Bearings are shot in my current wheel, its beat up and dented. Im considering just replacing the whole thing... Just a simple complete rear alloy wheel w/ a HG hub.
I have looked high and low and cant find anything less that $1k+ which is what id expect to pay for a fancy carbon wheel. Am I just searching for something that isnt stocked anymore? Am I just being too cheap? I dont care about having 420 points of engagement, just needs something that works - It seems everything Id actually buy is out of stock. Anyone have any leads?
Alternatively, I wouldnt be opposed to building a wheel myself. Would buying all the parts separately be more cost effective? Either in overall savings, or getting more bang for my buck?
I've bought a number of cheap 27.5 completes recently. To be clear, no idea on availability in Canada; I'm just anecdotally mentioning what I found as all my shit is 27.5 and I like to keep cheap spare wheels around and mount and try different tires and generally light money on fire. But I digress.
I just looked around and it appears most are since sold out. But the wheels I bought were Halo Ridgeline, 2026 Bontrager Line Comp, I9 1/1 Enduro S on sale. Another set I looked at, but didn't buy because I didn't wanna buy new rotors (centerlock), was the Shimano XT rear wheels(&sets).
And I don't remember where I found them and I don't really know anything about them but I found a bunch of random cheap wheels that were often WTB or other cheap hoops or sometimes cheap DT hoops on Shimano Deore or SLX or Bear Pawls hubs.
There are options like Hunt or Silt that are relatively affordable.
Stan's has a bunch of wheels on sale with some 27s listed in stock.
I cannot comment on durability, I know some are/are likely pretty flimsy, but at least they were cheap(ish).
Chromag has a solid wheel offer. Unfortunately the 27.5 options are sold out.
Meanwhile these Hunt wheels are for sale in your area for $600.
Almost any shop in Calgary should either have a 27.5 rear in stock or be able to order you one and have it in a few days. The Bike Shop, Inline, Bow, etc. should be able to hook you up fairly easily. Expect to pay around $600+, but ask if they have old stock or take-offs lurking in the back that might go cheaper. Many shops don't put their basic wheels in their online store, so it often helps to actually go into a shop and ask. Do yourself a favour and don't go in on the weekend - Tuesday and Wednesday are great days to go in person. A shop will typically bill $100+ for a wheel build from parts they supply.
If you want to build a new wheel yourself, there's definitely a learning curve. There are loads of YT tutorials on how to do it, and you can get away with buying as little as $30 in tools if you're willing to MacGyver things [side note, I have ~$800 in wheelbuilding tools, and it's easy to go higher].
Another option is the PB Buy and Sell. Caveat emptor!
The literal only wheel i found available was one of chromags cheapest offerings from fortnine, but somehow the hub is lower quality than what came stock on my bike so i wasnt sure itd be worth spending money on. I might still get it if i cant find anything else, but i find it wild that there is literally nothing available. Normally us canadians are used to stuff like this in other industries, but i feel like MTB is one industry thatd serve Canadian customers as well as our friends down south.
Thanks for the hunt recommendation im gonna check that out right now!
ahh interesting, in my limited experience usually what shops show online is what they have in-store. But i will do some calling around to my local shops and see if they have anything kickin around that isnt listed on the website. Appreciate the reply!
“and generally light money on fire” 🔥 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
https://www.commencal.com/ca/en/e13-lg1%2B-enduro-rear-wheel-27.5/A23RWHE13LG1E27.html?lang=en_CA
Check out the Commencal site. They have a decent assortment of parts and stuff on sale.
Shoot, I see that link was for an XD driver.
This is again an XD driver, but $900 for this wheelset is a pretty good deal these deals without a sale.
https://www.commencal.com/ca/en/bundle%20components%20wheels/A24PKDTEX5…
dang nice find! Looks like most of them are XD drivers but perhaps I can get an HG driver and swap it out?
That DT set is a great find! I wouldn't have thought to check bike manufacturer sites.
https://www.ethirteen.com/products/replacement-freehub-body-kit-non-sidekick?_pos=1&_sid=bda8c7e6a&_ss=r&variant=52294062047602
That's the driver. I can't say I know much about e13 wheels.
Commencal is the only brand in Canada I know of that does that. Knolly used to have a selection of parts too.
Here's another option. I personally ride DT Swiss before all else. https://www.jensonusa.com/dt-swiss-e-1900-spline-30-27-5-wheel
ethirteen has a 27.5" HD driver Sidekick rear wheel on sale for $360 USD. Don't know what that works out to in Canada after currency conversion, shipping, and possible tariffs. If you're hard on wheels it's also 32 spoke, which I like: https://www.ethirteen.com/products/grappler-sidekick-flux-aluminum-gr-rear-mtb-wheel?variant=61864698052978
I was actually just asking about that with their support email. So the free shipping doesnt apply if i order from them in the USA, so shipping is $50 and then extra customs fees are another $25.
Im researching how viable it might be to just run a mismatched drivetrain, perhaps i could get away with running a Sram cassette on a shimano drivetrain? I have heard this can sometimes work but i wanna be absolutely certain. Nothing worse than having a wonky drivetrain.
I run Sram 12 speed cassette (eagle not transmission)on a shimano xt shifter (cable and couple of years old). I think it's a shimano chain but not 100% sure. I think it's fine, in fact I think it's better shifting than the XO transmission my wife has in terms of speed. She's the reason I'm running the combo so we can swap wheels in a pinch....
I've had trouble running a 52-tooth SRAM or ethirteen cassette with a Shimano XT 12-speed cable drivetrain that's designed for a 51 tooth large cog, but that's only because of the discrepancy in large cog size. I've never had trouble running a Shimano cassette with a SRAM drivetrain. The only exception for this would be if your SRAM drivetrain is Transmission, but because you're looking for an HD freehub, that's likely not the case.
I’m a little late to the party, but Wingman (ride-wingman.ca) make a really solid alloy wheelset at a good price. A full wheelset will run you about $850-900. They have their own hubs that use star ratchet internals, and their rims have a thicker bead to help avoid pinch flats. Oh, and they come in silver if that sparks your interest. Some shops around Canada have been stocking these, as it’s an Australian company trying to break into the market here.
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