Pete has had these DT Swiss XM1501 wheels bolted to his Saracen Ariel all summer taking in the usual hammering as well as a trip to the Alps, and the Megavalanche.
Since April, these DT Swiss XM1501 Spline One wheels, to give them their full name, have been put through all manner of tests. As mentioned above, they’ve been steadily hammered over the course of the summer attached to our long term test Saracen Ariel, and even proved light enough to be the wheels of choice for a stage race.
Pete gives us the low-down on how the wheels faired over the last 6 months.
Vital stats.
- £819.98 RRP.
- Available in 26″, 27.5″ and 29″.
- Tubeless ready.
- 1590g a pair (27.5″/650b)
- www.dtswiss.com
What are the XM1501s for?
DT Swiss’ use-O-meter puts these wheels in the ‘XC all-round’ to ‘enduro’ part of the spectrum and that’s certainly what we’ve used them for with very little issue. The single piece, forged and CNC’d hub bodies are impressively light, and once laced to the welded, tubeless ready rims via their own Champion spokes and nipples, the end result is an impressively light, yet strong wheelset.
I had strong hopes for an £800+ wheelset and thankfully, all the ingredients added up to a package that has been faultless for the last 6 months, no matter how many times they were clattered down 3000ft+ mountains, or how many miles they put in during my stint in the desert in October. This is a classy wheelset that took everything I could throw at it.
So, did they perform?
Yes. Without issue from day 1.
The only time I wasn’t happy with they way they spun was at 11pm the night before day 1 of the Epic Israel. I was nervous and had overtightened the rear axle, binding the bearings a touch. That’s it.
While they were without fault on the Ariel, staying true, smooth, no loosened spokes and lighter than the stock wheels by some way, I was over the moon at the way they transformed my Saracen Mantra in the lead up to my first stage race. Tubeless from the start on both bikes, I never heard a whisper of a burp of air or any other complaint from them. The ratchet mechanism is quick and just loud enough to know it’s still working while coasting.
Verdict.
I used these wheels well within the useage parameters, with the odd foray beyond ‘enduro’ involving large mountain descents, but these wheels didn’t do anything I wouldn’t expect a high-quality DT Swiss wheel to do. I haven’t given them any maintenance, been shy with the pressure washer, or ridden all that carefully, but they still run straight and smooth. Plenty strong enough to deal with the fatigue-borne mistakes at the Megavalanche and light enough to take me around 180 miles of Israel’s loosest gravel tracks.
Cheap they are not, but DT Swiss have produced a remarkably simple, bulletproof set of wheels.
