XT/XTR wheels for AM riding?

[.:ROBBO:.]

Just bought a Pivot Mach 5. Its currently running an XT front wheel and an XTR rear. Its replacing a Scott Ransom 30 which weighed 16kg+ running stock SOS wheels. Ridden it on and off between my DH bike over the past 4 years and the wheels have stood up ok. The Pivot currently weighs 12.6kg but I will still shave more off that with a 1x9 set up and a shorter stem. The wheels are currently in great shape as the previous owner only rode XC/Endurance with it. But I will be riding a lot harder than that. I want this as a light do it all bike. Looking through the "post your AM bike" thread I dont see many using the XT or XTR wheels which leads me to beleive im prob kidding myself to even start riding with these wheels. Should I sell these now while they are still worth money or take the risk that they will be ok? I dont want to add a heap more weight if I dont need to. But I also don't want to spend big for no real gain. I was thinking Hopes with xm819??

 

[struggles]

I have been giving my XT wheels a caning on my Reign since Oct 2010 and have never even had to true them.

Running them with 2.5 Highrollers at 30psi and from 125kgs to my current 118kgs.

 

[crank1979]

XT and XTR do come in a Trail/AM version as well as their Race version. I've got the XT Race version on my Mach 5 and the XTR Trails on my Liteville and both wheelsets are very reliable. High spoke count, strong rims, UST ready; there's not much more to ask for. The XTs are a little heavier but are still acceptable. I run Crossmax SX on my Firebird and they are very nice as well. I'd say the Crossmax SX rim is slightly softer than the Shimano rims but nothing to worry about. Crossmax STs might be worth considering too.

 

[.:ROBBO:.]

The front is a WH-M778 and the rear is a WH-M975 which I can only find one version of each. No race and trail. These are both 2010 rims. It appears that the Trail version didn't come out till 2011? All the specs I can find say they will be 19mm rims not 21mm that the trail comes in. However I have found a lot of reports that say they are still a good trail rim. Maybe I will take the chance.

 

[.:ROBBO:.]

XT and XTR do come in a Trail/AM version as well as their Race version. I've got the XT Race version on my Mach 5 and the XTR Trails on my Liteville and both wheelsets are very reliable. High spoke count, strong rims, UST ready; there's not much more to ask for. The XTs are a little heavier but are still acceptable. I run Crossmax SX on my Firebird and they are very nice as well. I'd say the Crossmax SX rim is slightly softer than the Shimano rims but nothing to worry about. Crossmax STs might be worth considering too.

You say High spoke count. Mine are only 24 spoke. Thats low.

 

[crank1979]

You say High spoke count. Mine are only 24 spoke. Thats low.

Sorry. I've gotten so used to them I think of them as normal spoke count wheels. :blush:

The M776 XT wheelset uses a wider rim, but also a 20mm axle. I wanted the wider rim but 15mm axle on the Mach 5 but couldn't get it.

 

[Ivan]

If they're 19mm internal, I can't see XM819's being much better.

If I remember correctly, even though they are 24 spoke, the spokes are a rather large gauge.

 

[Maltese Falcon]

I've done 5 all mountian races now on my XTR wheels on a 4 inch cross country bike. The wheels are still as they came out of the box. They were also 177grams lighter than the XT wheels they replaced.
Can't reccommend them enough.