Best sub $400 carbon 29er wheels

[Hei hei]

Looking for advice on the best sub $400 Chinese carbon wheelset for the Carbonda FM936 frame. I am transferring components from another bike so it has to be a SRAM 1x11 compatible and fit a rear 2.35 tire (would love to be able to fit a 2.4 rear tire) and a 2.5 front tire,  both tubeless . Other than that I have no clue how to spec the wheels re. spoke count, spoke style, hub etc. I weigh 180 lbs and do mostly cross country (not racing) but lots of drops, rocks and jumps when I can find them. Looking for advise on trusted suppliers and if possible some recommendations on rim width and spoke count. Can all manufacturers supply the wheels with SRAM compatible hubs? Wheels are boost spacing. Looking for budget wheels as this is a bit of an experiment, I’ve convinced myself that lighter wheels is the easiest way to get more speed....”

[theirishrider]

400$ for Carbon wheels, hubs, spokes and shipping (to Europe/US, not China)? That's really quite low. I got my BTLOS full wheels for 700ish including shipping which isn't that much.

[lRaphl]

Most vendors will supply the option of HG/XD/Microspline freehubs. In your case, you just ask or select XD and you should be good. Somewhere between 25mm and 30mm of inner width rims should do the trick for the rims. You should also look for at least 28 spokes per wheels and if you're hard on them, then go for 32 spokes for some peace of mind. The low cost carbon wheels will all be using hubs like Bitex, Novatech, Powerway or other chinese brands. They aren't that bad but require more maintenance for sure. Again, for some peace of mind, I would pay a little more and get some DT 350 hubs. If you can go with brass nipples, you should do it. It's a little bit more weight but they won't corrode as fast as aluminum nipples. Sapim and DT anodized aluminum nipples resists a lot better but most chinese wheels comes with Pilar aluminum nipples and those corrode pretty fast. As for hub width, just check for BOOST 12x148 for rear and BOOST 15x110 for front.

I hope this help.

[carbonazza]

Just as a baseline you'll hardly find carbon rims from known providers for less than $150 each.
Except some free shipping trickery and you are at more than $400 already.
Without the spokes, hub and nipples.

But then on Aliexpress you may find what you look for.
Like this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001802824240.html
With average spokes&nipples, and uncertain hubs.
Elitewheels seem dedicated to wheels, so they'd better do them right 
They have higher end offers too.

[bxcc]

These would be close at $462 shipped. Select the "XC Pillar 1423 28H" option at $448 then there are automatic coupons for another $16 ($8 per $150) off. Then you'll have to add $15 for boost hubs and $15 for the XD driver. The rims should be a nice for the tire size you want to run.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32863273268.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.7a8a3c0083lW7S&mp=1

[carbonazza]

...These would be close at $462 shipped...

Did you buy already from Elitewheels ?

[bxcc]

Did you buy already from Elitewheels ?

Yes, I have. I ordered a set of rims, not wheels. The rims were the same in these wheels though. Unfortunately, they were lost in transit but AliExpress did give me a full refund. Sukie from Elite was great to deal with through the complete process so I can't say anything bad about them. They do have excellent pricing and a great range of options.

[carbonazza]

...They do have excellent pricing and a great range of options...

What was the total cost for the rims ?

[bxcc]

At the time, they were $270 shipped to the US but they are a bit more now. Should still be around $300. Hulk Bike sells the same profile so I ordered from them for the second try and they arrived within a month of ordering.

Getting full wheels with cheap hubs for $450ish is still a great deal. If and when the hubs are not cutting it, re-lacing the rear to a new hub is easy enough. No need to replace the front as front hubs rarely go bad and there is zero performance upgrades for a front hub.

To stay slightly on track and for a cost comparison, my new wheels cost me $820. Rims were $370, DT aerolite spokes were $55, DT 350 hubs were $250, nipples (100 pack) and valve stems were $45, and labor was $100. The rims and spokes came from eBay and the rest came from my LBS.

[carbonazza]

Thanks for all the information.
My gravel has ultralight 29er rims from Hulk bike too, and they are still perfect after 3 years.

[Hei hei]

Thank you for all your responses, especially IRaphl and Carbonazza. It has helped me narrow things down a bit.

Does anybody have any experience with LightCarbon wheels on a mountain bike ? I see plenty of posts about road wheels.

They have quoted me $499 for the DT350-AD930-XC-RACE before shipping. https://www.lightcarbon.com/mountain-bike-29er-asymmetry-design-mtb-carbon-rims_p75.html

Presume these are the DT Swiss hubs, although the site just says DT350 ?

- DT350S MTB boost hubs (15*110/12*148mm)
- Sapim Race spokes (28)
- Asymmetric design MTB carbon rims, tubeless ready

The only thing that concerns me is the inner bead width of 25mm which seems narrow to me?
And it specifies the max tire size as 2.4” - I run 2.5” on the front?

[bxcc]

In my opinion, 25mm is too narrow for a 2.5” tire. It will work, just not ideal. If you’re running 2.4’s and 2.5’s, I’d stay around 30mm. They may have that profile available for a similar cost. Generally speaking, most vendors list the DT Swiss 350 hubs as DT350.

[Cerps]

Does anybody have any experience with LightCarbon wheels on a mountain bike ? I see plenty of posts about road wheels.

They have quoted me $499 for the DT350-AD930-XC-RACE before shipping. https://www.lightcarbon.com/mountain-bike-29er-asymmetry-design-mtb-carbon-rims_p75.html

Presume these are the DT Swiss hubs, although the site just says DT350 ?

- DT350S MTB boost hubs (15*110/12*148mm)
- Sapim Race spokes (28)
- Asymmetric design MTB carbon rims, tubeless ready

The only thing that concerns me is the inner bead width of 25mm which seems narrow to me?
And it specifies the max tire size as 2.4” - I run 2.5” on the front?

I bought a set of their carbon fat rims last year and laced them myself. So far I like them. I only use them in winter and haven't taken them on any drop more than 1-2 feet. I saved some weight over my old mulefut wheels. Plus no more having to mess with rim strips and pin joints/holes for tubeless setup.

[xz01]

I had LightCarbon build a set of those exact wheels for me and had a good experience. I would echo the comment that if you are running 2.5" tires that you should get a wider rim up front. I wish I ordered a wider rim for my front wheel.

[Aliexpress Test Pilot]

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNRgoKd

Here’s the best I’ve found 25mm internal width and ratchet drive dt Swiss 240 clone hubs