really easily if you want to do that. Best to just see what deals are around and get the best VFM.

540g for 521s, 470g for (black) Flows, that's a pretty significant difference. And if you want to do tubeless, that adds further weight to the 521. Even the Flow Ex which is a stronger rim is 490g.

To be fair, though Mavic only recommend the 521 for enduro whereas the Flow is recommended for DH as well, I think that's mostly Mavic trying to get people to buy the 721- they do some odd product differentiation stuff. And not everyone is a weightweenie 521s are great value too if bought seperately (Hope Hoops screw up the value equation)

But in either case- still not right for the OP.

vonbonbon

Update - I got arch EXs and stuck dirty dans on them. Only been a few rides on them but what a difference. Absolutely loving them.

If only improving my technique was as easy!