The New Reserve 30|XC SL Wheels are the Stiffest & Lightest the Brand Makes

Written by Travis Reill Apr 08, 2026 12:00 p.m. ET

Reserve's new 30 XC wheels are raced by the Cannondale XC race team

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Today, Reserve introduces two new wheelsets. Well, technically, one new wheel offering with two options: the 30|XC and 30|XC SL.

While Reserve gives a lot of credit to the 28|XC platform and draws much inspiration from it, they also recognize the need for change. Namely, XC riding and racing of yesterday doesn’t stand up to the technically demanding courses of today.

With this in mind, Reserve built a beefier wheel with the same intentions and DNA: Win at the World Cup level.

Reserve 30|XC Wheels

On this newest wheelset, Reserve bumps up the width to what seems to be the standard for mountain bikes: 30mm. This is also due, in part, to the wider tires that most XC racers are now choosing for added support and traction. A 30mm internal width pairs better with a wider tire.

Reserve also opts for 28 spokes on the new 30|XC wheel–up from 24 spokes on the 28|XC. While more spokes add weight, the new rim provides greater strength while saving weight, making the extra spokes a wash.

Those 28 spokes are laced to a DT Swiss 350 hub. DT offers these as high-engagement Deg 90 hubs along with the Degrees of Freedom ratchet installed. Reserve sets the ratchet position at 0°, but it can be swapped for riders wanting to reduce pedal kickback.

For even more weight savings, the 30|XC SL wheels use a special carbon layup. The layup uses a greater amount of high modulus fiber to create a rim that is as strong, but lighter, than the 28|XC. Vonoa carbon spokes are also used, which are 30% lighter than steel spokes. They are also significantly stiffer, delivering a responsive ride.

Reserve lightens the load with carbon spokes and DT Swiss 180 hub on the 30 XC SL wheels

The result is the stiffest and lightest mountain bike wheels Reserve makes, at 1,304g for the pair.

Reserve swaps out the heavier 350 hub for DT Swiss’s 180 hub. We’ve seen this on other superlight wheels wanting to keep weight down but performance high.