Wheel upgrade advice

coach22

Looking to up grade the stock heavy Wheelset on my Xc bike. They are 29” boost.

Budget is around 300-400. Zondas are always recommended for the road but what is the mtb equivalent?!

Anyone got any recommendations?

rizzodun

coach22 wrote: »

Looking to up grade the stock heavy Wheelset on my Xc bike. They are 29” boost.

Budget is around 300-400. Zondas are always recommended for the road but what is the mtb equivalent?!

Anyone got any recommendations?

Cheap, light, strong.

Pick 2.

Personally my faves have been DT Swiss, not sure what's on offer in the 29er size but I've hammered a set of 27.5 splines and they're still as true as ever.

Lemming

coach22 wrote: »

Looking to up grade the stock heavy Wheelset on my Xc bike. They are 29” boost.

Budget is around 300-400. Zondas are always recommended for the road but what is the mtb equivalent?!

Anyone got any recommendations?

What kind of punishment are you expecting to give the wheels? You say it's an XC bike but what kind of riding are you giving it? Do you want lightweight wheels? indestructible wheels?

Lemming

rizzodun wrote: »

Cheap, light, strong.

Pick 2.

Personally my faves have been DT Swiss, not sure what's on offer in the 29er size but I've hammered a set of 27.5 splines and they're still as true as ever.

As a general rule of thumb, you cannot go wrong with a DT Swiss rim. I've got 27" splines on my nukeproof and they've been through a few races, Fort William, etc. and still rolling. The missus has custom build replacement wheels on her specialized enduro elite (DT Swiss rims, Hope hubs) and she's happy with those too.

coach22

So I definetly want to loose some weight on the wheels. The current ones are basic giant and weigh about 2kg I think. I'd take lightness over strength for the new set.

It's an xc full suspension bike. I don't race on it. Mainly coillte trails and xc routes around dublin

rizzodun

coach22 wrote: »

So I definetly want to loose some weight on the wheels. The current ones are basic giant and weigh about 2kg I think. I'd take lightness over strength for the new set.

It's an xc full suspension bike. I don't race on it. Mainly coillte trails and xc routes around dublin

To be honest I had a look at what's around for your budget and they're all around 2kg in total.
If you need to lose weight off the bike there are probably more cost effective ways.

Check your tyres, perhaps you can switch to a lighter set if only doing trails and xc routes.

I recently switched to a bike with carbon rims, and there's benefits over and above just a weight saving, but unless you plan to significantly increase your budget then you won't be in the bracket, and I wouldn't buy them for weight saving alone.

Gerry

I'm in the same boat, stock giant wheelset on my hardtail.
Pcx2. They've been solid wheels but I want to lose weight off them.
I'd partially disagree with the above.. I think losing weight off the wheels is maybe expensive but is worth it.
However I would suggest you look at tyres also. I run nobby nic front and rocket Ron rear. That's quite an aggressive setup for an xc race bike but it means the bike is usable for more than that. In the summer I think I'll be doing for a change.. maybe rocket ron front also.


Mavic xa 29 seem to offer a decent weight drop

Is within budget.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/mavic-xa-elite-29er-boost-wheelset-2019/rp-prod178048?gs=1&sku=sku681637&istCompanyId=0f15660a-f13e-4c09-a701-b55d8c3f2e59&istFeedId=21ccdaa5-24f7-4b32-9ec6-ac7081b9b50b&istItemId=iwxrrxmqr&istBid=t&pgrid=55940684301&ptaid=pla-418600475668&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+All+Products&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|sHJOOTgG5_dm|pcrid|294740729963|pkw||pmt||prd|681637IE&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdzzBRC7ARIsANdqRRljwrC5LaKpSavzTjb6C5By6p_UWMx-Af4DXompy8INcmt0f2LhHUcaAjUnEALw_wcB

Whatwicklow

coach22 wrote: »

Looking to up grade the stock heavy Wheelset on my Xc bike. They are 29” boost.

Budget is around 300-400. Zondas are always recommended for the road but what is the mtb equivalent?!

