Wheelsets

Wheelset Buying Guide

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.

Hub Spacing

Modern MTB frames use Boost spacing — 110x15mm front, 148x12mm rear. Older frames use non-Boost 100x15mm front, 142x12mm rear. 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. Check before buying.

Freehub Body

The freehub determines which cassettes fit. Shimano HG (Hyperglide) fits 10 and 11-speed Shimano/SRAM cassettes. SRAM XD fits 12-speed Eagle cassettes. Shimano Micro Spline fits 12-speed Shimano cassettes. Quality hubs (Hope, DT Swiss, Industry Nine) offer swappable freehub bodies — buy the hub and swap the driver later if you change drivetrain. Budget hubs often lock you into one freehub type.

Rim Width

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"). 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.

Popular Wheelsets

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. DT Swiss XM and EX series offer Swiss engineering with reliable star ratchet freehubs. Stans Flow and Arch are popular alloy options. For carbon, Hunt Carbon, We Are One and Revel are proven trail and enduro options. Used carbon wheels are worth scrutinising carefully — check for impact damage around the spoke holes and bead hooks.