Hunt Proven Carbon Race XC wheels review

Hunt’s first attempt at a carbon wheelset left us rather underwhelmed, but its new Proven range aims to change that.

With completely new rim designs and the brand’s H_Care free lifetime crash-replacement warranty included in the reasonable £1,099 price and a weight of only 1,506g, they look a tempting proposition.

Split into the Carbon Race Enduro and Carbon Race XC (on test) models, the latter has proven (no pun intended) to be a tough, relatively lightweight wheelset that can handle a lot more than cross-country racing.

With a wonderfully smooth ride feel, fast freehub engagement and easy tubeless setup, they are a good choice for riders who want a lightweight, good-value carbon wheelset for their cross-country bike or lightweight trail bike.

They’re not perfect though. My first test set was compromised by spoke-creak issues that have led to a rolling change in the specification of the wheels.

If you suffer the same issue, Hunt says it will repair or replace the wheels as necessary, however. An updated set with round, rather than bladed spokes, has been faultlessly reliable.

They’re also a little heavier than claimed and, although fast enough, some may want even quicker freehub engagement.

Hunt Proven Carbon Race XC details and specifications

The basis of the Carbon Race XC wheelset is an all-new 29-inch only rim. Compared to the brand's alloy cross-country XC Wide wheels, which are 28mm (front) and 26mm (rear) wide, these new rims are broader at 30mm.

The brand says they’re optimised for 2.2in to 2.4in MTB tyres, although they will work with any width from 2in up to 2.6in.

The rims use a carbon construction, employing mainly unidirectional (UD) fibres, with 3k fibres in the spoke bed for reinforcement.

The UD fibres go in one direction, while the 3k fibres are a cross-weave to add more strength in multiple directions.

The brand says it has tuned the profiles of both front and rear rims to provide the desired ride characteristics and improve impact strength.

They use a hookless, tubeless-ready design for what the brand claims is “easy and secure tubeless installation”. Tubeless tape is installed out of the box and valves are included.

Laced to the rims via 28 triple-butted bladed spokes with alloy nipples at both ends are straight-pull forged and CNC’d 6061-T6 aluminium hubs.

Both use Center Lock disc mounts and are only available in 110x15mm and 148x12mm Boost spacing, although torque caps for the front hub can be optioned if required.

The usual choice of SRAM XD and Shimano HG or Microspline freehubs are available. The hub’s cartridge bearings feature dual full-contact seals, which are two levels of seal and should better keep out dust at the expense of increased drag and heat-resistant grease.

The six-pawl freehub bites onto the ratchet in a 3x2 pattern to offer 5 degrees of engagement.

Spare spokes for each of the four lengths used are included in the box and my test set weighed 1,506g for the pair, including tape and valves, versus a claimed 1,469g.

Hunt Proven Carbon Race XC performance

I’ve been testing the Carbon Race XCs for more than a year. Towards the end of testing, I switched to a newer, updated set equipped with straight-pull round triple-butted, rather than bladed, spokes.

Both were tested around the UK, hoovering up natural cross-country trails, North Wales trail centres and a good dose of wet and wintry conditions – along with the occasional dusty spell.

They were also subjected to a week of Alpine riding on Morzine’s trails, fitted to my Transition Spur downcountry bike.

Setup and tubeless inflation

Tubeless setup was incredibly easy. I mounted a pair of Maxxis Forekaster tyres without any tools, added sealant and got them to seal at the first time of asking, using a track pump.

They’ve continued to hold air very well, only needing the occasional top-up to my preferred tyre pressures of 20psi front and 24psi rear for my 80kg weight.

On-trail feel

The Carbon Race XC wheels impress right off the bat.

On the trail, they exhibit an incredibly smooth, yet precise feel, offering a good level of smoothness while remaining laterally stiff enough to be hoofed into corners and hold lines consistently when battering through rock gardens and off-camber sections.

While I have ridden stiffer or more comfortable mountain bike wheels, the Provens strike a very nice balance.

They also feel incredibly light and responsive, spinning up to speed quickly and making climbs less of a burden.

The 5-degree engagement of the freehub helps here too. It’s not the fastest, but I think once you get into single-digit degrees of engagement, the differences between more and less engagement are harder to notice, with less tangible benefit.