Anyone got any recommendations?

http://www.adverts.ie/19692918P

Lemming

Gerry wrote: »

I'm in the same boat, stock giant wheelset on my hardtail.
Pcx2. They've been solid wheels but I want to lose weight off them.
I'd partially disagree with the above.. I think losing weight off the wheels is maybe expensive but is worth it.
However I would suggest you look at tyres also. I run nobby nic front and rocket Ron rear. That's quite an aggressive setup for an xc race bike but it means the bike is usable for more than that. In the summer I think I'll be doing for a change.. maybe rocket ron front also.

Regards light-weight tyres (as opposed to different models/tread patterns); there is a trade-off particularly regards side-wall strength and durability (i.e. not tearing within sight of a pebble). It all depends on what condition the trails you typically expect to ride are in and how you expect to ride them.

For example, I started riding a local trail (blue rated, with some red options) with a pair of 26" Conti Trail Kings on my Klein hard-tail (old school, so very much XC category) and taking some of the berm corners on that was twitch central. The tyres were great for low rolling resistance but you would quickly find yourself discovering the limits of the tyres ability to grip without a great deal of effort. I switched to a Schawble Nobby Nic on the front and a Maxxis High Roller 2 on the rear which gave considerable confidence & control when cornering, but at cost of rolling resistance and a bit more weight.

It's all about what works for you and finding a balanced trade-off.

Mavic xa 29 seem to offer a decent weight drop

Is within budget.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/mavic-xa-elite-29er-boost-wheelset-2019/rp-prod178048?gs=1&sku=sku681637&istCompanyId=0f15660a-f13e-4c09-a701-b55d8c3f2e59&istFeedId=21ccdaa5-24f7-4b32-9ec6-ac7081b9b50b&istItemId=iwxrrxmqr&istBid=t&pgrid=55940684301&ptaid=pla-418600475668&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+All+Products&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid|sHJOOTgG5_dm|pcrid|294740729963|pkw||pmt||prd|681637IE&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdzzBRC7ARIsANdqRRljwrC5LaKpSavzTjb6C5By6p_UWMx-Af4DXompy8INcmt0f2LhHUcaAjUnEALw_wcB

1770g, before tyres and sealant/tubes are added. That needs to be borne in mind.

coach22

Thanks for the advice lads, maybe it’s worth saving up a bit more so and going carbon. Il think about it

Lemming

coach22 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads, maybe it’s worth saving up a bit more so and going carbon. Il think about it

Honestly, you don't need to go carbon - that's just overkill. You can get a good set between €400 to €600. You can even get a good custom build (i.e. pick your rims, hubs and spokes) within that budget. That'd be the cost of a single carbon wheel (or the rim alone depending on the brand ...).

I can get a replacement set of my DT Swiss E1700 Splines (27.5) from CRC for just over £500, and the missus got a set of custom-built DT Swiss rims + Hope Hubs built for her near here in Sheffield for £430.

rizzodun

coach22 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads, maybe it’s worth saving up a bit more so and going carbon. Il think about it

Just in case you picked me up wrong, that's not what I meant.
I just meant that for your budget there's little out there that'll offer any saving worth looking at.

What I meant about carbon was that for MTB wheels they're good for weight saving but they offer other benefits and I wouldn't just buy them for weight saving alone.

boomdocker

Lemming wrote: »

and the missus got a set of custom-built DT Swiss rims + Hope Hubs built for her near here in Sheffield for £430.

The OP should talk to Expert Cycles in Dublin - expert wheelbuilders and could probably build a set along the lines of the spec you mention i.e. DT Swiss rims on Hope hubs for a similar price
They could also advise you on other aspects which may be relevant depending on what exactly you want to ride - rim width for example is an important consideration when buyin/building which hasn't been mentioned here

Lemming

boomdocker wrote: »

The OP should talk to Expert Cycles in Dublin - expert wheelbuilders and could probably build a set along the lines of the spec you mention i.e. DT Swiss rims on Hope hubs for a similar price
They could also advise you on other aspects which may be relevant depending on what exactly you want to ride - rim width for example is an important consideration when buyin/building which hasn't been mentioned here

Rim width is also a consideration for tyre width and psi; particularly for plus size tyres being run at low psi levels in tubeless setups.

I'll mention something else regards weight savings that nobody has mentioned yet. Without seeming to sound cruel but I would consider an objective look at oneself and whether or not you could stand to shift some weight. Shifting a kg or two will have considerably more impact than chasing hundreds of grams in component savings at cost to ones wallet. If you're already a skinny whippet then pad out that wallet first :pac: