Wheelsets
Used MTB wheelsets from UK sellers, plus new stock — complete front and rear wheel pairs with hubs, rims, spokes and nipples built and ready to ride. Match the hub spacing, freehub type and wheel size to your frame.
Is a wheelset upgrade worth it?
A wheelset upgrade is one of the biggest bang-for-buck improvements on a mountain bike. Factory wheels on most bikes are built to a price — heavier rims, basic hubs, machine-built tension. A quality aftermarket wheelset drops rotating weight, increases stiffness and sounds better on every descent.
Boost or non-Boost hub spacing?
Modern MTB frames use Boost spacing — 110x15mm front, 148x12mm rear. Older frames use non-Boost 100x15mm front, 142x12mm rear, and Super Boost (157mm rear) appears on some DH frames. Your frame's dropout spacing is non-negotiable: Boost hubs don't fit non-Boost frames and vice versa, so check before buying, and confirm the axle and skewer hardware matches too.
Which freehub body fits your cassette?
The freehub determines which cassettes fit. Shimano HG (Hyperglide) fits 10 and 11-speed Shimano/SRAM cassettes, SRAM XD fits 12-speed Eagle cassettes, and Shimano Micro Spline fits 12-speed Shimano cassettes. Quality hubs (Hope, DT Swiss, Industry Nine) offer swappable freehub bodies, so you can buy the hub and swap the driver later if you change drivetrain — budget hubs often lock you into one freehub type.
What internal rim width do you need?
Internal rim width affects tyre profile and grip. 25–28mm suits XC tyres (2.0–2.3"), 29–32mm suits trail and enduro tyres (2.3–2.5"), and 33–35mm suits plus tyres and wider enduro setups (2.5–2.8"). Wider rims give the tyre a squarer profile with more sidewall support for cornering, but add weight — for most trail riders, a 30mm internal width rim is the sweet spot.
Which wheelsets are worth looking for used?
Hunt Trail Wide and Enduro Wide are the value benchmark — alloy rims, quality sealed bearings, competitive weight. Hope Fortus is hand-built in the UK with Hope's excellent Pro 4 hubs, heavier but bombproof, and DT Swiss XM and EX series offer Swiss engineering with reliable star ratchet freehubs. Stans Flow and Arch are popular alloy options, while Hunt Carbon, We Are One and Revel are proven carbon trail and enduro options. Used carbon wheels are worth scrutinising carefully — check for impact damage around the spoke holes and bead hooks, and compare prices against the wider wheels and tyres listings.