Super-light weight

Super-light weight

Despite the "gravity" category assigned to this wheelset on Easton's website it is not suitable for anything more than light trail riding. Do not go fast on these through chunk; they will be destroyed by anything more than dirt.

I did not case any jumps, hit any drops to flat, or even do any lift assisted riding on my wheelset. I just rode trails, fast. Sure I rim struck a few times but never on drops, just normal chunky SoCal terrain. In 1000 miles and 5 months my Easton Havocs are as useless as a pile of dirt. Easton says my rims are f-ed and need replaced and will not warranty them. Maybe the problems with flat-spotting the rims is due to the absurdly low XC-bro worthy 24 spoke count?

Easton wants me to get them rebuilt with new rims, new spokes. Why would I put 240 per wheel back into this wheelset? For the hubs? The Easton hubs are junk.

I'm done with that, getting some Industry 9 hubs laced up with 32 standard good-old j-bend find em anywhere spokes to some DT Swiss rims.

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Stans Flow

Strength,weight,price

None so far

Let me start by saying I am 235# squat 450# and can run a 7 min mile so I can put a hurting on wheels. These wheels are amazing I ride them everywhere(xc,am,dj,and light dh) and can't break them or even knock them out of true. I blew out 3 shimano hubs (2 slx and 1 xt) and bent a lot of rims both shimano and Wtb before buying these and really expected mo re of the same but boy was I wrong. The rear hub has a little play that can't be felt while riding and has not posed any problems and I replaced the rear bearings after three years as they were a little gritty. Part of my local loop includes a 100ft long 45 degree concrete slope that will expose any weakness in a rear hub and i can't find any in these wheels. The engagement could be a little quicker but i will sacrifice for durability. Overall I think these have been the best bike purchace I have ever made and would buy them again.
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None I break or bend everything else.

Weight, strength, durability, versatility

Easton customer service

Have completed two years with these wheels on three different frames. All types of terrain from Moab to Crested Butte and thousands of miles in New Mexico. Flawless. I keep waiting for these things to blow up given the horrible experiences of other reviewers, but they just keep going, No play, no noise, no maintenance. Never touched by a spoke wrench in two years. Not sure what the gripe is about the hubs; there's nothing particularly exotic about the design. Yes the spokes are proprietary but the bearings are COTS and I've run both the 9mmQR and 20mm front axle without incident. Called Easton to find out about the 15mm adapter. Rudest person I've ever talked to and useless too. No adapter, never existed, don't know what I'm talking about. OK. Guess I won't put them on that other bike. Might go Sun-Ringle next time just to avoid Grouchzilla queen of the Incompetents.

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Sun-Ringle MTX33, Mavic XM317

Solid front wheel! Very little maintenance required for sealed bearings. Engagement is decent. Hold a true well.

Rear wheel developed play in the hub within the first ride. Took to lbs and they checked the bearings and re torqued the hubs. Play is still there, though it has not caused any other issues to date. 14months and counting. Bought the 15mil from hub conversion. Which was horrible to round up. Took me three weeks to find one. Probably called over a hundred bike shops before finding one on the shelf.

Overall a pretty decent wheel. I bought mine for $220 in late 2010 from bikebling.com. Worth every penny. Great deal for a wheel set that retailed for 700-800. Has taken a fair amount of abuse and are still working like the second day I rode them.

Bulletproof. Holds a line like nobody's business. Instills confidence.

Stickers vice laser etching.

Single best upgrade I have done to my bike. I didn't realize how much flex my last wheels actually had until I rode these. The wheels are stiff and hold every line that I point them down. I can't wait to take them to Big Bear this summer. Great product, great deal!!!

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Mavic Crossride

Very stiff and strong for only having 24 spokes.
Once bearings are lubed good, they roll super smooth and for a while.
rear hub noise, i love the noise, i don't like silent ones and i dont like obnoxious ones, this one is good imo.
STAY TRUE (even after abuse and a gnarly crash)

bearings come very lightly and poorly greased.
easton has TERRIBLE customer service (my email still hasen't been answered and it's been over a week).

Good wheelset, very strong, my rear disc got a little lube on it and while I was riding downhill at about 25mph rear brake was not working, ended up hitting a tree directly straight on, tire took a huge hit, I was expecting bad damage to it, nothing at all, still straight as an arrow.
I was impressed, I don't think I would buy another wheelset from easton, their CS sucks.
My set was BRAND NEW, 2010 model, if you get them new, LUBE THE BEARINGS before riding, my creaked and were poorly lubed from factory.

