Mercury Wheels X1 Carbon Enduro Wheelset 27.5in

With Mercury Wheels located just a short commute away from our office in Northern Utah, we've had a chance to put the X1 Carbon Enduro 27. 5in Wheelset through some serious trail time. The rims are stiff and responsive on climbs, and these wheels really shine with knifelike precision when the terrain gets loose and technical. The rims are built with a hookless bead, which contrary to what common sense might suggest makes the rim to tire bead connection more reliable. Burping and tire blow offs are actually more common with hooked rims, and hookless models also demonstrate improved tire retention out on the trail. By eliminating the ridge of material constituting the hook, hookless beads also enjoy increased structural integrity, which is a definite plus when you consider that the X1 Carbon is built to handle the big hits of enduro and all mountain riding. We've found that mounting some tire brands can be a little tricky, but once they're on, the bead holds a tubeless setup steady. In addition to that hookless bead, Mercury employs a hefty 26mm internal rim width, designed to support the wider tires preferred by today's enduro shredders. This wider rim lets the tire take on a straighter shape than the light bulb associated with narrower rims, which in turn provides increased stability and more rubber on the ground at any given time. On the trail, this means better cornering and increased grip with the added bonus of fewer pinch flats. Finally, those stiff carbon rims are laced to Mercury's own hubs by 28 spokes. It bears mentioning that the spokes are laced in a two cross pattern, which further increases stiffness for sharper mashing and tracking. The rims are carbon, though, so stiffness is already guaranteed, which is one reason why we aren't sorry to trade the additional and unnecessary stiffness of a 32 spoke build for the lower weight of 28 spokes. The other reason is that fewer spoke holes mean less drilling and, ultimately, a more structurally sound ri...