26" MTB Wheels - Cheap or Hope Pro 2's

[tjdixon911]

I am after one of 2 things, either a set of wheels around £75 for a budget bike build for SWMBO or applying sum Man Maths some Pro 2 Evo's with Stans Flow rims and then the wheels from my bike go to the budget build for free..

I am struggling on both counts, firstly finding a set of decent wheels for £75 is proving difficult and secondly finding the Pro 2's in stock and at a price I want to pay (I think under £300 can be done).

Can anyone help / advise with either?

The wheels are the last items I need to complete the bike...

[rhinochopig]

Budget Mavic are superb bits of kit - I'd venture as far as saying they are better than Hopes. Not as nice to look at, but I've found that my hopes need rebuilding more than the Mavics. In fact I've never needed to replace the bearings on two sets of Mavics - wore the rims out due to rim brakes - which are used on my winter biike.

[lllnorrislll]

Have you tried the German discount shop -
http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/deore-zac-19-si...

[tjdixon911]

lllnorrislll said:

Have you tried the German discount shop -
http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/deore-zac-19-si...

Perfect - I was looking at some second hand Deore hubs with Mach rims @ £55 but missed out...

How quick do they deliver?

Thanks.

[gazza285]

The Germans are very efficient.

Or these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fulcrum-Red-Metal-10-Mou...

[tjdixon911]

lllnorrislll said:

Have you tried the German discount shop -
http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/deore-zac-19-si...

Second look, they may be for Rim Brakes?

[P-Jay]

tjdixon911 said:

lllnorrislll said:

Have you tried the German discount shop -
http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/deore-zac-19-si...

Second look, they may be for Rim Brakes?

Yep, no disc mounts on the hubs, they must be from out of the ark.

If you want cheap I'd recommend these

http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-mt15-wheels-26... £80 a pair, but you'll need either centre lock discs or a converter kit.

They also sell well-priced Hope builds.

If you want Hope performance, but not Hope finish try Superstars range of wheels. I've ran mine for two years and one set of bearings now and they're great - they also give you the option to ran a 'sort of' bolt-through system on a 135mm QR frame - Hope have this too, but it's not as good and costs a lot more.

[vwsurfbum]

What about meeting half way?
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cP...

[ndg]

I get most of my hope stuff from Winstanleys, always seem to have the best price.

[joema]

Go Hope.

The ability to get hold of spares and fix hubs shouldnt be underestimated. Your hub will out last the bike. Hope hubs are completely rebuildable.

Problem with other hubs is not being able to get hold of bits and consigning that wheel to the heap when bearings etc go.

[Justin S]

The reason why Hope has a great parts service is because they always go wrong. Hope Pro 2 's are some of the least reliable hubs I have had the misfortune to ever buy. Hope XC hubs are fantastic and have plenty of those in the garage on bikes. They have a proper seal to prevent water and grit ingress, unlike the pro 2 with a plastic disc. I have had to repair many friends hopes as well, including replacement hubs after they split open across the hub shell. Hope in my opinion have attempted to keep up with better hubs, by being lighter and noisier. Don't get me wrong , I am all for waving the british banner , but some of their later offerings are not the best. I do have some Pro 3 hubs on my road bike and they don't suffer as bad, byt the fact they don't do things that a mountain bike does.
Choice for hubs ? Well, cheap is Shimano, then there is Goldtec , which are nice DT swiss, even Novatec, which are the same as Superstar hubs. I don't miss rebuilding my rear Pro 2 every 2 weeks and new bearings every month, even after replacing pawls, springs and the crap plastic seal failed to keep the muck out.

[ism123]

Justin S said:

The reason why Hope has a great parts service is because they always go wrong.

Not had any probs with my Pro2s in 2 years and 2K miles of regular Peaks & trail center riding. Oh, and I'm fat

[joema]

Not had any problems either minus the odd bearing change. But at least I've been able to change them...

[vwsurfbum]

Justin S said:

The reason why Hope has a great parts service is because they always go wrong. Hope Pro 2 's are some of the least reliable hubs I have had the misfortune to ever buy. Hope XC hubs are fantastic and have plenty of those in the garage on bikes. They have a proper seal to prevent water and grit ingress, unlike the pro 2 with a plastic disc. I have had to repair many friends hopes as well, including replacement hubs after they split open across the hub shell. Hope in my opinion have attempted to keep up with better hubs, by being lighter and noisier. Don't get me wrong , I am all for waving the british banner , but some of their later offerings are not the best. I do have some Pro 3 hubs on my road bike and they don't suffer as bad, byt the fact they don't do things that a mountain bike does.
Choice for hubs ? Well, cheap is Shimano, then there is Goldtec , which are nice DT swiss, even Novatec, which are the same as Superstar hubs. I don't miss rebuilding my rear Pro 2 every 2 weeks and new bearings every month, even after replacing pawls, springs and the crap plastic seal failed to keep the muck out.

I agree with all this.