Let’s begin with an agreed-upon maxim. Wheels can have the most immediately noticeable effect on your bike’s performance. Wheels are often the first big upgrade that riders make for their bike as it is basically buying speed. Rim design/weight, spoke count/tension, hub engagement all contribute to the potential of making you at least feel faster and in some cases indeed actually go faster. Fast is fun (another maxim; whatever I’m only human) and fast wins races be they actual races, ripping around with your friends, garnering a PR on Strava (Starver; my silly app of choice), or perhaps just cleaning a section more rapidly than you last recall.
The most well-known way wheels can up your velocity is by being lightweight. Lighter wheels are prized nearly universally in road and cross-country racing settings, and these beliefs have long bled into other cycling genres. However, lighter weight wheels quickly reach a point of diminishing returns on trail, downhill, and enduro bikes where conditions can more easily cause flats, spoke breakage if not total rim failure. It is in these venues that weight concerns must be balanced with durability and that thousand-pound-chicken word, “compliance,” begins to cluck.
Compliance is one of those qualities that manufacturers love to banter about as it sounds smart and useful but is difficult to quantify. However, a compliant wheel can feel faster through jagged terrain allowing one to plow through sections you might either slow to choose a less taxing line or not beat your tuchus as much when you dismissively plow said line in abandon. Yet again, how fatigued one feels in such situations is difficult to define. Moreover, does this difference in feel equate to a better ride, more speed or a better outcome (faster times, more enjoyment, more control, bigger smiles)?
These questions were among those I considered in having the opportunity to review the Hunt Enduro V3 wheels * for nsmb.com. Disclaimer: Hunt sent me the wheelset to review via nsmb’s forum and to keep at the end of the process. I was not compensated in any other way. ** I am certainly not a professional rider/product reviewer/writer, but I have ridden many different wheels in all sorts of situations on numerous different bikes. Additionally, I have had a good track record making predictions on mountain biking trends over the years having jumped on products/ideas long before they became ubiquitous. I will be quick to admit that among my fellow reviewers for this experiment I ran said wheels on a bike with the least amount of travel and I am sure that my cohorts were sending bigger lines than I most of the time. Still, I’ve long said that I could fill a bike shop with all the parts I’ve broken over the years, being an aggressive rider clocking in at Clydesdale weight más o menos.
*Hereafter referred to as the V3s.
**A cute water bottle was included with the wheels, and I might end up with t-shirt if one comes available, but these do not factor into my experience.
First some details and numbers. I spent just over four months with these wheels on my bike and racked up approximately 640 miles on them. The original length of time requested for the testing period was to be ninety days, but I kept them on as I had no reason*** to remove them. The testing all occurred on trails around the Atlanta, Georgia metro and due to the notably mild winter we had the conditions were generally dry (the trails here are typical deep woods east coast riding so there are at least always a few wet spots and stream crossings) although there were a few rides in some post rain slop**** requiring me to schlepp my bike to the DIY carwash near my bike storage to hose things down. My bike storage has no water hook-ups so while I have a dry method I generally adhere to, when the filth is excessive I head to the carwash which I did twice during the testing period.
***Foreshadowing fun!
****Don’t get yr baggies in a bunch. The legit trails closest to me dry out in less than 24 hours and the rest are unsanctioned pirate trails so no effs given there.
I will abstain from getting into deep dives on the tech/specs with the wheels as that may be found here and here. The V3’s are available in 29 and 27.5 versions and may be purchased as a set in all possibilities for $749 *****. I will instead discuss my experiences with these wheels, pros/cons and those who these wheels might suit best.
*****The original cost down here in Canada’s taint was $666, but perhaps Hunt felt that a slightly higher cost and making the number a block away from the dark lord’s bachelor pad would be more appropriate.
