Light wheels reduce rotation weight. I chase strava and had max out on training and physical ability, so the only thing left to do is spent money for lighter wheels. In my case I was chasing under one minute.

 

Don’t bother.

 

I wouldn’t do it, but if that’s how you want to roll and you’ve got money to burn…go for it.

 

is it worth it?? only way i know how to be sure is to try it out but i dont think youd be noticing minutes in gains..

 

370 is a lot of rotational weight to take off for $400 . I would do it.

 

You will definitely notice the difference. 370g is a lot of weight on the wheels. When I did this, I dropped approximately 300g and it felt like my bike gained an extra gear. I went from 1600g to 1300g.

You can also drop wheel weight if you go tubeless or go lighter on tires for a lot less money. Provided you haven’t done this already.

Just keep in mind some wheels have weight limits on the rider. So check the hunts will support your weight fully kitted up.

 

tires will make the biggest difference, but yes you will feel 370 grams off the wheels. Lighter wheels have a really nice zippy feeling to them, especially if they are built up stiff (think carbon wheels). Will you notice it every ride? probably not. Will you notice it if you put the old wheels back on? Absolutely. Are you going to be significantly faster uphill? no, but the bike will feel better and you will be slightly faster.

 

I don’t want to buy wheels to gain 10 seconds over an hour. What is your opinion?

While maybe not exactly it, that's the kind of results you'd see IMO. They'll feel lighter, accelerate better, you'll notice it, but it's not going to save you 5 minutes on a climb either. Like if you are XC racing and there's a 500' climb on each lap and you do 4 laps, if you save 15 seconds on each lap climbing...that's gigantic overall, when 1st-10th are often in a 10 second range, saving a minute is a giant advantage. The biggest diff is the engine behind it.

 

The weight will make a difference but even more so will be the hubs. I don't know what wheelset your running on your bike but I'm guessing your wheelset now has some generic hubs which probably are at best 36 points of engagement. The Hunt wheels would double that at 72POE.
I had a 2022 Stumpjumper that I was running a Stans Flow wheelset off of my Transition Sentinel and then replaced with the Hunt XC Wide wheels. The weight difference was there but the responsiveness of the hubs was more apparent. I could ratchet slow technical sections much better, I ride in techy/rocky AZ, and it just felt like I could pick up speed much quicker and with much less effort.

 

I say no freaking way this is true. The hubs do not make you faster at all. The hubs are closer to your center of mass and they are effectively not rotating mass. I've been racing for years in tech terrain and you don't need 11billionty POE to do it. OP was talking about overall time on a climb and effect of rotating mass.

 

Light wheels should make a difference, and in theory is one of the best places to shed weight.

That said, I dropped about 300g-400g on a wheelset change once (stock straight gauge spokes, wtb ST rims, formula hubs, about 2400g, to onyx classic hubs with WAO Union rims). And honestly, I wouldn’t say it made a huge difference (the weight itself). Definitely not an earth shattering experience.

What did make a huge difference was my rims are no longer dinging/denting at all, and from 30poe, to infinite Poe. Maybe if I’d only changed the wheelset weight, instead of the hubs/Poe, I would have noticed it more. Or maybe it’s because the wheelset is still pretty heavy? Or because I’m riding more winch and plummet sorts of terrain, so I’m not accelerating out of corners on climbs all that often. It’s more of a steady climbing sort of thing.

Imo the reason to switch is to not have wheels that are denting all the time. My old wheelset would get a ding just looking at them funny (even running DD tires at 30psi). So the fact that my new rims are still perfectly straight 3 years later, is huge.

 

I always upgrade the wheels if buying a stock bike, and avg savings in weight is in that ball park of 3/4-1lb. I notice it just spinning up, accelerating after every turn, punching up little climbs, etc. for me it’s worth it for the feel. And let’s me run more aggressive tires on my trail bike without the weight penalty usually associated with it.

 

Thanks all.

 

It depends. Reducing rotating weight is a big deal if you are on climbs where you accelerate and decelerate a lot. If you are on a 7 mile 2000 foot slugfest, maybe not. While weight always matters, if you are at a steady rotation speed, it might not make much difference. On flowy climbs, my fastest times are on light tires. But I have 3 slugfest rides where my fastest times were on an Assegai/Dissector or a DHF/Aggressor. Not known as fast light tires. Inner rim width and hubs are important too.

