HOPE FORTUS 30 W 27.5" PRO 5 E-Bike Rear Wheel 12x148 mm Black

An electric mountain bike weighs 8 to 12 kg more and delivers much higher torque when accelerating, so the rear wheel is subjected to greater loads under both drive and braking. The E-Bike version of the Fortus is laced and tensioned specifically for this use, with a hub prepared for these stresses.

You can fit it to a non-electric mountain bike — it will simply be a little heavier than necessary. The reverse, however, is not recommended: a standard wheel on an e-bike loses spoke tension more quickly.

The choice depends on your cassette. The aluminium Shimano HG body fits Shimano 8- to 11-speed cassettes and HG-compatible SRAM cassettes. The steel Shimano HG body uses the same interface but does not get notched by cassettes with separate sprockets. Microspline is required for Shimano 12-speed cassettes. SRAM XD is required for SRAM Eagle 11- and 12-speed cassettes.

A Pro 5 hub’s freehub body can be removed and replaced later, but it is simpler to order the right standard from the outset.

Your frame’s rear hub spacing determines the choice, and you cannot adapt one standard to another. 135/142 mm is found on pre-Boost mountain bikes. 148 mm Boost is the dominant standard on recent trail and enduro bikes. 157 mm Super Boost is found on some enduro bikes and e-bikes with wide swingarms. 150 mm is the traditional downhill spacing.

Measure the distance between the rear dropouts or check your frame’s specifications. Get this wrong and the wheel will not fit.

Hope gives an optimal tyre width range for each rim: 2.0 to 2.35 inches for the Fortus 23, 2.25 to 2.5 for the Fortus 26, 2.4 to 2.8 for the Fortus 30 and 30 SC, and 2.5 to 3.0 for the Fortus 35.

You can go outside this range, but it distorts the tyre’s profile: a tyre that is too narrow for a wide rim leaves its sidewalls exposed to cuts; one that is too wide for a narrow rim can squirm under cornering loads. The Fortus rim profile is optimised for the stated range.

The number is the rim’s internal width in millimetres, which determines the optimal tyre width. Fortus 23 is for XC and fast trail riding with 2.0 to 2.35-inch tyres. Fortus 26 is for trail and enduro with 2.25 to 2.5-inch tyres. Fortus 30 is for enduro, DH and e-bikes with 2.4 to 2.8-inch tyres and has a stronger triple-cavity construction. Fortus 35 is for high-volume tyres from 2.5 to 3.0 inches.

The Fortus 30 SC (single cavity) is the lighter version of the Fortus 30: it suits the same tyre widths but has a 20 mm profile instead of 23 mm, and is aimed at trail and enduro rather than downhill riding.

This is how the brake disc attaches to the hub, and it must match the discs you intend to fit. A 6-bolt disc attaches with six Torx bolts; Centerlock tightens with a cassette lockring tool, making it quicker to fit and slightly lighter. Fortus wheels come in both versions, selectable from the variants.

If in doubt, check your brake discs: six bolts around the hub mean 6-bolt; a central lockring means Centerlock. An adapter is available to fit a 6-bolt disc to a Centerlock hub, but not the other way round.

Yes. Each Fortus wheel comes with tubeless rim tape in the correct width, a valve and a preparation wipe. All that remains is to fit the tyre and add sealant, which is not included.

Allow 80 to 120 ml of sealant depending on tyre width, and use a high-volume inflator to seat the beads during initial fitting.

Hope recommends a maximum of 55 PSI, or 4.1 bar, across the Fortus range. This is well above normal mountain bike riding pressures: with a 2.4-inch tyre, you would generally ride at between 1.4 and 2 bar, depending on rider weight and terrain.

This limit matters during tubeless setup, when you may use higher pressure to seat the beads: stay below 4.1 bar.

The Pro 5 succeeded the Pro 4 in Hope’s range. It has a 54-tooth freehub with six offset pawls, giving 108 engagement points and 3.33° between engagements, compared with 44 engagement points on the Pro 4. In practice, pedalling picks up much more quickly, which you can feel when accelerating on trails or putting the power down after a technical section.

This item is sold individually. To make a pair, match it with the corresponding wheel in the same rim width, diameter and hub colour, selecting the hub spacing and disc mount that suit your bike.

Selling wheels separately means you can replace only the damaged wheel, which is more often the rear, and mix front and rear rim widths if you wish.