With an internal rim width of 21mm, the Haven is wide enough for 2.5" tires, yet exceptionally light for all-mountain riding. The rim is UST-compatible, requiring no rim strip. Unique Threaded Eyelet system employs alloy nipples that are threaded internally (to thread onto the spoke) and externally (reverse thread into rim eyelet), allowing Haven to be trued like a standard wheel.
Strengths: Rims are strong and they look cool on my bike.
Weaknesses: The same thing that I read on here, THE BACK HUB SUCKS!
Bottom Line:
I have had these about 5 months and have about 500 miles on them. I started noticing a clicking noise from the rear and that it was either the cranks or the back hub. I took to my local LBS and they claimed that they fixed it but they didn't I finally sent them off to Easton and they claim that they are aware of the situation and that it needed new axle and other crap that I have no idea what they were talking about. I have had it out now over a week and I called them and they said that they are about 10 days behind in repairs and that they will have it back to me in a week. We will see if they fixed it when it gets back.
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Submitted by
Mike
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2013
Strengths: Very fast wheel, stays true
Weaknesses: Price is steep but worth it
Bottom Line:
I have had these wheels for a little over a year and they have been very good to me. I adjusted the rear hub once but when done correctly they remain solid. I have rode the harshest trails of Big Bear, CA to the rocky deserts of Arizona and they remain true.
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Submitted by
g
Date Reviewed: September 24, 2012
Strengths: wheels have great lateral strength and have not easily come out of true over two years of riding
Weaknesses: HUBS!
the hubs are terrible. the rear hub seperated the pressfit splined female/male interface from the hub body and freely spun it in the hub body, this allowed for a long walk home, Easton did send a new wheel for this!
the bearings are a nightmare, constant replacement, enough that i bough a blind bearing puller, due to the constant loosening and need for replacement bearings. I tried locktight and still managed to loosen the front hub at a frequency of less than 50km's.
the cassette body is very poor quality. the pawls break and seperate from the body with regularity, even with more than due maintenance. the cassette body itself ground up bearings at a one a month rate.
They look great though.
Bottom Line:
nice ride quality .....terrible hubs. These wheels unfortunately cause too many hassles to ride.
Easton was great about sending me a new rear wheel but both rear wheels and the front required so much maintenance and money that they have been replaced by a TN719 on a hope pro evo 2 that has caused no problems.
Strengths: Great all around, very light for the strength and width, look good, mount tubeless very well. I've had no hub problems in two years and I weigh 200lbs geared and run fairly big tire.
Weaknesses: Rear hub should be interchangeable for the $. Not the engagement of CC but good enough, esp. for the $. All wheels with "special spokes" mean, carry extras if you are going a long ways away.
Bottom Line:
Two years, several sets of tubless tires, and trails from forest to desert including many trips to Souther Utah chunk trails, strait-edge hits etc. Still perfectly true and have had none of the hub issues others speak of, knock on wood. Building up a new bike now and these wheels are definately in the short list.
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Submitted by
wantriot
a All Mountain Rider
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2012
Strengths: Light, Durable, Quality, Look Great
Weaknesses: Price, Hubs not interchangeable between axl sizes.
Bottom Line:
Greatest Wheels I've ever owned. I use the for AM/light FR and they work great. I keep up with my XC buddies and still huck with the Full Face on... Great wheels. I would give them 5 stars if the hubs were interchangeable. 1.5 years on them thus far and even after several checks, they are still perfectly true.
Submitted by
camino4
a All Mountain Rider
from Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2012
Strengths: Excellent UST set up. Good rim width. Stiff and light. Was promised to hold up to a lot of punishment to go with my new Transition Covert.
