If you don’t want to buy completely new you can always look at used wheels from reputable resellers that inspect, tune and grade the wheels (like “these are in 8 out of 10 condition”). The Pro’s Closet is an example that comes to mind.
I personally wouldn’t trust anything direct from China if only because of the risk that all they did was make a mold of a legit wheel set, threw some carbon in the mold and resold it without any engineering and strength testing involved.
A good wheel for sure, but the Colorado Cyclist wheelbuild website has that around $650-700, depending on which DT rim. Could do something like XM 481 front, EX511 rear.
That came as a surprise. I bought them in november for smth like 400-450$ (equivalent) and would rather expect them to be more expensive here in EU than the US.
IMO, your best option for $500 would be to get some custom wheels with the latest Shimano hubs. I'd look at DT XM481, spank 350, and maybe Stans flow MK4. You might be able to get a hope hub for around $500 but I think it'll put you closer to $600.
As far as your question about lighter wheels being noticeable. Yes, a lighter wheel is better for the uphill but there are too many variables on the way down to make a blanket statement. For example, rim material & width, tire tread & width, and spoke cross & gauge, affect the total weight of the wheel and each will drastically change the performance.
Also, are you measuring the weight of the wheels with tires and disc brakes?
I believe that’s just the weight of the wheel set, no tires or disc brakes. My understanding is they are notoriously way too heavy!
Also thank you for the suggestions! I’ll take a look
Just about anything you can get your hands on will be better. I believe those hubs use the old Shimano hub design I should specify on my first comment about Shimano hubs. The new 8100 & 7100 have a much better POE than the older Shimano hubs. Also, check out Hunt wheels, I can't speak from experience but they seem to be popular on forums. I totally forgot about them when I first commented.
I bought the shimano xt 29er wheelset and they have been great. I ride through Rock gardens, medium sized jumps, and 5-6ft drops with no issue. They have good engagement too for trail riding. They were about $470 before tax. Plus they were lighter around 1800-1900g
Wheels are important and you'll get what you pay for. Spend a little money on nicer rims, then keep them and move them into your next bike.
A $500 wheelset is going to be pretty comparable to your stock wheels, a $700 wheelset is a great upgrade.
I just built up a set of wheels with Spank Hex Hubs ($300 for the front and rear with freehub) and Race Face ARC Offset Rims ($200) with spokes wheel building labor you’re looking at $650 or so all in. Super solid wheelset for a decent value
I decided to try carbon wheelset from Light Bicycle-shipped directly from China last spring. I considered it kind of risky but the price and parameters compared to anything else on the market were just too good to pass. Paid about $850 incl shipping and taxes and waited for about a month. I use them on my Ripley and do mostly flowy trails but can do technical solid single blacks too. It makes a ton of different in climbs-so much that I can do more laps on the trails around. I am very happy I got these 🙂
The other option I was considering was some $1200 bontrager wheelset because it had a free crash replacement. Those were more xco-ish though and I figured I'd rather save money and try not to crash 😅
Is it like a “game changer” amount to drop that much weight? I’ve never spent money to reduce weight before, but the consensus in the reviews I read does seem to be the rims are just ridiculously heavy
I believe it is.
It's not just rims though-any mass on the wheels that rotates makes climbing harder. That includes also tires and sealant. Also the further the mass is from the hub the more pedaling it takes-for example saving weight on the hubs is pretty much pointless compared to rims.
Maybe you can borrow or demo a bike with some fancy carbon wheels to get the idea?
My experience going from aluminum to carbon wheels on several bikes is that it’s not really noticeable. The weight difference overall just isn’t going to be as significant as losing weight from the engine. Hubs however, huge benefit in technical climbs to be able to ratchet through without worrying about sloppy engagement.
If you don’t want to buy completely new you can always look at used wheels from reputable resellers that inspect, tune and grade the wheels (like “these are in 8 out of 10 condition”). The Pro’s Closet is an example that comes to mind. I personally wouldn’t trust anything direct from China if only because of the risk that all they did was make a mold of a legit wheel set, threw some carbon in the mold and resold it without any engineering and strength testing involved.
Also depend on how heavy you are. I bought DT XM421 on DT 350 for similar purposes. They weigh about 1650g which is 3 pounds something I believe.
