Stans Alpha 400 or Mavic Open Pro?

bananasbrah
bananasbrah Posts: 22
edited September 2013 in Road general
I'm in need of a new front clincher and I'm resisting the temptation to grab a £130 Ultegra tubeless compatible in favour of more spokes and hopefully more durability and longevity.

At the minute I've narrowed it down to either

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/hope ... rod1065t99
or
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/hope ... prod106539

Reviews of the Stans' seem to say it's lacking quite a bit of rigidity so I'm leaning towards the Mavic rim.
It'll be replacing a bottom end DT Swiss 1.0 which replaced a crashed Fulcrum 3. I've really not enjoyed being on the DT Swiss so I'm desperate for something strong and smooth which will last.

Any thoughts are welcome, cheers!

Comments

  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    Are you sure the reviews you've seen aren't about the Alpha 340 ? They're a but fleshy, but all the reviews of the 400 that I've seen say they're much stiffer. Any links ? I'm interested in them too.
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • bananasbrah
    bananasbrah Posts: 22
    MattC59 wrote:
    Are you sure the reviews you've seen aren't about the Alpha 340 ? They're a but fleshy, but all the reviews of the 400 that I've seen say they're much stiffer. Any links ? I'm interested in them too.
    Good point actually, you're right I was just looking at the 340 reviews which didn't seem all that encouraging and it's stuck in my head.

    Hmm, I'm so tempted by the finished quality of the Ultegra, but 16 and 20 spoke fronts just seem so temperamental, I want something a bit meaty that's light and stiff enough to perform on climbs and give me confidence on descents.
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    Hope Hoops don't have a great rep for build quality. If you want something along those lines I'd talk to your nearest wheel builder. Where are you?
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,691
    Mavic open Pro for decade long classic reliability

    Stans for new kid on the block pimpy flashyness

    Stans are pretty much the go to MTB rim now, trouble with the road rims is that they re a bit new and untested whereas the Open Pro rim has been around longer than most of us...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    If you want something that will last, the answer is obvious... otherwise try a 23 mm wide rim, they are ace... they really give you a lot more confidence in descents
    left the forum March 2023

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