Weaknesses: Reaching the top of Highline in Sedona, ready for the most awesome descent possible, the rear hub blew! As this was only my 6th ride on these wheels, I was stunned and utterly disappointed. I had not read the previous reviews on this forum, but the Havens were highly recommended by my bikeshop. To have the rear hub blow, miles away from the trailhead on one of the most technical section of one of the most incredible rides is truly shocking. Such failure is a serious safety issue, not to mention the lost opportunity for a fun ride I was expecting. After the hub blew, I had to walk out several miles over rough terrain that I should have been able to whiz by. I think that Easton should replace my hub with a more reputable brand such as Chris King or Industry 9, as I have lost TOTAL confidence in their product.
Bottom Line:
Known problems on rear hub failure is a sad commentary on what should be a great product. Selling a rim with an inferior hub is unsafe and unacceptable practice.
Bike Setup: Transition Covert with RP23 rear and Fox float 36, 160mm
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Submitted by
NJMTB
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Barbara, CA
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2011
Strengths: Stiff, bulletproof, light, great looking
Weaknesses: The rear hub.
Bottom Line:
This is an otherwise fantastic wheelset that is brought down a notch by the bad rear hub design.
These are super stiff and light. I'm running the QR15 up front. There is nothing to complain about here, they live up to the hype.
I weigh 180 lbs with gear. These are bombproof. After riding them for over a year now, ripping through rock gardens, drops, and jumps here in Santa Barbara, racing Downieville, riding Mt. Fromme in Vancouver, pinch flats, and so on, I have never had to get them trued. NOT ONCE. A+.
And damn, these wheels look so NICE.
HOWEVER... the guys on here who bash the rear hub are right. Easton blew it on this one. As far as I can understand it (after living with a constantly loose, crunching rear hub and then finally rebuilding it) there is a design flaw in the hub. You can't remove the play at the rim without overloading the bearings and destroying them. Tighten the adjuster until you can't grip the hub and rock the it side-to-side, and no more. If you grip the rim, it will still have a noticeable wobble, but that's just something you've got to live with - if you tighten more you will quickly damage the bearings.
Five minus two for the rear hub, sorry Easton this one gets 3 FLAMIN' CHILIS.
Similar Products Used: Stock wheelsets on 2010 Trek Fuel EX7 and 2011 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite
Bike Setup: 2011 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite, Fox 150mm RLC fork with 15 QR, 725mm carbon bars, Specialized Butcher Control 2.3's
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Submitted by
stumblemumble
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Rosa, Ca
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2011
Strengths: Weight, strength, spokes are not proprietary, UST tubeless, stiff, very sexy
Weaknesses: Front axle changeability, rear axle changeability, price
Bottom Line:
These are spot on for an AM rider under 180 to 200 lbs (my guess, I'm 145lbs). I beat the dung out of my Easton Havoc AM's for a few years and they were still true when I sold them, I expect these to do the same. This is due to Easton's acoustic tensioning, they stay true.
I haven't had enough time on them to comment on the hub issue, but my Havoc hub bearings lasted a couple years with regular adjustment. I think that may be a big part of people's problems, Easton hubs do need to be checked and tightened regularly but given that they should last as long as any other. They use Enduro bearings same as many other manufacturers.
The tubeless setup on these is cake, they've taken my (non-tubeless) Schwalbes and WTB's with a floor pump, just seat one side with a tube in first.
Points lost because you can't swap 15 and 20mm front axles or 10 and 12mm rears. 5 on value for the price I paid, they were selling on Competitive for under $500 for a while too.
I'll update if I have bearing issues. One more thing is Easton customer service is great, I've used them twice and they've just sent a new part no questions asked.
Similar Products Used: Mavic D321, Easton Havoc AM, Stans ZTR
Bike Setup: Turner 5 Spot
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Submitted by
jl776
a Cross Country Rider
from SF Bay, CA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2011
Strengths: Carbon rim looks really well made, tires mount easily. Quality spokes.
Weaknesses: Hubs! are garbage.
Bottom Line:
This review is for the Carbon wheels. I believe they share the same hubs as the aluminum ones.