The V3s arrived in a neat wheel box on my doorstep, and I was delighted to find a nifty signed card from the assembler within. The set came with everything ready to roll (pun-intended) and other than needing to insert the included tubeless valves it was a snap to get them set up. I originally had thrown the included valves in with the large cache of valves I have and put in some longer ones instead. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that one of those valves was farkate and my first couple of rides that tire kept going flat. (insert many expletives) I finally dug out and installed the included valve, and all was peachy thereafter. FWIW, I installed a new set of the same tires I’ve run for year,s that being Speshy Butcher/Eliminator combo at the same pressures I like and with the Huck Norris lightest liners to get the most coconuts-to-coconuts comparison.
Speaking of comparisons, my two current wheelsets to provide that against the V3s were a custom-built set of Light Bicycle 932/732 carbon rims laced to Factor (RIP) hubs and a pre-built set of Stans Flow Mk 4 alloy wheels gracing my Santa Cruz 5010 MX and Kona Honzo ESD respectively. The Stans on the Honzo would be a more similar comparison in cost, feel, and weight, however I spend more time on the SC so that seemed a superior choice.
I will cut to the chase and say that the V3s performed as to be expected, and I had zero issues with them beyond the valve kerfuffle of my own making. It was the somewhat intangible nuances that I found most interesting and what they provided in learning about these wheels and where they lead me.
Noise annoys? I am a fan of loud hubs. This is not the popular opinion of most in cycling media. My Factor hubs scream like a guitar through a dimmed HM-2 pedal popularized in Death Metal. The Hunt sound was initially pretty quiet, but then built up to a more reliable if not lower decibel growl like an autoclave mixed with a little desmodromic motor thrown in for good measure. While not as noisy as my Factors, still pretty cool. That and the V3s’ matte black colorway paired with almost Runic white font still made them rather metal.
Lack of chaos and peace in the valley? The single most noticeable element that the V3s brought to the table was their compliance. This was rather obvious the first time I blasted through any rough segments and/or rock gardens. The sensation was similar to that of being on a nice steel hardtail. The 5010 MX is carbon and very stiff/stout, but in cross referencing the ride feel against my (nice steel hardtail) Honzo, the wheels made for a more damped ride than the Stans it is graced with. Sure, it isn’t fair to compare a full-suspension-bike-ride feel with that of a hardtail, but the way the V3s reduced the low frequency chatter really stuck out. That calmness had several distinct effects on my rides. First, the lack of drama coming from my wheels allowed my mind to get into deeper thoughts especially considering my surroundings. This allowed me to notice things I had not on trails I’ve ridden countless times including new lines, critters, abandoned machine parts, and graffiti. Additionally, this calm state made me dig further into music****** with a more psychedelic or shoegaze bend that I hadn’t listened to in a while. I really got back into listening to an old favorite in the band Love Battery and rediscovered a lost album of theirs.
******Yes, I listen to and have listened to tunes forever whilst riding. My go-to for the last five years have been bone-conduction speakers allowing me to hear everything around me as my soundtrack plays. This keeps my tunes to myself because remember kids, no matter how awesome your jams are NO ONE wants to hear them.
The compliance and calmness of the V3s makes them an easy recommendation for enduro racers or e-bike riders looking for a wheelset that can take a beating and offer an excellent value. They remained so trouble-free that I became aware of other issues that I needed to attend to on my bike. “But Dr. Sweets, are there any downsides?” you ask. Sure, but they are rather minimal. First, they are a wee bit heavier than my custom-built wheels and not as snappy regarding acceleration. This is maybe more of concern for a trail (I’d say XC, but these aren’t XC wheels by any stretch) rider as multiple systems have become popular of late for the enduro/DH crowd to mitigate pedal kick back that reduce hub engagement. Additionally, there are similar options that go for less including my Stans Mk 4s. The pleasant damping effect of the V3s is not as high with those and personally the hub on those has required more maintenance futzing. FWIW, I did pull the freehub off to peep it and it was spotless. The rims have some scuffs, but no spokes loosened and no dings/flat spots were present. I never needed to contact Hunt about the wheels, but I know their service is excellent from friends who have reached out to them, and their three-year warranty is schweet too. 4.5 outta 5 Pepper growls. Whatchoo waiting for? Get on the Hunt(s)!