These rims were designed purely for cross country riding, but from early in our development program we were impressed at just how much these wheels could handle, and how smooth and light they felt. Combined with the facts that these rims are welded, have stainless steel eyelets, utilize a strong rim profile, and are built with 32 spokes laced three cross in the front and rear, you can ride these wheels with confidence.
Submitted by
Raymond
a Cross Country Rider
from Rockville CT Date Reviewed: November 21, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Case
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$375.00
Purchased At:
BWW
Strengths:
lightweight, responsive wheels
Weaknesses:
none except rear hub see below
Similar Products Used:
xtr w/mavic 717
Bike Setup:
cannondale prophet, lightened for mostly cc riding
Bottom Line:
bought these to lighten bike up from the stock wheels. They are certainly lighter and more responsive than the heavier cannondale stock. But soon after getting them I had the same problem the first commentor had in the skipping. Also thought it was the chain/sprocket issue. It got progressively worse. Took apart and found the pawls broken. BWW is a great company on contacting them they quickly sent out some new pawls and springs that actuate them. I percieved the problem was in the springs not having enough pressure on them to engage them quickly enough and bent them slightly to increase the pressure on the pawls and to thus quicken slightlythere engagement. It has worked up until now with no problems. I believe this is a design flaw in 2 things the strength of the springs and in the alloys that the pawls are made of, not being strong enough for the application. I give BWW 5 for their info and quick response but the rear hub gets a 2 xcr rims and front are fine. BWW should check the manufacturer of these parts. Also the rear hub is made of a soft alloy aluminum and scores easy especially with a less expensive cassette. This also needs to be addressed.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
B-Mac
a Cross Country Rider
from Northeast Ohio, USA Date Reviewed: August 28, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Moraine State Park, Mohican State Park
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
BWW
Strengths:
Good looks, good bearings.
Weaknesses:
Rear Hub - freewheel ratchet lost teeth after 6 months, freehub body is very weak.
Similar Products Used:
Mavic Crossmax
Bike Setup:
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp (the bike these wheels were on).
Bottom Line:
Ordered a set of wheels from BWW with their in-house brand hubs (Pure XCR) and DT Swiss EX 5.1 rims. Build was good and the wheels arrived timely. I was initially impressed. Started riding the wheels in January, 2009. Like all new wheels, had to true and retension the wheels after about 1 month. Initially, rode the wheels mostly at Ray's MTB park & they received a beating, but other than occasional truing (I was jumping ALOT) no major problems.
I noticed the first problem with the rear hub when I removed the casette for cleaning. The sram pg990 cassette has 3 loose cogs, each of which was eating into the soft aluminum freehub body. As of today, each cog has made a 1/16" hole in the splines on the freehub body. I'm a heavier guy (appx 230 lbs) so that might have exaggerated the problem somewhat. While I understand that this part was made of aluminum to save some weight, It just seems counterintuitive to save weight by making a part out of aluminum when aluminum is not strong enough for that particular part. I understand that other, more expensive hubs have this same problem, but I don't view that as a good rationale. Personally, I'd sacrifice a few grams here & there to have a part that is NOT defective on its face.
As soon as the snow melted and the trailriding season began, I began having serious problems with the rear hub. Initially, the hub would OCCASIONALLY make a big pinging noise which I could feel in the pedals. I thought the chain was catching on the cogs at first. The cassette was new & I figured it needed breaking in. However, the pinging got more frequent every ride. When I pulled the hub apart to investigate, I found that 7 teeth were broken clean off of the freehub ratchet. The pawls were all in one piece. The rear wheel is now completely unusable - it skips severely when under a load.
My negative overall review is for the BWW Pure XCR REAR hub, which I think is complete crap. I would not recommend this hub for anyone who rides a bike off road. I'm also not trying to urge people to not shop at BWW, they build good wheels and have good prices. I rated a middle 3 chili value b/c the front wheel & hub work fine. No problems with the front wheel or hub as of this writing, & no problems with the DT Swiss rims or the BWW build.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
biga6462
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, TX Date Reviewed: July 13, 2009
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$425.00
Purchased At:
BWW
Strengths:
Everything came and was build and advertised.
