[mattbrax19]

This is my first post, I have read many threads here and consulted product reviews many times. I have gained a lot of knowledge here, thank you all.

I have a Zaskar Expert, after 900 miles the rear hub has a lot of play. I am 5'-10" 210 lbs and do mostly xc riding, would like to get a wheelset stronger than for just xc riding. I am looking to upgrade wheels, stock wheels are Syncros lil snappers with LX deore hubs. I am currently using rim brakes and would like to upgrade to disc. Would like the rim to be black, disc specific, with black spokes if possible.

I have a limited budget, I would like to do this for less than $400. I would also be interested to hear about good options, even if they were a bit over my budget. Any reccomendations for wheels and brakes?

The wheels I was looking at are mavic xc717 with Deore XT hubs and DT 2.0 - 1.8 spokes. as for the brakes, I was looking at Hayes mx-1. Another question, what are the pros and cons of centerlock rotors vs bolt on?

Would the xc717's and mx-1's be a big improvement over my "stock" rims and V-brakes (Avid single digit 5)? Or should I hold off and save up some more money and buy better upgrades somewhere down the road? Weight is not a major concern, but "wait" is....my bike is my ride to work, so one way or another I have to resolve this soon.


Thanks for your help,

Matt

 

[Squash]

Well for what it's worth...

my recommendation would follow along with what you are thinking with one exception, I would recommend Hope XC hubs. The Hope XC's are lighter than XT's, perform better, are more reliable, and WAY easier to maintain. This will push the cost of the wheelset hard against your budget, around $410 from Universal Cycles, and in that neighborhood from most other retailers. But the extra for the hubs is well worth the money.

The advantages of the center lock hub is the "one bolt" type rotor attachment. The disadvantage is the same! You have to buy a center lock rotor, or the brakes that you settle on have to be available with a center lock rotor option. Not every brake manufacturer produces a center lock rotor though. I don't think the MX1's are available in center lock, so you would have to purchase a rotor seperately and make sure that it is compatable with the MX1 caliper, i.e. the brake track on the rotors that you chose must line up properly with the pads of the MX caliper.

But if you chose to go with the Hope hubs (which I would highly recommend) the point is moot. Hope doesn't make a center lock hub at this time, only the 6 bolt IS rotor mount, so your brake and hub would be compatable no problem.

As far as strength goes, the Hope hubs would be an improvement over the LX hubs. The 717 rims on the other hand while probably stronger than the Syncros hoops are STILL XC rims! They are designed with an eye towards light weight. They are still strong, but not as strong as say a XM 719, 321, or other heavier duty rim.

Anyway, the 717/Hope combination with the MX1 brakes would make a significant upgrade over your stock set up. I'm just not sure what you mean by "stronger than for just XC riding". If you are doing drops over 2 or 3 feet etc. it my be better to go with a stronger set up at your weight. But if your spend 95% of your time with both wheels on the ground you'd probably be fine. Just hard to tell with your description.

Good Dirt

 

[mattbrax19]

thanks Squash....

Thanks for your input Squash. I looked at Universal Cycles page and went through the process of building my own wheelset. The reason I never tried doing this before is, I was always afraid of compatibility with "misc. parts". I was never sure what the standard sizes are...etc.

What I meant by more than xc riding was,xc is the majority of my riding, but I would like a wheelset that would be stong enough to withstand a drop to flat of maybe 4 feet, rarely that big, but want my wheels to be able to handle it. I am working on increasing my skills and want better equipment that I can grow into.

Here are the wheels I put together:

mavic xm819 32 hole rims
Hope Pro2 hubs
DT Revolution butted spokes
12mm alloy nipples

This wheelset was $520, If I choose the hope xc hubs front and rear it drops the price $60. Are the pro 2's worth it? Another question is with the spokes....looks like there is only a $35 difference between the champion spokes and the revolutions. My budget aside, I am looking at roughly $100 more for the pro 2 hubs and the revolution spokes. I am spending this much money, whats another $100? lol My final question is with the rims, looks like the xm819's are only available with 32 holes. Will they be strong enough for someone of my weight (210 lbs)? I assumed I would be best off with 36 spokes although I do like the look of less spokes.

Thanks again,

Matt

 

[G-VegasMTBiker]

I'm running hope XC's on my rims and I love them. The hope pro2 hubs are probaly stronger but I think for your style of riding the Xc's will do the job nicely

 

[RIDE OR DIE]

Funny you should mention that............

I was in the same dilema about 2 weeks ago, with a $1000.00 budget. My first choice was Chris King hubs with Mavic x717's with DT Swiss spokes and 12mm nipples for $ without a cassette and disc brakes, boy I am glad I waited. CK hubs don't believe the HYPE,good product but totally overated. I checked around for other quaity hubs and settled for a custom build:
>Hope XC hubs (blue)
>Mavic x717 rims
>DT Swiss spokes
>12mm nipples(blue)
>Shimano XT 11-34 cassette
>Hayes 160mm rotors
All for $540.00
I tell you this wheelset is light and fast (I also use my steed to commute to work) and one of the best investments I made to my Klein. If you can save up the extra funds I suggest you go for it, You won't be disappointed..RIDE ON............

