DT Swiss 1200 Series Wheel Lineup w/ XRC 1200 Review

Is This The Best Lightweight MTB Wheel Lineup On the Market?

Intro:

DT Swiss, a brand known for their incredible reliability and quality wheels in the cycling world have unveiled an updated premium lightweight carbon wheelset lineup, the 1200 series. They have 4 different models to choose between, from an ultralight, nimble xc race setup to a durable and supportive e-bike ready carbon set. The different versions are tweaked slightly with spoke counts, spoke material, hub styles, and lacing patterns to give different riding characteristics for the demands that each set caters towards. These are only available in boost spacing. 

DT Swiss uses a unique and new to industry mold for the 30mm carbon rims that uses a singular mold to construct the rim from the outside in. This maximizes the carbon layer compression, minimizing air pockets and creating a more uniform, consistent and solid material. This technology also allows the rim to be ready out of the mold, eliminating the need for a final coat, keeping the rim as light as possible. Relative to the expected use case for each rim, a different amount of final carbon layers are also increased or decreased for an even more tuned wheel. Quality control is an essential part of DT Swiss’ ethos. Every wheel they produce is hand built by an actual human to ensure QC and they are now using a technology that enables them to scan each rim layer to ensure that every rim has no imperfections. 

Each wheel comes with DT 180 series, boost spacing hubs featuring fast ceramic bearings, with varying freehub drivers, spoke counts and brake mounts for different series wheels. Apart from the HXC model, the 1200 series wheels come with DT’s new Revolite spokes which are a blend between a round and bladed spoke, taking the strengths and weight saving ability from each style of spoke. The HXC comes with e-bike ready DT complite hybrid spokes for better durability. Coming in at $2,911 per wheelset across the board, these are not cheap but they are the most premium offering that DT Swiss has in their lineup.

The Lineup:

XRC 1200 Spline - XC Race 

XMC 1200 Spline- Trail 

EXC 1200 Classic - Aggressive Trail / Enduro

HXC 1200 Spline - E-MTB 

XRC 1200:

The XRC is an all performance and lightest wheel that DT has made for the demands of XC racing. The wheelset uses 24 hole rims laced with Revolite straightpull spokes to a 180 hub with a 54t ratchet EXP freehub.  At 1300 grams this is one of the lightest wheelsets on the market.

Specs: 

• 29” diameter only
• 30mm internal width 
• 24h F + R
• 180 Straightpull hub 54t Ratchet EXP
• Centerlock brake interface 
• DT Revolite spokes
• Weight: 1303g 

XMC 1200:

The XMC is still an xc style wheelset but can be suited for the demands of trail riding. It comes with a few more options for setup. At 1500g it is still incredibly light but offers a sturdier ride with more spoke holes, 3 cross rear wheel lacing and the option for the 90t DEG or 54T Ratchet EXP freehub 

Specs: 

• 29” or 27.5” diameters 
• 30mm internal width 
• 28h F + Rear 3 cross lacing pattern 
• 180 Straightpull hub 54T Ratchet EXP or 90T DEG 
• Centerlock or IS 6-bolt brake interface 
• DT Revolite spokes 
• Weight: 1495g 

EXC 1200:

EXC is ready for trail abuse and enduro race conditions. The classic series 180 hub uses J bend spokes and is tuned with a 28h front wheel for compliance and 32h 3 cross rear wheel for strength. They still use the new Revolite spokes to keep weight down and the hub also features the new DEG hub for faster engagement.

Specs:

• 29” or 27.5” diameters
• 30mm internal width 
• 28 F and 32 R 3 cross lacing pattern 
• 180 classic hub 90T DEG 
• Centerlock or IS 6-bolt brake interface 
• DT J Bend Revolite spokes 
• Weight 1756g 

HXC 1200:

HXC was designed specifically around the demands of E bikes! Still using a 180 hub but with a 42T E-bike specific Ratchet EXP OS freehub. This freehub will also take a HG driver body to accommodate for different drivetrain setups. It is laced with DT complite hybrid spokes to increase durability and stiffness.

Specs:

• 29” or 27.5” diameters
• 30mm internal width 
• 28 F and 32 R 3 cross lacing pattern 
• 180 straightpull hub with 42T Ratchet EXP Oversized system 
• Centerlock or IS 6-bolt brake interface 
• DT complite hybrid spokes 
• Weight: 1908g

Liam’s Ride Impressions of XRC 1200’s:

I was lucky enough to get these wheel pretty early on, they came stock on the Yeti ASR I tested before it was released back in March, and then I've had them on ever since with my personal Yeti ASR Ultimate. Over the past two years I've ridden many of the top wheelsets in this category including the Roval Control SL, Berd Hawk27 & Hawk30 and more recently released Zipp 1Zero HiTop SW. So my feel for a wheelset in the 1250-1400g range is pretty good while also ranging from possibly some of the stiffest wheels in the category as well as the most compliant. 

With the first rides, I knew this wheelset was going to be a solid one, having all the right things I look for in a wheelset, fast hubs, wide 30mm rims, and some built in compliance while still remaining stiff enough for some hard efforts. And of course, light, coming in at 1302g it's the second lightest wheelset of all the 4 I've ridden lately. I rode the wheels hard, with plenty of impacts and pushing hard into corners. I wanted to do some back to back comparisons, so having access to Berd Hawk30 and Zipp 1Zero HiTop SW’s I was able to ride same trails on same tires. I came away from that feeling like the XRC 1200’s are just about in the middle of the range when it comes to ride quality and feel. The Berd wheels are the most compliant out of them all, while not having the Rovals here for back to back, I have a good feel for them and they are the most stiff. I would say the 1Zero HiTops and XRC 1200’s are very very similar in ride feel. I think the DT Swiss might be just a little more compliant and smooth. I get the occasional ping when side-loading the Zipp’s and I never found that wind up and ping on the Dt Swiss. When it comes down to hubs, I think the DT Swiss are a clear winner, while the Roval Control SL use DT Swiss internals and ceramic bearings just like the 1200’s, I felt like the Control SL bearings wore out much faster. Either the seals on the hub/end caps are not as good or possible a smaller size. I haven't fully compared to two so that is just my feeling, so far with 5 months on the DT Swiss 1200’s I haven't had to tension them at all, and the bearings roll smooth as day 1. Only a small ratchet kit re-grease around the 4ish month mark, which takes 5 minutes and no tools. 

I was stoked to get on these early, I am a big fan of running DT Swiss hubs on pretty much all my bikes as well as rims when they fit my needs (mostly alloy trail and enduro rims). After test riding these I am confident they are some of, if not the best XC wheels on the market. Strong, good trail feel, extremely fast hubs, easy to find spokes, and is insanely lightweight. These wheels will be staying on my bike for the Downieville Classic in just a few weeks, which demands some serious balance of strength, ride feel, and speed, so you want to make sure you are confident in your wheel choice.

What's Worldwide's Takeaway?

DT Swiss makes arguably the best hubs, rims and spokes in the mountain bike industry. Combining these together with hand built wheels creates a system wheel that shines through in their durability and quality. The 1200 series wheelsets are DT’s cream of the crop. No holding back, making the best wheelset possible for the demands that each genre of mountain biking has. From XRC being one of the lightest on the market, using every technology they have to create the ultimate wheelset, to EXC that is tuned for the demands enduro track and HXC that can handle the stresses of an e-bike. They have created a high end lineup that will excel in all aspects of mountain biking.