• 24seven Supercross wheels
• £149.99 (£159.99 w/20mm front; £169.99 w/20mm front & 12mm rear)
• 24seven

24seven’s Supercross wheels are an off-the-peg freeridey package aimed at anyone putting together a burly bike for larking about on jumps and drops. At their heart are rather smart gold-anodised cartridge-bearing hubs. Sealed cartridge bearings are tucked away behind useful dust caps. The wide rims can be used with V-brakes if you’re so inclined, or bolt on standard six-bolt rotors. The two bits are joined by anonymous plain-gauge black spokes. It would have been nice to see double-butted spokes – the typical buyer won’t be too bothered about weight, but butted spokes make for a more resilient wheel too. The actual build is fine – tight and evenly tensioned.

One of the main selling points of the Supercross wheels is the huge range of options that are available. We tested the 26in, 9spd, QR front and rear version, but if you want 24in, 20mm through-axle fronts, 12mm rears, singlespeed, or pretty much any combination thereof, 24seven has a wheel for you.

There’s no getting away from the fact that if all you want is a beefy pair of 26in QR wheels, there’s better value to be had. You could get yourself Shimano XT hubs, meaty Mavic rims and better-quality DT double-butted spokes put together for considerably less money. Obviously you won’t get gold hubs or easily-replaceable cartridge bearings, and you might feel that that whole Shimano/Mavic/DT thing is, well, a bit corporate and mainstream, but it comes down to what you value, really.

Of course, the 24seven offering has the advantage of being immediately available and soundly put together. It’s a more compelling buy if you need something a little out of the ordinary – as soon as you want through-axles, oversized rears or singlespeed-specific hubs, the range of inexpensive alternatives becomes rather more limited.

Positives: Looks, easy maintenance, lots of options, solid build, plenty of options

Negatives: Not the best VFM, plain-gauge spokes.

Verdict: If we were spending our money and we wanted normal 26in QR wheels we’d buy some boring Shimano and Mavic bits and build them up into something just as strong as these but cheaper. But if we were more label-concious, ball-bearing averse or wanted 24in wheels or funny-sized axles, the Supercross would warrant a serious look.

Performance: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4/5