The Best ENDURO MTB Wheelset? Let's Go Racing Season 2, Episode 2

It's time for Brian Cahal to figure out which mountain bike wheelset will work best for enduro racing. Brian has no component sponsors this season and is in a unique position as a professional rider to test and evaluate critical parts he will put on his Forbidden Dreadnaught for race season. He tries out wheels from DT Swiss, ZIPP and ENVE, ultimately deciding which he will run for this EWS season. #MTB #mountainbike #enduro

[evanblackwell]

I love when someone comes along and does something so seemingly simple, but not many people have thought of. Makes a ton of sense!

[Geckoblue]

Your front/rear specific approach reminds me a bit of the Crankbrothers Synthesis Wheels, but it seems like you took it further with an extra stiff & burly rear wheel. Would be interested in your thoughts if you can ever give those wheels a try.

[MTBMcPhee]

Love the concept of this series and the honesty about breaking the zip wheels in the past. Keen for the next episode!

[hubsessed]

I live your thought process. Seems like what you are looking for is something that Crankbrothers has created with their Synthesis rims. Its a tuned system with 32 hole rear, 28 hole front. Stiff rear wheel that supports peak loads and enhances stability and speed in the turns. The front is more compliant and improves handling and maximizes grip in the turns. Its a killer setup and very popular with our customers.

[alexgordon]

Crank Brothers Synthesis Enduro Carbon would have been interesting considering they also have different rims and spoke counts I believe front and rear.

[ginogetsshreddy_mtb]

The video I’ve been waiting for! Thank you.

[antrace]

I'm riding pretty much a classic burly wheelset. A strong combo
Dt swiss ex471 in the back and ex511 in the front. I don't even complain about the overall weight of my bike. 14.8 kg

[kellmurphy]

Honest reviews from a guy whos pushing his bike to the limit! With so many bland generic reviews out there this is a breath of fresh air!!

[aqhelzo]

So brian has only three sponsors... (maxxis, forbidden and TLD), he should have a whole buch of them... He reaches out to much more people than a lot of racers and he actually informs the people about a certain product giving his feedback... Also I preffer having a review from Brian, than from the best of the world, lets be honest, we will never ride like the n1 of the world, but we might ride like brian one day...

Props to VitalMTB and Brian!!!! Waiting for more!

[benny]

Did you consider trying Berd Spokes? Might be a way to eek out some more compliance whilst running the Enve rim :)

[dcutout]

I'm probably one of the few also running mis-matched wheels. I've a Stans Flow Mk3 front (laced 2 cross, because the spoke length I need for 3 cross wasn't available when I built it) and a WAO Union rear laced 3 cross with a Cushcore Pro. Fitted my budget and been bombproof so far. Never done any kind of compliance or back-to-back testing though to see if it's really better or worse than anything, I just know I no longer destroy rims and rarely destroy tyres.

[offroadrepairman]

I run an enve on rear also, but not always. It’s incredible when speeds pickup and terrain is flowing. I run lower air pressure and inserts for janky sharp rocks and roots. My second wheel set is We-Are-One composites. I really like the compliance with out giving up much stiffness. I run it as front wheel always. Saving the enve as a spare or bike park flow trail days.

[gastonpiche]

Would love a follow up video post season to hear your feedback on your experience with this setup. Great video.

[otisjordan]

Great comparison, a bit of an unorthodox setup, but I'm all for it!
Next up is two different tire brands then lol

[JackEvans]

I’ve been running DT EX471s this season, pretty bullet proof apart from flat spots.

[miktub]

Great review. Maybe it's not all hocus pocus. 🧐

[ThunderStruckMTB]

The combo makes perfect sense. Cool series!

[dmweyland]

please do more wheels test and reviews on different brands. I would like to hear your opinion on spank wheels and roval wheels after your torture testing. how they compare to your other gotos..

[laurynasjagelo]

Nukeproof Horizon V2's. Cheap, Stiff and... Bombproof/ Nukeproof. My only complaint is the HG hub's splines are too soft. Great wheels!

[cfox]

Been loving my We Are Ones for wheels. Pretty burly probably pretty comparable to those enves