DT Swiss wheelset

Ferrals

Does anyone have any experience of the the DT swiss spline wheelset? I'm looking at the XR version which are 33% off in a couple of sites - while its 1.5 times my budget I am a sucker for a bargain so am sorely tempted! The reviews I've seen are good for the XM version (stiff, durable easily servicable and convertable) but I haven't seen the xr properly reviewed.

Am I being daft looking at lightweight rims such as these or the stans crests in terms of durability? I'm getting more interested in xc racing so weight is a consideration and also I dont want to run wide tyres (2.1 at back, 2.25 at front) so don't need a wide rim. I'm not a heavy rider, only weigh about 10 stone, and I am definately xc orientated. I dont seek out jumps and keep my wheels on the ground as much as possible! I do ride trail centres and some of the local downhil focused trails and I try to ride as fast as I can so obviously there is some airtime going over drop-offs etc but nothing ridiculous (if its over a couple of foot I will be seeking out the b-line :oops: ). However if I spend 4-6 hundred on a pair of wheels I will be skint so not easily able to replace them if they get knackered.

I was more or less set on going down the hope pro2evo / stans crest route but a) they actually come out heavier than I realized and b) the reviews say wheel build isn't always perfect. I've also seen stans crest rims on stans hubs which are a bit lighter but from what I've read the hubs might have durability issues and as its having knackered hubs that is forcing the new wheelset issue I want some hubs that will be durable and easily servicable.

Any thoughts? Ta 8)

The Rookie

For XC get some Crests put on to A2Z hubs, will be lighter and cheaper and just as good, you could get the parts for that for circa £380 and the just add build price or learn to DIY.

I just built up some brand new wheels for £180 (at normal prices they would have been £140 more but I got lucky) and they came in at sub 1450g (26") showing how pricey those wheels are for the weight.

njee20

Bear in mind the A2Z hubs are only available in QR front/rear, so not much use on a lot of current bikes. Otherwise sound recommendation.

The DTs will be perfectly good, but as with virtually all factory builds you could custom build better for less.

The Rookie

Is that ignoring the 15mm front option? (which I have on mine if ever I want to change forks)
http://www.a2zcomponents.com/02products_03disc.html XCF15 bottom of the page

Ferrals

njee20 wrote:

The DTs will be perfectly good, but as with virtually all factory builds you could custom build better for less.

funny you should say that - I emailed Just Riding Along and Jon there has suggested a few interesting options at different price points with a few different hubs to think about and either crest or the new Ryde trace xc rims so I am more inclined to go down that route.

The Rookie

The trace does look promising, as light as my 26" Stans Alpine and an offset nipple bed to help equalise spoke tensions, what size are you looking at? Presumably 650B as that is the only size the trace XC seems to be available in.

Ferrals

yes 650b. I am a bit wary of getting rims I havent heard about before but JRA suggest the quality is great. There is also the potential to get a wheelset coming in at 1370ish g which would be fantastic.

lostboysaint

Ferrals wrote:

yes 650b. I am a bit wary of getting rims I havent heard about before but JRA suggest the quality is great. There is also the potential to get a wheelset coming in at 1370ish g which would be fantastic.

Far better to talk to wheelbuilders about what's good and what's not as they know from experience (good and bad!) whereas "what you've heard of" tends to be through the media or forums and you can never too sure what is "promotion" talk and what is genuine feedback.

I've just had a new set of wheels built for my 29er. My requirements were different from yours but I ended up with H+Son Todestreib on Novatech and they're absolutely perfect for what I wanted (wider wheel, 32 spoke count, reliable and serviceable hub, easy tubeless etc.). I wouldn't have chosen H+Son without his recommendation as I only associate them with road wheels. (FYI he also recommends Ryde rims!)

The Rookie

Ryde is the new trading name of Rigida (who I'm sure you will have heard of) they are now owned by the same umbrella company that owns Sapim amongst other brands.

Ferrals

Yeah lostboysaint I quite agree - will go with their recommendation re. Rims just got to think about which hub to go for

njee20

The Rookie wrote:

Is that ignoring the 15mm front option? (which I have on mine if ever I want to change forks)
http://www.a2zcomponents.com/02products_03disc.html XCF15 bottom of the page

But you can only buy the normal hubs as a pair, so you're either left trying to track down a rear on it's own, or selling a front or whatever. I was tempted by a front one, as they're very light, but couldn't be doing with non matching hubs. IMO they're not as much of a viable solution at that point.

The Rookie

Agreed that A2Z are very poor at sorting out sensible ways to sell stuff!

njee20

Looks like new hubs for next year - they're doing a 142x12mm axle, and the rear's got heavier (presumably with a bigger axle, so it can take the thru-axle conversion.

Still no XD hub though.