Hunt Enduro wide wheelset review

Hunt’s wheels come pre-taped with four spare spokes (one for each spoke length) and a spoke key is provided in the box along with tubeless valves.

There are 32 spokes on the front wheel and 36 on the rear to make it stiffer and more resistant to going out of true, which makes sense when you consider how much more abuse the rear wheel is subjected to. These wheels are clearly built to last.

• DT Swiss E 1900 Spline 30 review
• Nukeproof Horizon review

Hunt Enduro Wide ride impressions

I’ve ridden several sets of Enduro Wide wheels in the past and came away impressed, but I did manage to dent one pair.

Fortunately, Hunt recently made a rolling update to the Enduro Wide rims, creating a thicker rim sidewall to make them more resistant to denting when running low pressures on rocky terrain.

So far, it appears to have worked because I haven’t sustained any damage to these rims – or the rest of the wheels – so far.

The freehub boasts a whopping 120 points of engagement per revolution, so power pickup is effectively instantaneous when standing on the pedals. The freehub creates a loud and high-pitched buzz when coasting thanks to that fine-tooth ratchet.

The 33mm internal rim width improves cornering stability slightly with some wider tyres and plays nicely with rubber up to 2.8in wide. But the wider rims can cause some tyres to become too square, making them less predictable in corners.

Also, I consistently experienced more hand pain on rough descents with these wheels than with rival 30mm-wide alloy wheels that were tested in identical conditions. This was when I was using 2.5in Maxxis Minion DHF Wide Trail tyres, which are designed for rim widths from 30 to 35mm.

Of the 14 wheelsets I’ve tested in this way, I’ve found the wider wheels to be the most uncomfortable, so perhaps the wider rim affects the tyre profile in such a way as to reduce its ability to absorb bumps. Alternatively, perhaps these wheels are simply stiffer.

Either way, if you’re planning to use tyres that are 2.5in wide or narrower, I’d suggest choosing a slightly narrower/more compliant wheel such as DT Swiss’s E 1900, Nukeproof’s Horizon, or perhaps Hunt’s own Trail Wide wheels. But for slightly wider tyres (up to 2.8in) these are a great option.