Five new XC+ wheelsets – Canadian Cycling Magazine

Cross country, trail, “Downcountry,” BCXC, XC+, call it what you want. Maybe it’s just riding a mountain bike with as much emphasis on the up and across as the down. As short-travel bikes get more and more capable, and as XC race bikes get more and more travel (120mm seems to be the minimum these days), other components are adapting to the more demanding style of riding.

Here are five newer wheelsets that blur the line between pure cross country race speed and everyday riding toughness, mixing a good amount of fun in with the fast.

Five new XC+ Wheelsets

Shimano Deore XT 8200

When Shimano made its return to Di2 it also brought back its mountain bike wheels. Di2 was, as expected, quite expensive. Very good, but expensive. The Deore XT 8200 wheels, though, are refreshingly affordable at $750. Having spent quite a lot of time on the last generation of XT wheels, which is years ago now, I was quite happy to see Shimano revive that balance of quality and value. With alloy rim construction (modernized to 30mm internal width), simple j-bend spoke construction, hooked sidewalls and, finally, cartridge bearings in place of cup-and-cone, Shimano improves the design, too.

Hit the trails, and Shimano’s XT feel faster than their sub-$1,000 price tag would suggest. Front and rear-specific rim profiles make the most of the simple, but proven j-bend spoke design. It also adds confidence that, if you do manage to mangle a spoke or two, you’ll never be far from a shop that can do a quick fix. That, and all-round solid feel, make these an attractive option for those that would rather spend their budget getting out riding in exotic places than on acquiring exotic parts.

Being Shimano wheels, these use the Center Lock disc mount and Microspline freehub standards, only, but are available in 27.5″ and 29″ diameters. The 1,983g weight (29″) may push these a little more towards the “trail” end of XC+, but with a solid balance of price and weight, they’ll be on the radar of many riders.

Hunt XC Wide 29 

Leaning more towards the race side of XC+, but still with the value of alloy rims, is the XC Wide 29 wheelset from U.K. brand Hunt. Like the XTs, Hunt uses j-bend spokes and hooked rims for ease of repair and reliable tubeless mounting. But Hunt slims the internal rim diameter down to 28mm for the front rim and 26mm for the rear. Hunt claims that’s optimized for 2.2″-2.4″ tires, which is the bulk of XC tires out there right now. It also helps…