Some will insist on choosing something faster, but they’re plenty quick enough for me.

The rims and hubs themselves have also proved incredibly tough. I have battered both sets on bikes arguably at the longer-travel and burlier end of Hunt’s recommended 100-130mm range, including my 130mm-travel Transition Smuggler long-term test bike.

There are a few cosmetic scars to show for the abuse they've received, but there are no cracks and they're still running perfectly true, with no need to get the spoke keys out. I experienced no punctures throughout testing.

Creaking under the strain

They’re light (although not quite as light as claimed), tough, have a soothing ride feel and undercut their rivals on price. What’s the catch, I hear you ask.

Well, as mentioned, I’ve been testing two sets of these wheels.

The first came fitted with bladed Pillar spokes and, after a few months, exhibited a creak between the spoke and the straight-pull hub flanges.

I cured this temporarily with a drop of chain lube on each spoke where it enters the hub, but within a few rides, it would return with a vengeance.

I sent the wheel back to Hunt, and the brand replaced the spokes like for like, rebuilt the wheel and returned it to me – only for the problem to reoccur. I returned the rear wheel to Hunt for a second time.

This time, Hunt agreed to send an updated wheelset with non-bladed, but still straight-pull, spokes. So far, after several months and the aforementioned Alps trip, they've held up fine with not a sound from the spokes.

Hunt says this is a rolling change to the wheels going forward, so it shouldn’t be an issue if you purchase a pair.

If you bought an earlier pair of these wheels and experience the same creaking issues as I did, Hunt says it will either replace the spokes or the wheels on a case-by-case basis, covered by the warranty.

At the end of the day, though, I would still much prefer regular J-bend spokes and hubs, rather than straight-pull, as used on the Proven Carbon Race Enduro and aluminium XC Wide wheels, both of which I’ve used extensively with no such issues.

How do Hunt’s Proven Carbon Race XC wheels compare?

During my time on the Carbon Race XC wheels, I was also testing NOBL’s TR35 rims laced to Onyx Vesper hubs via Berd’s Polylight fabric spokes.

The weights are similar – 1,522g for the NOBL wheelset and 1,506g for the Proven. However, the ride qualities are distinctly different, as are the price tags – at £1,700 vs £1,099.

The NOBL wheels offered a more comfortable and compliant ride at the expense of precision due to the Berd spokes, while the Onyx hubs engaged faster. In terms of acceleration, there seemed to be little to separate them, though.

Like the Hunts, NOBL’s TR35 rims withstood the rigours of testing well and they come with a similar lifetime warranty.

The Onyx hubs were a weak point, however. Bearing life was incredibly poor, with both hubs needing full replacements after less than six months of use. I certainly expected better given their premium price.

While the Onyx freehub technically engages faster, the sprag clutches exhibit a degree of flex as they bite the freehub axle, so the cranks will still rotate a few degrees as they do so, effectively reducing the speed of engagement and leaving them feeling, for want of a better word, soft.

As a whole, they are an acquired taste. Some will love the silent freewheeling and effortlessly drag-free rolling. Others will loathe the maintenance needed to keep them going.

Overall, while I adored the compliant ride feel, that alone is not enough to recommend them over the far more rounded Carbon Race XCs.

Hunt Proven Carbon Race XC bottom line

The debate about whether you need carbon wheels will continue to rage on, but Hunt’s Proven Carbon Race XCs provide a very compelling argument that you do.

Whip them onto your XC, downcountry or lightweight trail bike and you’ll be rewarded with a tough, responsive yet comfortable wheelset at a reasonable price compared to the competition, even compared to some alloy options.

Yes, they are more than twice the price of Hunt’s own aluminium XC Wide wheels, but the peace of mind from the lifetime H_Care warranty and improved ride characteristics make them worth it in my opinion.

The spoke-creaking issues were only resolved with a completely new specification of spoke fitted, which is far from ideal.

However, the change has solved the issue and the updated set has been completely trouble-free. I received assurance from Hunt that anyone else who experiences issues will have the affected wheels repaired or replaced.

All in all, I was impressed by the Carbon Race XC wheels. They’re light, tough and offer a brilliant blend of comfortable compliance and accurate precision.

If you want a lightning-fast and sturdy wheelset, you could do a lot worse than Hunt’s Proven Carbon Race XC.