 

If you are going up, you are accelerating. Not to mention each power stroke is effectively a pulse and not smooth. It adds up.

 

Everyone always focuses on increased speed, but I could care less about that. Light wheels make me less fatigued, so I can ride longer and enjoy it more. That's what makes them worth it to me.

 

I have a kid that is xc racing. We dropped 5 lbs bike weight, no result difference.
We dropped three pound rims and tires. They’re riding with the top group (finished 3rd last race).

I will join the minority that thinks 350g is something but not everything. and that you’ll adjust really quickly to that savings.

why the aversion to carbon rims?

 

370gr should make a difference in feel and accelaration. No idea if it will save you an considerable amount of time though.

Hunt are a good company to deal with. They will honour warranties etc, but the Trail Wides are known to have relatively soft alu rims. They also have a low spoke count. Their weight is quite impressive for the price just don't expect the most stiff or durable wheels. They are spec'ed on the Privateer 141 as stock and plenty of owners have reported that they ding easily. Admittedly the 141 is a bit of a brute for the travel and encourages more aggressive riding so maybe they weren't a good spec choice to start with.

Personally I'd build a custom wheelset with rims and hubs from DT Swiss. Their rims are well proven and if you choose the right products you get long lasting wheels with reasonable weight and cost.

Also for 1000ft/330m of elevation I wouldn't expect a huge difference in numbers. I do believe that feel is important too though.

 

I've ridden my Hunt Trail Wides for around 6 months and they're great. I'd definitely notice that weight difference.

Good engagement and light enough. I've been beating them up, lot of rock pings through the tire and only have a tiny dent that doesn't even need a fix.

I had them as a backup set for a while but I love running them in places that are known to break wheels and they've surprised me.

 

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@osbaldo It might be worth considering a change if you get to considerably wider inner width along with a lighter feel.

In our family fleet where 3 of us are often riding these different bikes there is no doubt some diminishing returns as you spend, but for MTB and gravel riding parts or most of some rides are always showing a performance advantage with wider rims.

You can't discount the advantages you have when your bike engine works better and you are having a good day. This is over and over reminded when I hop on our steel hardtail without high end parts, or between a pair of same size bikes where one has high engagement hubs and all plastic wheels.

If you're not on a late model or modern geometry bike you might also want to be aiming your budget towards that. I love our old bike still with us but the modern bikes really make a difference with fun, pain, capability and performance.

Finally, this is the wrong sport if you are worried about dings, and get wheels with great warranty reputation if that is a concern. The rules for family, MTBs and skis are very simple. You treat your spouse and kids with respect and kindness. For MTBs and skis you are supposed to beat on them every chance you get. Ideally you beat on them 4-7 days a week.

 

Hijacking a little but how do -350g/400g lighter wheels affect downhill riding/stability?

 

Lighter wheels are always better until they are too flexible and ride like noodles.

Yes you will notice 400gm of rotating weight difference.

I would be abit worried that the 1800gm alloy wheel might. Be a noodle.

1800 carbon wheel... he'll yes.

 

Lighter wheels are always better until they are too flexible and ride like noodles.

Yes you will notice 400gm of rotating weight difference.

I would be abit worried that the 1800gm alloy wheel might. Be a noodle.

1800 carbon wheel... he'll yes.

But what about 1400g carbon wheels with a lifetime warranty riding accident included?

Thinking about upgrading to something like these but unsure what negatives it will bring, e.g. downhill stability reduced or bit more chattery, etc

 

If I was going to bother for a SJ I'd be shopping 1300-1400 gram wheels, and in that case the change in feel will be very noticeable and enjoyable.

 

One problem you might encounter when you upgrade the wheelset. You need to take the cassette off the old set. It’s hard to resist not weighing it. While at it, what is the actual tire weight? Wow that front qr through axle is a bit heavy. For like $30 I could trim 60g more. I wonder how much my rear axle weighs……………………..

 

That comes back to rotation again though.
Would you notice a cassette or a tyre that was 300g heavier? I know which one I can.