The hubs have been totally unreliable. In the three or so months I've had them they have been back for warranty twice. After every ride there is a knock in the front and rear hub, this is followed by notchy bearings. Gently tightening the preload adjusters takes it away until after the next ride. All the bearings have been replaced once, and the rear is rough and notchy again. I dont know what the problem really is, I just know that these wheels were extremely expensive, and the bottom line is they don't even fulfill their basic function.
My brother has the aluminum havens, same hubs. He has replaced the bearings in the rear hub once already, the wheel is now at easton for repair again.
A friend's wheels have the same symptoms, but he hasn't sent them in yet.
Sure the warranty is good, but why would you bother-there are plenty of other choices out there that will spare you the headache. Easton is marketing these things heavily, I don't think they have designed a quality hub and that lets these down big time. For one of the most expensive wheelsets on earth, this is totally unacceptable, and I feel ripped off, even with the warranty. Rating reflects the sour taste I have about a crazy expensive wheelset that doesn't really function.
I have little faith at this point there is a fix that will make these trouble free.
Similar Products Used: mavic crossmax st, DT Swiss
Bike Setup: 6", coil springs, big tires. I ride three or so times a week.
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Submitted by
thetoque
a Cross Country Rider
from Squamish
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2011
Strengths: Stays true
Weaknesses: Garbage freehub made of kleenex. Completely inadequately engineered hub construction. Disgusting.
Bottom Line:
After 15 rides, my freehub stripped out in the middle of an important race. Left me unable to finish, and completely ruined my series and my year. This was my one year to race, and now it is ruined thanks to this defective substandard piece of overpriced garbage. I cannot believe I paid top dollar for these wheels, and they failed utterly and completely when it mattered most. I don't even push big gears; I spin the easiest gear possible. Everything was adjusted and installed to specifications. Yet, the freehub stripped out leaving my gears spinning without producing any forward momentum after about 20 hours in the saddle in total. This is disgraceful. There is absolutely no excuse for this level of shoddy workmanship, and I can never trust Easton as a company ever again in my life.
Weaknesses: The rear hub sucks big time, at first I noticed the QR would come loose, changed it to a Mavic one and solved the issue. Then started noticing some play that wouldn't be fixed with the preload adjuster. Took it to my LBS (great service) and they changed the bearings and called the Easton rep because there was still play and guess what they got from him? "That small play is acceptable" Whaaaatttt????? you are talking about an almost $800 wheelset if you pay full price. My LBS is going to try to get a new axle even if I have to pay for it and see if that fixes the problem. I feel bad that so many good people that might work at Easton are represented by these a.......s. My LBS says that I'm not the only one.
Similar Products Used: Hopes on Arches, Mavic crossmax st both great wheelsets.
Bike Setup: Tallboy
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Submitted by
AK47
a Cross Country Rider
from Folsom, CA
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2010
Strengths: Light, stiff, design, gold color, UST compatible, spin up very fast, easy to mount even with non-tubeless compatible tires, look great on my bike and not as blingy looking as you would think
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
Wow, what an awesome wheelset! These wheels spin up so quick and accelerate so well it's very, very noticible. If you don't notice that right away, ride more and eat fewer Big Mac's. They are stiff too so tracking over rough/rocky terrain is improved as well. Tracking in corners and steering is improved as well. I haven't noticed any flex like I did with the stock Mavic wheels when pushed hard in corners.
At first I thought the gold color would be over the top, but they actually look great with the red frame I have. I am so impressed with these, I would really like a set in the 29er version for my new Rocky Mountain Hammer 29...
Similar Products Used: I've never owned this nice of 26" wheelset and the only thing close is Mavic 717's w- Shimano XT hubs
Bike Setup: 2009 Rocky Mountain Alitude 70 stock except the wheels. Using non-TCS WTB Wolverine 2.2 tires
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Submitted by
gregon2whls
a Cross Country Rider
from Winter Springs
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2010
Strengths: 29er Havens are light, very stiff and quick engagement.