Weaknesses:
None but will have to test durability through time
Similar Products Used:
Bontrager Race and Ranger, Various Mavic Products
Bike Setup:
Trek Fuel EX8
Bottom Line:
I really dont like to review new components without using them much but my new wheelset is awesome. My build =DT Swiss 4.2, pure xcr hubs, 1582 grams. I was impressed with these as soon as they came out of the box. The wheess were built well and I can tell much effort was put into these. The guys at BWW seem to know what they are doing and responded to my questions quickly. I put the wheels through some xc this weekend and was impressed. The wheels are stiff and handle extremely well. I noticed that I had to put less effort into pedaling and actually had to drop to a harder gear in order to pedal at a comparable torque. The freewheel hub clicking noise sounds awesome too. For the price you cant go wrong with this company.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
DFYFZX
a Weekend Warrior
from Kansas City, MO, USA Date Reviewed: July 4, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Landahl
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$420.00
Purchased At:
bicyclewheelwarehous
Strengths:
Great value for the $$$. Only weighs 1532g for the set and under $500?! No special tools needed and practically maintenance free. Weighs less, costs less and WAAAY easier to own than my old Mavic Crossmax XL wheelset! I hated the maintenance those wheels required. I've ridden off of a 3 foot drop and gone thru some black diamond ROCKY trails and have had 0 issues! I've only had them for a little under a month but I've put them thru hell! My buddy taco'd his 29er front wheel following in the same track I was on shortly after calling me crazy for riding black diamond trails with "cheap" wheels;p Stuff that threw my Crossmax XLs out of true have given these wheels no problems whatsoever. I ride aggressive XC and light/average AM and these wheels seem to be perfect for both styles due to the light weight and the strong rim profile. BWW even makes note on their website that they were designed for XC but are surprised at how capable they are in the rough stuff.
Weaknesses:
None found yet but for a world class wheelset for under $500 I doubt I'll ever find anything negative;)
Similar Products Used:
Mavic Crossmax XL
Bike Setup:
Turner 5 Spot XC/AM build
1 x 9 drivetrain with 5.5" travel frt/rr
Bottom Line:
Amazing value and incredibly lightweight! I built mine with the BWW hubs and DT Revolution spokes so my final price came to $420. If you stick with the cheapest setup(XT hubs with basic DT spokes) they will only run you $365 but will weigh around 1700g. If you add titanium spokes and centerlock hubs you can get down to around 1300g. BWW is awesome because you can LITERALLY build the exact wheels you want! Even if you don't end up with the XCR Custom I bet you'll be able to find a set of wheels on their site that will fit your needs/budget. Expect to wait about 3 weeks to receive them since they build them from scratch and true/tension them to crazy exact standards! I have only one regret and that is, I wish I would've bought the Pro Scandium set instead but at the time of purchase I was broke. I highly recommend these and don't have any reason to believe you'd be disappointed. I'd give them 12 flamin turds if I could;)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
brokenstraw rider
a Cross Country Rider
from Youngsville, Pa Date Reviewed: March 29, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Tanbark on the Allegheny National Forest
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Price Paid:
$385.00
Purchased At:
bicyclewheelwarehous
Strengths:
Price, Looks(if that counts), hub engagement
Weaknesses:
If and when I find one, I will update a review.
Similar Products Used:
Mavic with XT hubs, Sunringles with Deore hubs.
Bike Setup:
KONA NUNU(bought frame NOS from Cambria), Manitou MRD R7 forks, XT drive train, SRAM chain. Kenda Dred Tred tires 2.1
Bottom Line:
This is a review after one day of riding my new set up. I wouldn't usually think of doing this after just one ride, but felt it was warranted. This bike was a custon build that I did over the winter. It was built on the budget I have for pure cross country racing. (I have my stumpy for all mountain). Anyway, I thought that the best time to test this bike was at a recent club trip to Rays MTB park. Some of the parts I used where from my old race bike, so I knew what to expect from them, but I didn't know what to expect from these wheels.
What a ride these wheels gave. I won't say much about the rims, because they can't really be tested after just one ride. But they where true and ran straight. But the hubs.....oh my. I am riding the PURE XCR rims (white) with the PURE XCR hubs (red).
I could give a detailed description of all the different things that surpirised me about how fast this bike ran at Rays, but that would be to long. So here is the bottom line; In the warm-up room I handed my bike to a couple buddies I was riding with. Friend number one: "Holy Crap! I coulnd't hit the inside line off the bank. I didn't expect the bike to rail that fast! Man is that a fast bike." Friend number two(a much more advanced rider):"WOW is that bike fast. Where did you get those wheels?" This morning I wake up with yet another e-mail asking about where those hubs can be found.
