Just a quick update.
My Stan’s showed up this week and I mounted them up. They are about two 10ths of a pound lighter than my old Mavics. I rode them today, frikkin 103 degrees and about 1billion percent humidity 😀 , and they were great. I didn’t really notice any difference from the old cheapie Mavics I was running. So I don’t know if the price is worth it for a person like me. Admittedly I am an all mountain weekend rider who enters local xcountry races just for the excitement of the start. Plus it does wonders for my humility when 13 year old children pass me like I’m pedaling a moped. I’m not competitive. But even if I was running carbon wheels and a 5 lb lighter bike I suspect I would be in the same boat. According to the digital bathroom scale my full squish rig comes in at 29.7 pounds. It was 29.9 previously. I could probably shave a bit more off if I cared to. I tend to over use the stan’s goo. And I am still running my seat dropper that I purchased when I lived in MT. I don’t really need it here, but I have developed a love for that particular crutch!
@hnetsrick: I agree with your assessment. I probably really don’t have to worry too much about all but the lightest weight rims. I think the Arch’s would have been fine. I do get to ride extended technical downhill in the Central and the West parts of the State. But we definitely ride up what we ride down so it isn’t chair lift riding. Sometimes you just break a wheel. That happened to me with my last set. I don’t think it was the wheel as much as careless (tired) riding, but they also were a solid three years old. That being said I just didn’t want to drop $800 and then worry that I was going to have to replace a hoop in the next few months. I guess I am buying piece of mind with the weight. Or at least that is what I am telling myself! It is rooty and rocky here in VA. More so than WA. AZ. or MT. which were the last three states I lived in.
Summary. I probably went a bit too heavy on the build. But they rode well and I didn’t notice any appreciable riding difference from my old Mavics. The scale SAYS they are lighter but I didn’t notice it. I have heard the HOPE hubs will take a few rides to "break in" and loosen up. I didn’t notice any drag riding them. If they get any better that is icing on the cake. The Stans are Tubeless compatible out of the box so it was a snap mounting the rubber. I run a fat tire up front and a 2.1 on the rear and both mounted without a hassle. Transferring the hardware between old and new wheel sets was a cinch.
I’ll try to remember to post another update toward the end of the season.