Weaknesses: Product took 2 months to get Easton to ship to my LBS. Missed a number of great races on my bike.
Bottom Line:
Since it isn't the newest product Easton has, expected better service. I run the wheels during the week with 32mm Commuter tires by Conti-, no noticable flex. 6'4" 207 i kill wheels, these are exceptionally stiff and with over 500 miles on them are still straight and true. The wider rim does hold the tire well (WTB wolverine 29X2.5). Still tweaking tire presure for off road use. I have had great experiences in the past with Easton Customer Service. Overall, A great wheelset just hope Easton can get their act together.
Weaknesses: Initial quality and customer service from Easton
Bottom Line:
After about a week of riding the 29er Havens tubeless I had a rear tire blow off the rim about 10 miles from the car. Upon remounting, sealing, etc. the I could not get over 28psi in the tire before it would blow off again....both front and rear. I tried three different sets of tires including the beefy UST certified tires...nothing would work. Upon returning to Easton, 6 weeks and 10 phone calls later I finally get a response saying the rims were undersized and would be replaced. Easton could not tell me when replacements would be sent. Four weeks and several calls later Easton sent the wheels back so that I could at least ride them with a tube in them and they would contact me about a swap when replacements became available. Four more months go by with no phone calls or follow up. I just called Easton back and was told that I now need to re-send the wheels back for another inspection and the earliest replacements would be next year if they re-approve the swap. What type of BS is this? Nearly a year for replacement of a defective set of wheels verified by the vendor and under full warranty. This will be the last Easton anything I buy and with more money in bikes in my garage than cars, it is their loss. BUYER BEWARE>....wheels seem to be decent, but pray you don't have an issue with them.
Bike Setup: Niner RIP9, SRAM X-0 Shifters & Rear Der, Noir Cranks, XT Front Der, Fox FC120 Fork
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Submitted by
CldSmk
a Cross Country Rider
from Bah-stun, MA
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2010
Strengths: Light & stiff
Weaknesses: Blingergy - not a fan of the flash. Would prefer black hubs and rims and no decals, but that's just me.
Bottom Line:
Just have one ride under my belt, so I can't address the durability/maintenance issues.
In a word these wheels rock! As light as any XC setup, with the solid feel of a freeride wheel. My local spot around Boston (Wompatuck) is very rocky and rooty - we're talking nasty in places and as slippery as snot when wet - the Haven's allowed me to just slide right through spots where I typically get hung up/tossed. I could not believe the increased precision in my steering and the totally solid feel - it felt like having a new bike! A lot has to do with going to a 21mm width rim from my old 17mm's, the 2.5 felt "planted" on the rim - no distortion or funny response from the front end.
Another amazing thing was how "slippery" the wheels felt due to the low spoke count - I've had my bike and prior wheels for a long time and was amazed at how much faster the bike felt. Even costing I would catch or pull ahead of my buddies, even with the big tires. Very similar to when I switched to Kysrium's on the road bike.
I haven't switched to UST yet, but the wheels are ready when I am. The only downside was mounting the tires - there is so much relief in the center of the rim that hooking the bead all the way around the rim was a little tricky, but a little soapy water and the tires "popped" into place. I think a compressor will definitely be required for mounting a UST.
Just love that they came with nice QR levers, and dig that a simple axle swap and I'm ready for a 15 mm axle setup. Gotta love the two year warranty.
Five Chilis for value since I got a break on the price
Four Chilis for overall b/c I don't have much time on them yet.
Similar Products Used: Hugi 240 Disc w/Mavic 717, Havoc's on borrowed bike, lots of other crap over the years
Bike Setup: Turner 5 Spot - Horst Link, Pushed F & R, with all the typical high zoot stuff. Currently running Conti 2.5 Diesel up front and a 2.3 Gravity (?) on the rear, but also run 2.3's Vertical Pro's