Face it, we all know that at critical moments of speed, the hubs are the key. These hubs are going to unlock some doors for me this year.
If these wheels prove to hold up over the long haul and a couple race seasons, they will be a staple on every bike in my garage.
If they do prove to fail me down the trail, I promise to update my review, but for now I believe they are worth taking a chance on.
OH YEAH I forgot...not only did they come quickly, they included the matching skewers, nice rim tape AND a free WATER BOTTLE.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jamis_snow
a Cross Country Rider
from grand terrace, ca USA Date Reviewed: March 9, 2009
bontrager ranger laced to cheap shimano hubs, american classic mtb, mavic slr's
Bike Setup:
Jamis Dakar pro, xo drivetrain, fox f100 rlc, rp23, Juicy ultimate, xt cranks
Bottom Line:
I ordered the red Pure hubs laced to DT swiss 4.2 rims via 1.8/2.0 spokes with the red alloy nipples. I have not had much time on them but it seems as though the sealed bearings are very fast and smooth. the wheels are perfectly true according to my dial indicator. I have logged a few dozen miles on them riding moderate/aggressive XC and love them. My only complaint is that the "red" anodizing is really more of a dark pink. The rear hub has an almost silent coast. For the price I feel that the BWW wheels are a truly great buy. just the bare wheels weighed 1608 g. I believe.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike T.
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario Canada Date Reviewed: February 19, 2009
Favorite Trail:
any & all
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$366.00
Purchased At:
BWW
Strengths:
BWW is the strength. They're great to deal with, build a good wheel and I just know they'll be there for support.
Plus - the many color combinations, spoke and nipple options of this wheelset.
Weaknesses:
It takes ages to choose from all the possible rim, nipple, spoke and hub colors! Take your time and get it right.
Similar Products Used:
Mavic & DT rims. King & DT hubs.
Bike Setup:
'99 vintage Seven Sola Ti, eXotic rigid carbon fork, Ti Moots stem and seatpost, Formula B4SL brakes.
Bottom Line:
This BWW Pure wheelset (house brand of Bicycle Wheel Warehouse) is made up of welded joint 408 gram stainless single eyelet rims laced 3x with DT Competition spokes (in this case the thinner 1.8/1.6/1.8mm gauge) to beautiful large flange sealed bearing hubs. The wheels were dead true out of the well-packed box and complete with color-matching skewers and with rim tapes. I've built my own wheels for decades and I could tell a lot of care had gone into these wheels. They have very even tensions (which are most important for wheel longevity) and the spoke heads are seated and well aligned into the hub flanges. The wheels had been well stress-relieved during building and this was proved by the fact that they didn't ping on their first ride. They certainly didn't need re-truing after the first few rides - the sign of a careful wheelbuild.
The rear hub is a 4-bearing (all sealed) construction for 6-bolt disc brake rotors with an aluminum cassette carrier. The hub contains 6 pawls with individual springs and a good 30 tooth engagement. It is 8 & 9spd compatible. The fine details of the hubs, both inside and outside, let you know that a lot of thought has gone into their manufacture.
Being naturally curious I stripped the hubs down when they first arrived to check the interior quality, ease of service and bearing part numbers. The rear hub strips down for ratchet service incredibly easy with just two 5mm allen wrenches. I could access the ratchet/pawl system, clean and re-lube in five minutes tops.
You can see my BWW rear hub stripdown at mtbr [url=http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=480062] here[/url] plus pics of my wheelset.
The hubs can be totally stripped for overhaul (bearings removed & replaced etcetera) with no more than two 5mm allens, one 10mm allen and a rubber tipped hammer. Try that with two of the top mtb hubs which need a special (approx) $200 toolset.
These light, strong and well built wheels are great for cross country mountainbiking at a really fair price of $366. They would be perfect wheels for anyone from beginner to xc racer and an upgrade for most factory mountain bikes. My wheels weighed 1556g which is a real surprise as they're advertised at 1606g.
They can be totally customized with 3-4 rim colors, 3 hub colors, two spoke colors, three nipple colors, two nipple materials and two spoke gauges! Yeow! I got unadvertised black rims with red nipples, black spokes and red/silver hubs. The two-tone anodizing of the hubs looks incredible.
Nice job BWW.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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