Hunt wheels - why the hate?

secretsam

So, Road.cc did a piece on Hunt which was clearly driven by the manucfaturer, trying to dispel rumours that they just re-badge open mould wheels, and also about the quality of their product.

Hunt wheels always seem to review well, yet you see lots and lots of anti-Hunt stuff on various fora; is this historic hatred based on poor info, or actually real life criticism that is valid?

https://road.cc/content/feature/inside-hunt-bike-wheels-300895

super_davo

Paging Matt Falle...

I have a set of Hunt UD carbon spokes Aerodynamists, because at the time I bought there was nothing else like them on the UK market. They are a good set of wheels for my needs, light, aero, tubeless. But have had to send back a couple of times to get fixed as spokes came loose (and not easy to true carbon spokes).

I think most people's issue is that they have the marketing nailed (hence the Road.cc article) but the product really isn't any better than Prime, Vel or no name Chinese, which they usually cost more than.

I sympathize with this view, but at the same time, they're cheaper than equivalents from Mavic, Fulcrum etc. The carbon spoke and Limitless range are a bit different from the rest of the range and other brands, which does make them worth looking at. The truth as always, is somewhere between the marketing glow and the scathing from the haters.

secretsam

Interesting. I've got some Prime alloys, perfectly good.
I have considered Vel also.

veronese68

Thats a sponsored article, so little more than a paid advert. Saying that it does look like they do more of their own R&D, maybe it's just their cheaper wheels that use more generic components. That's not necessarily a bad thing, go to a wheel builder and you will get generic components. But a hand built wheel made for you to a spec you've discussed and agreed with the builder. As mentioned above they are very good at marketing and PR so you end up paying a premium for something that can be bought elsewhere.
Obviously this is only my opinion and I don't know anything, but I'm tight and cynical. I bought a set of Prime wheels even though I can build wheels, I couldn't have bought the parts to build them cheaper than the cost of the wheels.

joeyhalloran

I really like Hunt, I have two sets of their cheaper aluminum wheels that I bought second-hand. One on a cross bike and one on a commuter hack bike and both have lasted well. I think Prime and Vel are catching up but when I looked the price between Hunt, Vel and Prime were all pretty comparable when trying to compare similar specs. I ended up with some Zipp 303s but Hunt was a strong contender.

They may just use generic components but if those components are carefully selected and good quality and backed up by a good UK warranty and customer service then what's not to like?

super_davo

Issue really is that at the low end there really are a lot of wheels that are exactly the same open mould, so the hate will go to the one with the marketing that costs a bit more.

For example;
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-50carbon-aero-disc-road-wheelset-1438g-50deep-27wide-24spoke-1099?currency=GBP&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwpuajBhBpEiwA_ZtfhRKamBEsLN4UVdL2IbdCXciHT3G1CLipKw5UdOn5V3aJbNxZCo5TyRoCLXwQAvD_BwE
For £660

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Vel/50-RL-Carbon-Tubeless-Disc-Wheelset/QS28?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&co=GBR&cu=GBP&glCountry=GB&id=1249426&ds_eid=700000001845766&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=PMax:+UK_EN_Profit_Google_Shopping_All+Users_Vel&ds_cid=71700000110542295&ds_ag=&ds_agid=&ds_k=&ds_kid=&ds_kids=&gclid=CjwKCAjwpuajBhBpEiwA_ZtfhcE7JvOCbFp8WyorRTfuXvkcAcz4p9K00ahCazS2Wp7y5hFQBZEEshoCVfEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
For £500

Specs near as identical.

Again this has to be countered with both being on sale (although both are always on sale) and even £660 being reasonable value in the scheme of things.

Just don't be under any illusions that either will be any better than cheap AliExpress/ eBay China imports, they will just get delivered faster and have comeback if things go wrong (and I for one don't think it's unreasonable to pay a bit more for that).

Flasher2

Blimey, name dropping Hunt wheels, Lightweight, Princeton and maybe Enve but Hunt wtf!

wongataa

It is well known that some of Hunt's rims are off the shelf and some they have designed themselves but get them made in China. Pretty much every carbon bike component is made in China though apart from some niche expensive bits.

In reality they are comparable to Prime/Vel/etc wheels. Sometimes they are cheaper for the same specs and sometimes they are more expensive for the same specs.

Some people think that because some of their wheels are off the shelf and they have good marketing they are terrible for some reason. Whether you any marketing claims from anyone is up to you. Some people think because they are sometimes more expensive than an equivalent Prime wheel they are terrible and will fail as soon as you touch them for some reason.

They are perfectly OK wheels that have warranty back up and can often be competitive on price. That is a good enough reason to buy them for some people.

I have Hunt wheels. They were cheaper than the equivalent spec Vel & Prime wheels (some people seem to believe that can never happen for some reason) so I thought they were a good enough deal to go for. I have had Hunt wheels in the past and never had any issues with them.

Yes you probably can import wheels yourself that end up cheaper. Yes you probably could buy the bits to make up equivalent wheels for less money but I would rather buy an off the shelf wheel than do that and have some warranty back up if something should go wrong.

mrb123

I always thought their alu wheels are pretty decent value - few wheelbuilders can match the prices for a similar spec (eg Bitex/Novatecs + Kinlins).

For carbon though there is much better value (and possibly quality) to be had by going direct to the reputable Chinese suppliers such as Light Bicycle and Farsports. Their customer service really is first rate.

If you don't fancy that,as others have said the likes of Prime and Vel usually come out cheaper for a similar spec.

imposter2.0

Flasher2 said:

Blimey, name dropping Hunt wheels, Lightweight, Princeton and maybe Enve but Hunt wtf!

name-dropping your wheels does seem a bit unnecessary either way - especially as they usually have the name plastered all over them in big white letters...