wheel recommendations?

[fultzie]

Hi ladies!
Okay, after the guys on my team commented (or rather, exclaimed with great surprise) that the front wheel of my mtn bike weighs almost as much as one of their rear wheels (cogs and all) i decided that eventually i would need some nice, light racin' wheels.
so i promised myself that if, by some freakish fluke of the collegiate scoring system i made it to nationals, that would be my investment (that, and maybe a nice, bright pink helmet ) this was of course counting on not qualifying because i only went to three races this year (two that actually counted) and came in dead last for both (4th/9 for the first that didn't count, though ). but i forgot that 5th out of 5 is still 5th, and gets the same number of points as 5th out of 50.....
well, with rolldowns because some teams over-qualified, there was one last vacant spot for number 113 (in 17th place! )!!! Seven Springs, PA, Halloween weekend (sadly missing the biggest football game of the year.... against our archrivals, MSU-- and i have a ticket roomie promises hourly updates)

anyway. i was wondering if any of you wise ladies could make some reccommendations for some light, fairly reasonably priced wheels. i'd like to avoid spending an entire month's paycheck... the wheels i have now are whatever comes stock on Rockhoppers.... all i can discern from the rim is "Mavic 1.17"

your advice on the brakes and tires was so great, i thought i'd ask again!!
thanks!

[smurfalicious]

Well, not that I have any specific reccomendations, but my buddy who owns a shop says unless you're really gonna drop a good chunk of money, you're better off with what you have. Meaning, a $400 set is just going to leave you with $400 less in your checking account and slightly better wheelset.

That said, Mavic makes purdy sweet tires, what's wrong with what you have? I mean you did kind of casually qualify. I hang around a lot of weight weenie guys, they tend to over exaggerate . However, if you plan on qualifying on a more serious basis next year, I'd go for something in the Mavic Crossmax family. Those were my lust objects until I came upon the Spinergy Xyclones and saw that I could get them with white spokes!!! To match my white shock, on my girly girl bike.

love and cookies
-smurf

[pedalfaster]

I'm gonna hafta disagree with the smurf here...rotating weight makes a huge difference. Upgrading your wheelset is one of the best upgrades one can make to a bike. If I had to choose between $400 worth of carbon chi-chis or a new, lighter wheelset, the hoops would win every time.

Fultzie, help us help you...do you have rim brakes or disc?
Are you a lightweight? If you don't weigh much you can (sometimes) get away with "stupid-light" for racing.
Also, if like many women you are more of a "finesse" rider than a basher, you can ride a lighter wheel. If, on the other hand you crash a lot and tend to throw wheels out of true, you might look for something a bit more sturdy...

That being said:
I'm old-school (and poor!)and have basic avid rim brakes.

My wheels of choice have always been hand-built; XTR hubs laced to some lightish Mavic rim (517s right now). I've also enjoyed the Chris King hubs (also laced to 517s) that I raced or awhile. They were tubless (Stans) and for longer endurance events it was nice to be able to run the lower tire pressure.

[fultzie]

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!!

[Irulan]

Hubs do not have to match. I"m on my third rear wheel (hitting those dang rocks) and I just pull the cassette off one and put in on another. I've still got my Mavic cross ride on the front.

light wheels do have their problems... my bike came with some upgrade Mavic cross ride for racing, which are great, super lightweight. I bent them up the rear with technical riding. Not as in "taco'd " but just flat spots that cannot be trued out anymore. See pedal fasters's comments on light wheels and what kind of rider you are. The hub is excellent, but these Mavic hubs are built up with a different type of spoke and lacing that is extremely expensive to have rebuilt into a new wheel.

The shimano rhino lites have been recommended to me as an affordable option.

Irulan