Very strong for their weight

Rear hub loosening

Follow up to a previous review four years ago! Finally sold them and got Havens. I hammered on these for almost five years and when I sold them they were still almost perfectly true, even after denting a rim.
The hub play thing is not a big deal, I ride four days a week and about once every few months I'd retorque them.
Also, at about year four I replaced two of the bearings (the rear hub). The freehub and front hub bearings were still fine.
For those interested they sold for $200. Not a bad investment at all.

These are very strong wheels, perfect for the intended use (all mountain riding). Can take some serious abuse (have ridden them at DH parks and came out unscathed). Light, at around 2000g for the set and stylish to boot. Wide rim at 23mm inside width and holds a 2.3" tire very well. Easily set up tubeless (with appropriate tire). Front wheel is convertible from QR to thru axle with the included adapters. Rear wheel convertible from QR to bolt-on ($80 upgrade kit from Easton). Sealed bearings are crazy smooth and have lasted me over two years with daily use - they're also easy to service which is a major plus.

Alloy spoke nipples have a tendency to crack and fail which is really annoying to fix on a tubeless wheel set up with sealant. Not a deal breaker, but an annoyance to consider. Hub could have more engagement (28 points) for a wheelset that MSRPs at $700. Straight pull proprietary spokes can only be purchased through Easton, which is also an inconvenience.

Perfect wheels for a 5-6" trail or AM bike. Light enough for XC use even. I wouldn't FR/DH on them regularly but they can take the occasional abuse. I also wouldn't pay $700 for them, but $400 or less and they're a steal. I've beat on mine for 2.5 years and landed the rear wheel on some serious rocks - a couple minor dings in the rim, but no serious damage. Incredibly stiff for only having 24 spokes, and hold up very well considering what I've put them through. Easton customer service is awesome and helped me out when my stock TA hub adapters were not to spec - they replaced them with a new, updated set for free.

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Various other wheel/hub combos. Mavic, Bontrager, Cane creek, Shimano.

mid weight, fast, wide tracks

untruable rims, free play on hub design which easton says it must be that way.

I sent the wheelset to the LBS and they have said the rims will never be straight again as spoke are few. nvm that. So I was thinking ahead, if the rims go out real bad, what are my options to purchase new rims?

I do not think there are such options.

I think no one should buy these wheelsets as they are like cheap shoes. buy and throw away. there is little way to repair or replace the rim.

Easton does expect everyone to buy a new wheelset when the wheelset fails. BOO! good product but poorly though off handling of issues wrt to rims.

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custom Chris king wheelset

I guess they're basically round...

In conjunction with the most poorly designed hubs I've ever owned (I've now been riding for about ten years), comes the worst customer service I've ever experienced.

*This is a follow up review to my previous, rear wheel review on 08/19/10, in which the bearings failed pre-maturely, and my wheel disappeared for an entire month while being serviced at Easton. I hoped my customer service experience was a fluke, and tried to give Easton the benefit of the doubt in my initial review.
Within a week of finally getting my rear wheel back, and doing a few rides- my front hub started clicking as well. In addition, it developed unacceptable bearing play (like the rear hub), which was exacerbated by the poor design of the 20mm adapters. At speed, you could actually hear the wheel bounce laterally on the axle... think the sound/feel of a wildly under-torqued headset. Having just lost the rear wheel for a month to Easton for service (they had no explanation for my local shop either) I refused to send the wheel out for repair, and simply ordered replacement bearings directly from Easton. I would let my local shop handle the installation, as doing so requires a $50 installation tool (for the installation of an $8 bearing mind you). Like my previous experience, the technical people who responded by e-mail on Easton's website were excellent. The gentleman who answered my e-mails went as far as to set up my order in advance... with a PO number and everything... before I even placed a call to customer service/sales. I ordered, and paid for said bearings on September 9th, hoping they would arrive before a race on September 25th. On September 25th (perfect timing) I finally received a copy of my paid invoice... AND NO REPLACEMENT BEARINGS??? Needless to say I missed my race and ate the $25 entry fee. As of September 28th I still have no replacement bearings.

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Chris King, Bontrager