Easton EA70 XCT Wheelset - Unboxed and Fitted

Having ordered the EA70 XCT wheelset the UPS man rang the doorbell a few days later, leaving behind a rather large cardboard box.

The eagerly awaited wheelset looked great they arrived tensioned nicely and completely true.  The rear was set up out of the box for 10x135mm however it included the end caps to convert to 12x142mm if required.  The front was set for 15mm through axle.  The hubs run incredibly smooth and in fitting with the stealth look the rear runs quietly when coasting.

The front wheel weighed 800g out of the box

Pleasingly the combined weight was exactly as claimed with the wheelset weighing in at 1750g.

Rear weighing in at 950g for a combined weight of 1750g

The wheels look great, the rim is on the thinner side however they come tubeless ready without the need for any rim tape.  The only downside is that if you want to run the rims with sealant as I will due to some of my tires being non UST, the supplied valve does not come with a removable core to allow the sealant to be topped up.  This is easy to overcome though as you can pop the sealant into the tire before you mount the final bead section.  I opted to replace the valves with some Stans valves I had lying around.

Tubeless set up was straight forward with no major hiccups, I use a floor pump so always throw a tube in first to mount one side of the bead correctly.  For the winter season I have chosen Maxxis Ardent front and rear with the front being 2.4 and the rear 2.25.  I will likely go with something a little faster rolling for the summer, possibly putting an Ikon or Crossmark on the rear.

Outside of a quick spin around the neighborhood I've not had chance to put the wheels through a true test but so far so good!

Here's a quick before and after:

Lurcher with Sun Ringle Charger Comps

Lurcher with Easton EA70 XCT

I love the way they have transformed the look of the bike!  I'll update back after they have been put to use and completed some solid miles.

What's happening to the charger comp's I hear you say?  They are earmarked for my commuting, back up and all round bike...watch this space.

Motobecane Fantom 29er in need of some new wheels