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
itsgettingbetter
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville, TN
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2011
Strengths: Great looking and very light for a reasonable price.
Weaknesses: The freewheel makes a heck of a racket. You certainly wont sneak up on anyone.
Bottom Line:
These things are solid with very little flex and for the price you cannot get a lighter wheelset. I upgraded to a better and lighter spoke and nipple combination and have no complaints. I have put these wheels through some misery and intend to ride them in some local races this year. I haven't even trued them yet. I don't know about the base model but for a reasonable upgrade price these wheels are a great substitute for higher end options.
Bike Setup: KHS FXT Pro w/ XTR components and all the carbon I could afford.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dirtstud
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville, TN
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2011
Strengths: Look great, not much flex and very light for this price range.
Weaknesses: The freewheel makes a hell of a racket. You certainly won't sneak up on anyone.
Bottom Line:
I'm a big fan of this wheelset. One of the biggest problems I had was the weight of my old set but did not want to spend thousands upgrading to a high end light set. I bought these in August 2010 and never looked back. I spent some extra and upgraded to better and lighter spokes/nipples and I don't have any of the complaints some other reviewers have. I ride 50+ miles a week on this wheelset and intend to enter some local races on them this year. These wheels have been a good substitute to a higher end option.
Bike Setup: KHS FXT Pro decked out with XT/XTR and all the carbon I could afford.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Joe DePalma
a Weekend Warrior
from Newark, DE
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2011
Strengths: Light, fast, and stays true, even after the pounding I've given it.
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
I bought just the front wheel on eBay for $56. This is a race-quality wheel and is extremely well built by BWW and has surpassed everything I've thrown at it. It has taken trails, hills, rough roads and has not let me down, even though it is a very light wheel. For what I spent, it has been great.
Similar Products Used: Matrix 550 that came on bike, Alex DM24
Bike Setup: Trek 3700 - nothing stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
teecat
a Weekend Warrior
from Lorton, Va
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2010
Strengths: Good value, excellent build quality
Weaknesses: Rear hub skipping
Bottom Line:
Excellent build on Mavic 719 rims. Stiff, light, strong. Agressive trail riding has not put them .001" out of true in over 1200 mi.
However, rear hub started skipping within several hundred miles. Great CS from BWW quickly sent a new spring/pawl kit and after a simple and quick replacement, it's working good since, but rebuilding this freewheel will clearly be a regular maintenance task (OK as long as the parts are available). Have not noticed freehub body chewed up yet like other reviewers. Hope BWW will address this weakness with an improved vendor for the rear hub. Front hub is light/stiff and bearings are great.
Bike Setup: BWW pure XC hubs laced to Mavic 719 rims; DT Swiss spokes/Al nipples
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
rich
a Cross Country Rider
from Seastopol, CA
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2010
Strengths: Nice hubs. Very light.
Weaknesses: Destroyed these wheels in less than a year. @ 145lbs and normal cross country use. Spoke gauge was too small and tensioning too high. When re-trueing the spoke threads pulled out of nipples(dull thread die). No returned calls once wheels were sold. Site does not post any reviews(tried twice).
Bottom Line:
Very light and pretty. If you hang your bike in your living room and weigh it, instead of riding get these wheels. If you want to RIDE your bike don't buy them.
Similar Products Used: Mavic Crosstrail. XTR-517. XT-717.etc.
Bike Setup: Titus Racer X
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ryanweeger
a Racer
from Huntington Beach, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2010
Strengths: The product is extremely durable and continues to spin smoothly without any rebuilds or maintenance required. Been riding and racing on these wheels since 2008. Including Multiple Xterra triathlons (Temecula, Maui), multiple endurance races like Counting Coup, Vision Quest, Traverse, and dozens of Cross Country races like Idyllwild Spring Challenge, US Cup, Rim Nordic series. I have always relied on these hubs throughout my racing and training and have never been let down.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
I have really enjoyed using the BWW Product. I also train on the road and have used the BWW Blackset Race wheelset for all my road training. That wheelset is LIGHT and FAST. Couldnt ask for more, their products are very underrated and unknown but sure to change quickly once cyclists realize the value of an excellent well made product with great local customer service and attention to detail. Bicycle Wheel Warehouse wheelsets and products rock, I will continue to race and train on their stuff in the future.
Similar Products Used: I have used DT Swiss 240s, 340s, Shimano XTR and XT hubs, all on Stans Rims. I must say these far exceeded my expectations and are easily comparable to DT Swiss 240s in their dependability, smooth bearing operation, and solidly built freewheel body.
