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Wheelset choice for AM bike
I'm planning on building an All Mountain bike. Something like a Santa Cruz Nomad or the like. It'll be used for riding around Sydney at places such as Red Hill and the Dam. Perhaps even down to Thredbo occasionally but not often. However I'm a bit unsure on wheelset choice.
The two I had in mind were the Mavic Crossmax SX or the Hope Hoops (Pro II hubs with Stan's ZTR Flow rims).
Mavics are lighter and do tubeless without tape. The Hope's have convertible hubs that fit almost any axle, meant to be reliable and have spokes which are easy to replace by any bike shop.
The Mavic's also cost a fair bit more. Some say Mavic's have freehub problems. I have a set of Crossmax ST on a Trance X and they seem to have held up fairly well so far. I've replaced the bush on the freehub but other than that they seem fine. Plus the Crossmax SX has the new ITS4 freehub.
At the moment I'm leaning towards the Hope's but still very much sitting on the fence. Can anyone help? Anyone have any opinions or other suggestions?
Thanks
Ben
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... I recommend Mavic 819 rims... no need for tape there.
Industry Nine also do very bling sets... but prolly a bit exy:
http://www.industrynine.net/All_Mountain
Hey Ben
I'm in the UK at the mo and just picked up a copy of MTB UK which has a wheelset 'shootout'. The Hope/Stans combo was the pick of the bunch. I'm thinking about getting this set up too but there are some fantastic priced XTR and Crank Bros wheelsets going cheap too. See the other recent threads.
Phil
I've had the 2009 Crossmax SX wheelset since they first came out. No problems whatsoever! I ride lots of kms cross country and used to ride red hill etc and have taken my pivot mach 5 down Thredbo before and wheels are strong and light.
They are a lot cheaper now than when i got mine thats for sure. No discount when your getting the first set in the country! I felt special for about 2 months
I have been really happy with the Hope proII's with the flow rims, they are not the most exciting looking set of wheels, but they have been reliable, are reasonably light for the abuse they can take and they do not use hard to source custom spokes.
Setting them up tubeless was dead easy, three times around with electrical tape and they were good to go. I am currently running an exception series on one and it set up first time, no leaks.
The only concern I would have is the lack of spoke eyelets.
I was looking for the same thing a few months ago with the requirements being Wide, light, strong and cheap. Hope hoops (Stans Flow) won, the price was untouchable against anything else. Mavix 819 on Hopes was a close 2nd but not wide enough for me. Love them, already used across 3 bikes using QR, 15mm and 20mm. Only issue is they now need a slight re-tension after a settling in period riding Red Hill, Appin, racing 4X etc.
Ben, you know what I'd suggest, don't you...
Is this a clue...
http://nobmob.com/node/11325#comment-38965
Is this replacing the Trance?
It's replacing the VP free. I want something that I can pedal uphill as well as go downhill reasonably.
Well we all know Delicious would ride a Hope bike if they made one
I went with my initial feeling and the majority. Now I just need to invest in some ear plugs for when I am freewheeling!
I've just got the Hope pro 2 and the Mavic 819 rims(tubeless)....BEAUTY!
At least we'll know where you are.
I have a "Fulcrum red metal 3" on my trance , seems plenty strong, so far, and looks sick with its flat blade spokes .I smash it around red hill often.Price was reasonable.
Hey vc what year model are your wheel set? I have them same with an over size 20m axle and round 2:1 spokes full ust with my poor line selection i give them a flogging 1000k's later and still not a problem. Id recommend them to anyone
I only got the wheel a month ago, so i guess they are this years. Feels great and works great...!
Good choice Buck.
If you aren't a fan of the loud ratchet in the Pro 2's, pull the cassette hub off and put some 'Royal Purple Extreme pressure grease' in there, if you can't get any of that grab some INOX Extreme pressure grease. Factory they have minimal grease which is fine for a while. I am pretty liberal with it. At first it feels pretty sticky, but after a few rides it will free up and be pretty quiet for at least 300-400 kms. I was told not to do this due to the pawls sticking inside, but I haven't had a problem with the three Pro 2 hubs I run. I've put approx, 1700kms (with DT 5.1D) on one, 700kms (with XC717) on another and only a few kms on my third (with 721). My 700km one I got second hand, and after the Rocky Trail 4hr at Awaba, I pulled the hub down to check it out. I found 3 broken pawl springs and the pawls were all quite worn. The previous owner had done a heap of kms on it. So good are these hubs, at worst case it finished the 4hr on one pawl engaging and it didn't feel any different to my other hubs.
I sware by them.