HUNT XC WIDE
£349
SPECIFICATION Weight: 780g front, 880g rear = 1,660g total • Internal rim width: 25mm •Colours: black only • Contact: huntbikewheels.com
Hunt has made a name for itself over recent years by offering mtb wheelsets, suitable for multiple disciplines, at a killer price. These lightweight £350 XC Wide wheels are no exception, using a shot-peened, 6066 heat-treated aluminium rim that it claims has 34% more tensile strength than commonly-used 6061 series alloy. Hunt also specifies different alloys for different jobs in the CNC’D hub body, where oversized axles spin inside double sealed bearings.
The brand’s six-pawl, 36t freehub has a fast engagement of 5° and a ceramic coating to prevent gouging from Shimano HG fittings. Being XC orientated, the rims are skinnier, at 25mm, than most wheels you’ll find on complete bikes. Laced with 28 J-bend Pillar cold-drawn spokes (which are easier to replace than straight pull), they use lighter alloy nipples and asymmetric flanges on the front hub for more balanced spoke tension.
Whether Hunt’s claims about rim toughness play out is hard to say as (like other brands) we’ve dented plenty of Hunt rim walls in the past, and strength is also influenced by rim geometry and wall height. What’s in no doubt is the brand’s claim that they’re super-fast. There’s an upgrade in rolling speed and acceleration that’s immediately obvious, and not just over the kind of basic, heavy OEM wheels you might want to replace at this price point. The pace injection is so strong, in fact, it feels more like the effect you get from fitting lightweight carbon wheels costing over a grand – the kind that make your legs feel fresher, puts wind in your sail, and constantly urges you to squeeze in one more lap. Low weight is a major influence on this sensation, but the thinner rim also moulds the tyre’s contact patch on the ground – making it longer and narrower – and that has a significant effect on turnover.
Like with Silt’s (slower) XC wheels, we didn’t find many drawbacks to having a narrower tyre profile or how it grips. In fact the steering is a bit more dynamic, with the bike tipping from side to side more easily than it would with a very wide rim. Wider rims do ‘plant’ tyres on terrain more solidly though, if stability is a priority – for a beginner for example.
One thing we didn’t expect from the XC Wide is the level of stiffness and solidity. The ride is choppy, with plenty of feedback over rough ground, and less compliance. In back-to-back testing with the same tyre pressures it was obvious that the Hunts transferred the most feedback and vibrations of all the wheels on test, even if this didn’t slow the bike down as much as we expected.
The fact you really zing uphill and along the flat on Hunt’s XC Wide wheels mean they offer a real tangible benefit, but remember this is an Xc-targeted wheelset that works fine for trail riding as long as you don’t live anywhere rocky. But for heavier riders on rougher tracks, these aren’t the ideal solution.