Bike Setup: - Trek Top Fuel 9.9ssl w/ Full Sram XX, Bontrager XXX carbon parts, Stans Rims/BWW Pure XCR hubs/Specialized S works tires.
- Yeti Arc with full XTR/Sram XO build, Ritchey WCS carbon bits, Stans rims/BWW Pure XCR hubs/Maxxis Lust tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
handlebarstar
a Cross Country Rider
from CA
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2010
Strengths: Price. Strength/weight ratio
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Purchased this wheelset about 9 months ago and have been pleasantly surprised with the performance.I have the red BWW hubs laced to the black XCR rims with DT comp spokes. I am not a light rider at 195 lbs. and ride some what aggressively. I have yet to have a single problem. The wheels are built well and look great. I have had no problems with the rear hub as some have stated but will update the review if I do. Thanks BWW for a great wheelset at a great price!
Submitted by
dialedbike
a Cross Country Rider
from Lakewood, CO
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2010
Strengths: Light, spin well
Weaknesses: not built well, hub very flexy, casette free hub body material way too soft
Bottom Line:
I got the bww hubs built on WTB Laser disc. Admittedly not the best rim but, the wheels came out of the box NOT TRUE and NOT DISHED properly. I called up BWW and they promptly told me they were built well and the rims where entirely at fault. I've been riding and wrenching for over 25 years. These wheels were built like crap. I retensioned everything and rode them anyway. The hubs are very flexy. Just recently I was taking apart my bike to clean it up and get ready for the season. I had to use some force to remove the casette. When I got it off I realized that the casette had torn into the freehub body. In some cases gouges had torn half way through the width of the splines on the freehub body. WTF!!? I called up BWW and left a longwinded message. No call back. I suppose the freehub body damage was the fault of my casette and not their cheap hubs. Bottom line is they make a wheel that for the money is cheaper than you can buy the parts elsewhere so buy the wheels and have somebody else build them right. Don't use the BWW hubs they are not a good product if you ride frequently. I weigh about 190 and ride 5 - 6 days a week.
Similar Products Used: Mavic, Shimano XT, Chris King
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Superlight
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Teebird
a Weekend Warrior
from FHR, Kalifornia
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2010
Strengths: Great Customer Service, great build, customizable
Weaknesses: Rear Hub is useless
Bottom Line:
Great looking set of wheels. I had the Mavic 719's built with red Pure XCR hubs and red spoke nipples. Awesome looking wheels, stay straight, etc. The problem is with the rear hub skipping. I replaced the pawls and rear hub body 2 times myself. BWW's customer service is awesome. They sent them out to me. I still had issues with skipping. I sent the wheel back, on my own dime, and they laced in a new hub. I am now having issues with the new hub. I bent the springs to create more tension and this helped, but I still get some skipping. It's a bummer. I may ask for a new freehub body and pawls and give the wheelset to my lightweight son.
BWW has great service and I know they don't manufacture the hubs, but they need to choose a different hub supplier or have this one improved.
P.S. BWW did state they would be offering a steel freehub body replacement so the cassettes don't gouge. This won't help the skipping problem, however.
Similar Products Used: OEM Wheels that never gave up
Bike Setup: 2006 Ironhorse MKIII with lots of upgrades
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Raymond
a Cross Country Rider
from Rockville CT
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2009
Strengths: lightweight, responsive wheels
Weaknesses: none except rear hub see below
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.
Bike Setup: cannondale prophet, lightened for mostly cc riding
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
B-Mac
a Cross Country Rider
from Northeast Ohio, USA
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2009
Strengths: Good looks, good bearings.
Weaknesses: Rear Hub - freewheel ratchet lost teeth after 6 months, freehub body is very weak.
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.
Favorite Trail: Moraine State Park, Mohican State Park
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At: BWW
Similar Products Used: Mavic Crossmax
Bike Setup: Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp (the bike these wheels were on).
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
biga6462
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, TX
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2009
Strengths: Everything came and was build and advertised.
Weaknesses: None but will have to test durability through time
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.
Similar Products Used: Bontrager Race and Ranger, Various Mavic Products
Bike Setup: Trek Fuel EX8
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
DFYFZX
a Weekend Warrior
from Kansas City, MO, USA
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2009
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;)
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;)
Bike Setup: Turner 5 Spot XC/AM build
1 x 9 drivetrain with 5.5" travel frt/rr
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
brokenstraw rider
a Cross Country Rider
from Youngsville, Pa
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2009
Strengths: Price, Looks(if that counts), hub engagement
Weaknesses: If and when I find one, I will update a review.
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.
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.