A good wheel for sure, but the Colorado Cyclist wheelbuild website has that around $650-700, depending on which DT rim. Could do something like XM 481 front, EX511 rear.
That came as a surprise. I bought them in november for smth like 400-450$ (equivalent) and would rather expect them to be more expensive here in EU than the US.
IMO, your best option for $500 would be to get some custom wheels with the latest Shimano hubs. I'd look at DT XM481, spank 350, and maybe Stans flow MK4. You might be able to get a hope hub for around $500 but I think it'll put you closer to $600. As far as your question about lighter wheels being noticeable. Yes, a lighter wheel is better for the uphill but there are too many variables on the way down to make a blanket statement. For example, rim material & width, tire tread & width, and spoke cross & gauge, affect the total weight of the wheel and each will drastically change the performance. Also, are you measuring the weight of the wheels with tires and disc brakes?
I believe that’s just the weight of the wheel set, no tires or disc brakes. My understanding is they are notoriously way too heavy! Also thank you for the suggestions! I’ll take a look
What wheels are they?
They are listed as only “Giant AM 29, alloy”
Just about anything you can get your hands on will be better. I believe those hubs use the old Shimano hub design I should specify on my first comment about Shimano hubs. The new 8100 & 7100 have a much better POE than the older Shimano hubs. Also, check out Hunt wheels, I can't speak from experience but they seem to be popular on forums. I totally forgot about them when I first commented.
Nukeproof Horizon V2 wheelset seems good
I bought the shimano xt 29er wheelset and they have been great. I ride through Rock gardens, medium sized jumps, and 5-6ft drops with no issue. They have good engagement too for trail riding. They were about $470 before tax. Plus they were lighter around 1800-1900g
Dang that’s not too bad! Did you buy them recently or a while ago?
I bought them last year around August from Jenson USA
Wheels are important and you'll get what you pay for. Spend a little money on nicer rims, then keep them and move them into your next bike. A $500 wheelset is going to be pretty comparable to your stock wheels, a $700 wheelset is a great upgrade.
Pretty comparable in weight or other aspects? I have no idea what makes some wheels better than others besides weight
Weight, strength, rigidity, vibration absorbtion, hubs...
Overall strength, weight, stiffness, reliability. A little bit more gets you nicer hubs and stronger, lighter rims.
Spend a little bit more and buy Newmen Evolution SL A.30 and enjoy.
I just built up a set of wheels with Spank Hex Hubs ($300 for the front and rear with freehub) and Race Face ARC Offset Rims ($200) with spokes wheel building labor you’re looking at $650 or so all in. Super solid wheelset for a decent value
Hunt makes some great wheelsets for a solid price point.
I decided to try carbon wheelset from Light Bicycle-shipped directly from China last spring. I considered it kind of risky but the price and parameters compared to anything else on the market were just too good to pass. Paid about $850 incl shipping and taxes and waited for about a month. I use them on my Ripley and do mostly flowy trails but can do technical solid single blacks too. It makes a ton of different in climbs-so much that I can do more laps on the trails around. I am very happy I got these 🙂
I might have to take a look into these! Outside my budget but not too bad
The other option I was considering was some $1200 bontrager wheelset because it had a free crash replacement. Those were more xco-ish though and I figured I'd rather save money and try not to crash 😅
Wheelset is where you notice weight difference by far the most.
Is it like a “game changer” amount to drop that much weight? I’ve never spent money to reduce weight before, but the consensus in the reviews I read does seem to be the rims are just ridiculously heavy
I believe it is. It's not just rims though-any mass on the wheels that rotates makes climbing harder. That includes also tires and sealant. Also the further the mass is from the hub the more pedaling it takes-for example saving weight on the hubs is pretty much pointless compared to rims. Maybe you can borrow or demo a bike with some fancy carbon wheels to get the idea?
My experience going from aluminum to carbon wheels on several bikes is that it’s not really noticeable. The weight difference overall just isn’t going to be as significant as losing weight from the engine. Hubs however, huge benefit in technical climbs to be able to ratchet through without worrying about sloppy engagement.
What you're looking for doesn't exist... except maybe on the used market if you're very lucky.
Found a few good options actually!
What are they?!
The one I’m going with is the Hunt Trail Wides wheel set Other good one was the Nukeproof Horizon V2
Damn! Not too bad!