hello- was thinking of upgrading my wheels and loking for a bit of advice please.

Currently have deore hub'd mavic rimm'ed wheels- looking to upgrade in the very near future and was probably gonna go for one of the ready built wheelsets from Stiff of Merlin. Heard good things about these- think they'll save a fair bit of weight and will hopefully be as durable as the deores I've had. I'm just not too sure what rims to go for...think I have 322s at the mo (oe fitted) but not familiar with all the letters and numbers that mavic use- I ride xc but enjoy going for it at spooky woods etc...never had any problems with my old set of rims but not sure what the current equivalent would be.

Looking to spend around the £200-mark for front and back wheels- was also considering the mavic crossrides but don't know if I'd actually save much weight and have heard some storys about folk having trouble getting spares etc..

Any advice/info/help much appreciated!

Think I might go for the Hope 5.1 wheelset.

£260 retail, excellent reviews, and with a bit of lock I might get a decent discount through one of our suppliers...

Anyone had a set of these at all? They seem pretty good. Not the pro3 but think they're a fair bit more expensive....bah!

hope hubs !!!!! only any good if you like sounding like a demented woodpecker every time you freewheel.

My nice new orange five came adorned with pro 2's and I am more than a little displeased at the racket they make, my old xc's were a lot quieter than the pro's, what's happened?

I would love to ditch them but can't afford to at the moment  Mavics are a good wheel/hub and very trendy at the moment, mainly due to the prices dropping, but don't forget magura or dt swiss they seem pretty good too.

More grease only makes the already appalling back pedal drag even worse!  

 I know I have just spent the last couple of hours experimenting in the garage.

No wonder this country has gone to the dogs is this the best we can do ?

Where you based Allan - there should be a decent wheel builder somewhere nearby.  Like JJ says, it's sometimes worth spending a little extra to get that real expert touch & I like being able to talk to the builder to tell him exactly what I want. 

I've had 3 different wheelsets that have never let me down & they've all been built by the same guy.  Some other mail orders have had spokes loosen/break, rims crack etc. so I keep going back to him now.  My 819's he built a few months back seem bomb proof.

Based in Glasgow- I know there used to be a really good wheelbuilder in a tiny wee place north of here in a place called Clachan of campsie but not sure if hes still going..

Coupla mates have hope hubbed wheelsets and they haven't had any issues after a coupla years- I'm happy enough going for those- as far as I know Hope do hand build them but that might just be some gumf that i've been told to try and get a sale..

Wouldn't touch their brakes though- another mate got a lovely set of minis last year and they haven't worked right since he got them...on the otehr hand I bought some shimano deores about three years ago and apart from having to replace pads I haven't had to touch them.

Bill, honestly I've not noticed the pedal drag you mention. I'll be looking out for it next ride.

Allan, fwiw my money goes on Hope hubs + Mavic 717/719. From CRC as a rule.

There must have been hundreds of 'what wheels' threads on here.  If you do some searchy engine stuff on the forum you'll get stacks of info.

FWIW I have a set of Mavic XM321 rims on some Hope XC hubs which are bloody strong if a bit weighty and have run problem free for over 3 years now.  Built them myself and have never had to true them.

My other slightly less hardcore wheels are Bontrager Race Lite TLR, which you can pick up for around £250 inc. Bonty skewers, which are nice items.  Tubeless ready if you want to but not compulsory, Bonty's own rims and DT hubs.  Nice, pretty light but strong enough.  I'm neither light nor timid on a bike and have ragged them pretty good for about 18 months on some tough trails.  I'd recommend them.

There's more to wheels than just Mavic, Hope and Shimano if you have a good butchers round.  My next wheels (if I ever get the moolah together) will be Progress Hubs built up with Stan's Arch rims.  They do them at Just Riding Along and are sex on axles.  Bit out of your current budget though.

"Based in Glasgow- I know there used to be a really good wheelbuilder in a tiny wee place north of here in a place called Clachan of campsie but not sure if hes still going.."

I'm in Glasgow too. Wheelcraft is the guy you're talking about and he's still going.

Excellent wheels. My second choice after Wheelpro.

Wheelcraft

the small ammount of pedal drag will go as the hubs bed in a little.

"No wonder this country has gone to the dogs is this the best we can do ?" ????????????! the pro 11 is  held in very high regard and rightly so as its an exellent hub and can highly reccomend them.

as to the noise "problem"can never get my head around this, up hill your pedaling, no noise, on the flat your pedaling, no noise, down hill your going fast, cant hear the noise because of the wind in your ears  and the tires on the trail.

bill, id console myself with the fact that youve got one of the best hubs available and unless your riding involves free wheeling through liberarys and cinamas wouldnt worry about them.

thats a vote for the hopes allan

For £200 you should be able to get some 717's with XT hubs, a lightweight cassette, tyres & tubes.  I've run a couple fo sets of these for a while now & find them reliable & lightweight. 

If you run discs & can stretch to new rotors then I'd also suggest the XT centre-lock hubs - they're lighter than the 6 bolt & IMHO the centre-lock design is brilliant.

Shimano hubs = cup & cone bearings = faff.  Plus they aren't that light.  Best QR skewers on the market though.

IMO of course.