Hunt 4050 Carbon Aero Disc wheelset

Someone from Hunt usually appears at some point whenever that video is posted, to clarify that that's absolutely not what the company is (although it may not be now, it's hard to deny that's how it started!)

Hmmm.... They can whinge as much as they like, but satire is a powerful tool.  I doubt that there is anyone fully employed by Hunt threading spokes and weaving carbon - especially in the UK.   I'd be delighted if they could point to a set of wheels that were made here. 

The 'how to set up your own boutique cycling clothing brand' was excellent too... 

I'm really not bothered about where they're made it's about the performance and support if things do go wrong in my book (eg is every Audi made entirely in Germany with no parts from other factories around the world... I very much doubt it).

I've found the products to be strong, reliable and so far maintenance free.

Ha! Love the bit about adapting audio interconnect reviews 

Best guess from the Internet is Novatech usually make the hubs and kinlin the rims to Hunts design.  Novatech come into the cheap but decent category imo, ymmv.

Hunts customer service is meant to be good though so if you do get a duff set they will probably sort you out. Again havent used hunts customer support except for a couple of queries.   3 sets of hunts here though and happy.  Not a particularly high mileage rider though so again YMMV.

Heard good things about customer service too but I guess that's the reason for the price increase over just sourcing the (cheap) parts and getting them built by a LBS. Rims are likely farsports and hubs are bites. For comparison, I've built a set with a similar set of rims with cx ray and hope hubs for £750 recently. It can be done cheaper, and with better components. Hunt is a lot of marketing for some ok wheels.

Dogless wrote:

Heard good things about customer service too but I guess that's the reason for the price increase over just sourcing the (cheap) parts and getting them built by a LBS. Rims are likely farsports and hubs are bites.

No idea where Hunt get their carbon rims manufactured, but AFIK all their hubs are special order versions from Novatec. Certainly on many of their wheels they have centrelock versions of Novatec hubs that were/are only available retail with 6-bolt. Not so sure in this case but I would still suggest Novatec because of the freehub design. I would also not underestimate the added value of the custom aesthetic and branding, and most importantly the customer backup offered by Hunt over a set of self sourced components built up by an LBS. Yes the LBS will have your back from a build poerspective, but you're still relying on the component supplier for their warranty. Obviously everyone has a choice, but I think it is a price worth paying for most people.

Ah, sorry, I thought I'd seen they were bitex somewhere. Much of a muchness, they're all of a similar quality. I've built cyclo-cross wheels with novatec hubs and they've done fine, so there's nothing wrong with them.

It's always going to be a point on which people differ - I refuse to pay for the branding and aesthetic as I don't feel they add value. I learned how to build wheels, and I trust the places I get the parts from. I'd trust Hope to sort out an issue with a hub more than I would Hunt, and if they need anything doing to them I know how to do it myself. I appreciate not everyone has the time or motivation to build their own wheels, but for those people I would still suggest looking at smaller builders who do good work and charge less than Hunt. A lot of their money is being spent on advertising and sponsorship, and I personally don't feel comfortable paying a premium to grow their brand; that's just me though.

I realise they started off as a 'How to make your own fake wheel company' (YouTube it), and have come a long way, but they're still knocking out mass produced, middling quality wheels at a premium, even if it is cheaper than many of the larger companies sourcing their parts from the exact same places.

Each to their own, I just don't like paying someone to do something I can do myself. I realise that's not normal or 'better'!

I have some Hunt wheels which were fitted as standard on a new bike. I've never had an issue with them, and I quite like the branding. They were therefore one of the first places I looked when I needed new wheels on another bike recently. I also liked that they seem to use 'standard' rather than proprietary parts and are therefore repairable (as opposed to the Mavic Ksyriums I was retiring, which were uneconomic to repair). But when I started looking into it, I realised Hunt's pre-order lead times (possibly COVID-19 related, to be fair) were longer than getting a higher spec, better value pair of bespoke wheels built for me. I understand the appeal of off-the-shelf wheels (although in fact they weren't on the shelf), a recognisable brand and aftersales support, and they are cheaper than the big brands, but a small wheel builder could build the same parts up for less.        

Quite. Everyone has a local wheelbuilder who will build them exactly what they want for a fair price. There's some discount to be had by Hunt by ordering from factories in large quantities, but they're also not using premium parts. I'm sure the wheels are absolutely fine, as 99.9% of wheels from anywhere are. There's not really much that can go wrong if quality control at the factory end is good.

Dogless wrote:

... There's some discount to be had by Hunt by ordering from factories in large quantities.

I think ultimately that's what grated with me - by rights you might expect them to be cheaper than a local wheelbuilder using the same components because of economies of scale, but it's not the case. Cheaper than the big brands, yes, but still some of your money going into brand and marketing. I wouldn't totally rule them out in future, but if you've always assumed (like me) that a bespoke wheelbuilder is more expensive or only deals in high end products, ask for a quote - you might be pleasantly surprised.     

so, why bother reading a review of wheels on the first place? If you're not going to buy them, ever, why comment?

Found the Hunt owner 😬

Nope. Shimano.

if you've never owned a set of Hunt wheels or any other for that matter how can you compare 'potential' service levels with a brand of hub you have purchased? Silly statement. You make sweeping generalisations about 'middling quality' etc but have never owned a set. Perhaps companies like Hunt (JRA etc) are simply pointing out just how much other manufacturers put a premium price on their 'middling quality' gear that in reality is no better. Perhaps you buy Hope gear because of its marketing, no?

It certainly seems like a few of the bigger brands have realised they're going to need to be more competitive in the space - I wonder if the new Zipp 303s and Vision SC40 wheels are a direct response to the likes of Hunt / Scribe / JRA.

I know you weren't replying to me but, speaking as someone who does own some Hunt wheels (no issue with them) but just specced Hope hubs for a new wheelset, that decision wasn't based on Hope's own marketing, but on the views of people on forums like this, and wheelbuilders, that they're quality, durable products. Personally that's one of the reasons I value the comments here - isn't it helpful to have constructive alternative views so you can consider your options?      

Totally agree.

However, would your decision to purchase a product (or not) based on the opinions of those who have never actually owned that product?

I think Hunt use Hubsmith hub. Those are similar in Freehub body.