Just purchased an orange patriot frame which im going to be building up - want to upgrade to a new set of wheels while i'm at it...

Had in my head that i was going to be looking at hope hoops (5.1) after reading the numerous threads on here mainly supporting them... they seem like a good wheel and up to the job.

Found them online for £229.99 tonight. is there anywhere cheaper atm?

i'm also aware there is the option to get them hand built for a bit more...

on looking tonight, i also noticed the wiggle deal of mavic crossdrides for £119.99 with a further 10% off and skewers thrown in too. only 24 spokes and half the price... are they not up to much?

i assume they are more xc, and a different league in terms of strength?

the hope hoops seem ideal, with the hubs obviously being the better long term investment

found the mavics for £91... and the hoops for £228

Been running the Crossrides for a while £106 on Wiggle at the time :-

Front hub is nice adjustable to for play.

Rear hub, adjustable but the engagement to XT hubs feels SLOW which I've never felt before.

Stiffness wise steering wise,  there NOT end of story.

Break 1 spoke and your carrying the bike home as thats enough for a wheel that'll hit the frame and be unrideable ( managed to botch it as I had a key )

Pain to source spokes.

Those are DT5.1's not Hopes,  bearings go to fast for me in Hope Pro2 Hubs so I'm avoiding them personally.

Moving over to Halo's here Freedom's only got the front so far,  Stiffest wheel I've owned,  £80 area really impressed, rear soon ( Rear hub isn't as nice as the front though )

theres a few things im thinking....

• spares
• difference in price
• possability of shifting to a 20mm bolt thru
• might get a bit more money back with the hopes if i sell the bike
• good reviews of both of them.... for every 20 reviews of each, one person seems to complain saying a spoke has come loose etc...would happily go for either

just wonder if hopes would be better in the long run (worth the extra outlay) or if i'd really feel the difference once on the bike (probably not until something went wrong - ie broken spoke)

have only managed to buckle one wheel before and it was a cheap xc rim bending in a crash...

The Halo Freedoms will take 20mm,  come with the spacers to.

My Crossrides came so badly built I didn't even risk a quick up and down the road for fear of them collapsing,  although everyone else I know seems to be okay.

1 spoke broke on the rear recently,  possibly a rock strike,  was running the tension very high as 24spokes doesn't equal a stiff wheel.

go for the hope hoops alan, theyll do everything you want.

a 24 spoked wheel on an orange patriot? no,no,no...

You can get Crossrides from Merlin at the minute with a full set of either Avid Juicy 5s (180mm front 160mm rear) for £225 or Hayes Carbon for £200 (160mm front and rear), making them both cheaper than the Hopes. Not sure if you need/want the brakes though? Just thought Id throw that into the mix!

I had some Crossrides 3/4 years ago and was very impressed with them.

thanks for the comments....

im very tempted by the hopes - would suit the build better and i wouldnt be needing/wanting to replace them...

just being a tight git, and wondering, like mentioned above, if the savings could be spent on something else...

new brakes would be good but i've already got some hopes sitting from my last bike. the idea of an extra £100 to spend on a new chainset/saddle/digital camera is still tempting...

decisions decisions.....

"go for the hope hoops alan, theyll do everything you want.

a 24 spoked wheel on an orange patriot? no,no,no..."

i'm re-reading that comment thinking the hopes are the way to go

My thoughts are the same as Mike Davis.

For performance/weight,strength/cost & UST compatibility I was recommended 819's on XT hubs by LBS.  The additional option of centre-lock hubs/rotors is useful too - I think they are way better than 6 bolt & much more user/maintenance friendly.

So far they've been excellent but then I've never had any issues with wheels built there.

interesting... i see the xt's on merlin for £125... so i think at that price, i can rule out the crossrides?

hope vs. xt's really?

My LBS are always straight with me & they reckon that the cost difference is very excessive for the difference in overall performance, maintenance & longevity. 

It really is each to his own but the last set of Hopes I had (XC's) were shot inside a year but my oldest XT hubs are still running fine after nearly 3 years with only one set of bearings in that time.

Personally, I can't stand the noise from the new hopes - sad I know - but there are many that will always opt for the 'quality' of the Hopes over Shimano every time.

I prefer XT's,  atleast with cup and cone you can set the tension and remove play,   my front Pro2 didn't last as long,  and the cassette won't fall off if you take the rear wheel off like on Hope rear hubs,  always put me off.

Pro2's easier to fix,  but the amount your saving,  you can just buy a 20mm new front wheel,  be quids in and have spare parts if required later.

And the damn clicking noise while freewheeling,  arrghhhhhhhhhhhh.

ive never understood the noise "issue" neither, uphill and on the flat your pedalling, downhill all i can hear is wind in my ears and tires on the trail. aah, i can hear them when i coast into the car park knackered..

the reason i bought hopes over say, xt are;

i HATE cup and cone. from an enigeering point of view they may make sence on paper, but imo not in practice.

there light and strong.

i had my old xc hubs for over three years without even looking at them. my present pro11s are over 18 months old, again with no problems.

they are super easy to service if and when.

front are interchangable between qr and 20mm, rear between qr, 10mm and 12mm thru axle +10mm bolt on option.

and the added bonus for me is there made in this country.

after over "three years" i sold the bike on.

once had a pair of deore hubs, they were completely shot within six months.