 

[FoShizzle]

Thanks for your input Squash. I looked at Universal Cycles page and went through the process of building my own wheelset. The reason I never tried doing this before is, I was always afraid of compatibility with "misc. parts". I was never sure what the standard sizes are...etc.

What I meant by more than xc riding was,xc is the majority of my riding, but I would like a wheelset that would be stong enough to withstand a drop to flat of maybe 4 feet, rarely that big, but want my wheels to be able to handle it. I am working on increasing my skills and want better equipment that I can grow into.

Here are the wheels I put together:

mavic xm819 32 hole rims
Hope Pro2 hubs
DT Revolution butted spokes
12mm alloy nipples

This wheelset was $520, If I choose the hope xc hubs front and rear it drops the price $60. Are the pro 2's worth it? Another question is with the spokes....looks like there is only a $35 difference between the champion spokes and the revolutions. My budget aside, I am looking at roughly $100 more for the pro 2 hubs and the revolution spokes. I am spending this much money, whats another $100? lol My final question is with the rims, looks like the xm819's are only available with 32 holes. Will they be strong enough for someone of my weight (210 lbs)? I assumed I would be best off with 36 spokes although I do like the look of less spokes.

Thanks again,

Matt

revolution spokes a BAD idea based on your goals and weight.....way too girly-manish. heck, unless you are under 160 lbs and done use disc brakes and dont race, dont use them.

see if universal can do Supercomps at least.....still light, but ok with disc brakes. they may not show up in the on-line wheelbuilder but see if they can do it. then put some competition spokes on the rear drive-side where the torque is but that will still be a light setup. Having said that, at your weight, the right choice is DT Competition all around in my opinion.

32 spokes is fine, even at your weight for your riding.

also, nothing against universal cycles, but i would personally (and have) work through Larry at mountain high cyclery or Chad at redbarnbicycles, both of which have great prices and experience building up wheels of all sort. they will not steer you wrong...tell em Fo sent you.

 

[titusquasi]

Get the XT hubs and save yourself 200-250$ on the wheelset. I have a set of King ISO wheels and XT splined hub wheels w/ DT Swiss rotor adaptor. The only difference in performance is the faster engagement of the Kings (minor difference) and a few grams in weight. XT's are great for durability. Kings (and Hopes, Hadleys, etc...) are great for your ego. If that's what you need, by all means go for it (I did). When it comes to riding your bike you won't notice a difference, unless you like to sit and stare at your bling-bling hubs while you're rolling along. Anyone who disputes this is trying to make themself feel better about blowing that extra money (I can already hear the boos). Put that money to use where it will make some noticeable difference: rims and tires (tubeless maybe?) or save for a new shock or fork.

As far as your originally stated budget of $400 dollars goes, I suggest looking at XT hubs w/ a rotor adaptor. You can't go wrong with Mavic so a 717 rim or even better an 819 for tubeless possibility is great. Double butted spokes will round off the package. Colorado Cyclist has great prices on wheel builds and they do quality work (I have checked both my wheelsets from them with tensiometer). For brakes find some closeouts on Avid BB7's and use your original V-levers. You should be a lot closer to $400 with this route than adding ego-money to your hubs. That said, I love my Kings and won't ever sell them...they just don't outperform the XT's.

 

[mattbrax19]

Thanks again....

Thanks again...

Squash, G-VegasMTBiker, RIDE OR DIE (sweet bike, btw), FoShizzle(Thanks for the spoke and alternate vendor info), titusquasi, I appreciate all the advice and experiences, it was very helpful. I am in the process of ordering wheels from Redbarnbicycles.com.

I did end up going for the Hope Pro2 hubs, Thanks for trying to save me money titusquasi, but I guess I needed the ego boost I'll probably end up taco'ing the front rim the first time I ride, staring at the bling bling going round and round and go head-on into a large tree :lol:

I guess thats it for now, thanks again for all the help. I will post some pics here when I get them installed.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[FoShizzle]

Thanks again...

Squash, G-VegasMTBiker, RIDE OR DIE (sweet bike, btw), FoShizzle(Thanks for the spoke and alternate vendor info), titusquasi, I appreciate all the advice and experiences, it was very helpful. I am in the process of ordering wheels from Redbarnbicycles.com.

I did end up going for the Hope Pro2 hubs, Thanks for trying to save me money titusquasi, but I guess I needed the ego boost I'll probably end up taco'ing the front rim the first time I ride, staring at the bling bling going round and round and go head-on into a large tree :lol:

I guess thats it for now, thanks again for all the help. I will post some pics here when I get them installed.

Thanks,

Matt

great call with Chad! he is SUPER to deal with. keep us posted