rotating weight makes a huge difference. Upgrading your wheelset is one of the best upgrades one can make to a bike.
that's what the guys were telling me too... even just holding the two different wheels, i could feel a difference. i can't imagine what it would be like on the trail!!

i still have the stock shimano rim brakes on my mtn bike... i'm thinking of upgrading to some avid sd 7s (there seemed to be a good deal on some on nashbar) for the race...

i'm not much of a basher... never "crashed" a wheel out of true (knock on wood). that said, i'm also not much of a lightweight... pretty average build (ride a smaller "men's" frame)

what are the different levels of mavic rims? i tried to decipher their website, but ended up going in circles... after scraping some more dirt off my rims i discovered that they are "117"s, not "1.17"s

also, do your hubs have to "match", either each other or the other components? i'd like to just transfer my rear cassette to a new wheel, can you do that? and the hubs don't have to be the same brand as the rim? (can you tell i'm a total novice with this stuff? )

and- what's the benefit of tubeless, aside from fewer flats? and is that determined by the tire or the rim or the hub?

thanks for your help!!