Hope Tech Enduro 35W Rear Wheel: Rider Review

One of the most important upgrades for any given bike is having a reliable set of wheels. If you have a great wheel that you actually never think about, that's not a bad thing. Our friend Daniel Therrien shares his experience with his Hope Tech Enduro 35W rear wheel. Check it out below! 

Overview

I bought the Hope Tech Enduro 35W rear wheel as a replacement for my Specialized Fuse 6fattie. I ride in very bumpy root filled terrain in New England and I very quickly destroyed the rear hub/freehub on the Fuse. Rather than replace the hub and have to re-lace the wheel, I opted to get the Hope rear wheel.

I bought this based on Hope's reputation for making bulletproof hubs. After riding on this new wheel for over a month I can honestly say I am impressed! I have bashed this thing off of every root, rock, and drop at my local trail and it's barely even flinched.

Not a single creak or any sort of trouble whatsoever. The hub is as solid and the day I installed it while the engagement on the freehub is much quicker than what came stock. My previous freehub was toast after 2 or 3 rides, growling, and groaning with every pedal stroke. This one is smooth as butter.

Another reason I chose this wheel is I needed a wide rim with the Fuse being a Plus bike. The 35mm wide Hope fit the bill perfectly to maintain the right profile with my 2.8" tires. I run my tires tubeless so I had the rim taped and tire mounted in less than 20 minutes. Everything sealed up very nicely, I have yet to have any problems with leaks or the tire burping. The wheel is listed as a 12x148 Boost spacing but was very easily converted to fit my sort of odd 10x141 QR Boost rear spacing. All I had to do was purchase a set of Hope QR adapters (also from Worldwide Cyclery) and snapped them on the hubs and I was good to go in 30 seconds. The Hope hubs also live up to their billing as being rather loud, which I happen to like. The sound is pronounced but also is very solid while giving the hub a more "quality" feel in my opinion. It also comes in handy alerting other riders and hikers to my presence on trails.

Final Thoughts

Bottom line is I would HIGHLY recommend the Hope Tech Enduro rear wheel! If Specialized were smart they would start specing their bikes with them from the factory!