General Cycling Discussion - Advice on wheelset - heavy rider

Hello there. Looking for a little advice on a wheelset upgrade. I'm still something of a newbie riding an '01
Trek 1000 with the stock set-up: no-name hubs and Vuelta Airline 2 rims (32 hole, blue).

I'm looking at the redesigned Mavic Cosmos and the Ksyrium Equipe. Through my wife's work I can get a discount on Mavic stuff. I'm wondering, however, if I should consider using the discount to order some Open Pro's or CXP33's instead and have my LBS lace them to some 105 hubs or something similiar. The issue is that I'm a pretty big dude (225-235lbs) and I've heard that the fancier wheelsets with reduced spoke count can be a bad choice for riders 200+. The Cosmos are 24 (straight) and 28 (triple crossed) the Equipes are 20 and 24 (double crossed). I'd order the rims/hubs in 32 hole. What do you think? I know what I'd pay for the sets, or the rims and hubs...but what do spokes and labor typically cost on a wheel build?

Thanks

P.S. What should 'go' next: the no-name cranks or Sora derailers?

Are you having problems with these components or did you just sponataneously decided you'd like to burn money for no reason?

Fancy wheels with less spoke count is just all marketing hype and no use, there is hardly a reason for them unelss you are racing. Yeah they "look cool".

Well, one reason I'm willing to spend money now is because my wife works for Adidas who just sold off Salomon and Mavic. So I have about one more month to order Mavic stuff at 50% off and then that gig is over. I'm thinking that an investment in quality wheels now will more then pay off in the long term, and (with the discount) I can probably afford something that is more than worth the money. Maybe even a set that is worthy of my next bike.

In general, I'm not all that willing to spend money on parts that aren't broken. For example, the Sora shifters, Sora front derailer, and Cro-Mo fork are fine with me. If I'm still hooked on riding several years down the road I'll just buy a newer bike with 105 (or better), a carbon fork, and all that jazz. For now, it's all about the wheelset. It seems that almost every review I've read says that the stock wheelset I have is especially bad and that I'd get much better performance with a lighter set that has better hubs and higher quality braking surfaces.

But should a guy that is 225+ buy a reduced spoke set or order the rims cheap and have a 32 spoke set built? I'm leaning toward the Cosmos because they are still 3x crossed in the rear, only a few spokes less, and will likey cost less than a build. But then again, I can get into the Equipes for about $30 more and with the rims at 50% off (and given my size) maybe a build is the way to go?

I just recently went thru all of this and am now happy with my new wheels. I'm over 300lbs and went thru a few set of wheels before my LBS finally hooked me up, damn it feels good to be bike commuting again.
I have 700c Velocity Dyad wheels with shimano XT 36H hubs and DT swiss tripple spokes, so far so good on this setup and I put 25 miles a day on them with my commute.

I just recently went thru all of this and am now happy with my new wheels. I'm over 300lbs and went thru a few set of wheels before my LBS finally hooked me up, damn it feels good to be bike commuting again.
I have 700c Velocity Dyad wheels with shimano XT 36H hubs and DT swiss tripple spokes, so far so good on this setup and I put 25 miles a day on them with my commute.
i'l keep that setup in mind, so what frame are you running MTB hubs on with 700c wheels?

For now, it's all about the wheelset. It seems that almost every review I've read says that the stock wheelset I have is especially bad and that I'd get much better performance with a lighter set that has better hubs and higher quality braking surfaces.

You're being led by people telling you what you should think.

You're being led by people telling you what you should think.
I'd agree, I don't think a 3000 dollar wheelset is going to make you THAT much faster than a 300 dollar wheelset, and they sure as heck aren't going to be more durable...at some point you actually start paying for the weight reduction in a part...at some point some durability also goes away.

If I'm still hooked on riding several years down the road I'll just buy a newer bike with 105 (or better), a carbon fork, and all that jazz. For now, it's all about the wheelset. It seems that almost every review I've read says that the stock wheelset I have is especially bad and that I'd get much better performance with a lighter set that has better hubs and higher quality braking surfaces.

Bicycling magazine strikes again.

Ok, people believing the bicycle marketing BS is my pet peeve. If you're going to believe this type of thing, you should probably go all out and get powerwheels:
<http://sheldonbrown.com/power_wheel.html>

Meanwhile, two things you can do to upgrade:

1) upgrade to Kool-Stop Salmon brake pads for better braking. $12.00 USD for a great upgrade. (SALMON colored, not red).

2) Upgrade your attitude. If you're having a good time on your bike and it's doing what a bike is supposed to do, then stop swallowing the bull. Over 99.9% of what the cycling marketing departments feed us is bull***t. Think about it: what exactly makes your current wheelset "especially bad" and how is that affecting your riding enjoyment?

Though it's hard to let a 50% off deal go, so you should probably grab something useful.

The disingenuousness of the marketing doesn't bother me as much as the fact that people believe this garbage.



Joe.

Edit: And stop reading Bicycling magazine. That's an upgrade by itself.

Right, but my wheels are the no-name set that come stock on a $600 road bike - not some mid-level, good-but-not-great pair. And I have one last chance to upgrade to a Mavic Cosmos set for less than $150 (50% off). You wouldn't consider it, operator? Joe? It's hardly a bank account breaker. Plus the 'people telling [me]...' are other riders and product reviewers who know a lot about bicycle performance. I've read a lot more than one magazine or review.

Right, but my wheels are the no-name set that come stock on a $600 road bike - not some mid-level, good-but-not-great pair. And I have one last chance to upgrade to a Mavic Cosmos set for less than $150 (50% off). You wouldn't consider it, operator? Joe? It's hardly a bank account breaker. Plus the 'people telling [me]...' are other riders and product reviewers who know a lot about bicycle performance. I've read a lot more than one magazine or review.

Given that you got your wheels with the Trek 1000, the components are of decent quality. Once you have parts of a certain integrity, build quality has as much to do with the wheels as the name brand. (I rode for years on single wall rims; as long as you keep them maintained, there's no real difference except for extremes; double walls will hold up better in conditions where the rim gets damaged, but that's the exception).

I would certainly get a good quality dual wall rim just because 50% off is quite a deal...

I understand what you say about the reviewers opinions -- they know what they are talking about but they can't always say it. The magazine editor has more to do with reviews than you'd think -- the GM/ LA times thing comes to mind. But really, the cycling arena has lots more snobbishness than it should, and this comes out in spades in "reviews," and some magazines are more full of it than others.

I need to stop here because I could write for days on this...

But the best thing you could do is stick with this forum for a while. These folks really have a great mix of common sense and reality. Most of the time I decide to answer an Original Post, the answer I had in mind is written before 5 posts down.


Joe.

Joe,

I'll keep the Kool-stop Salmon pads in mind, because I'm okay with the stock calipers - but don't feel like they're performing quite as well as they could.

BTW, I just re-read my posts and didn't mean to sound as terse, or even rude, as they might first appear -- sorry about that.

But the salmon pads will make a big difference, you should do that no matter what else you decide on.

Joe.

CXP33's instead and have my LBS lace them to some 105 hubs or something similiar.

The issue is that I'm a pretty big dude (225-235lbs)

I'm 210 and run cxp33 on dt swiss 240s 32 hole with stainless traight gauge spokes. These stand up fine to commuting on potholed london roads with 10 - 15lbs extra in my back pack.

No sweat, Joe. I understand what you are saying. I love to ride and I'm hardly embarrased that I've got a stock, entry-level bike. Who cares? It gets me around and I have a blast on it. My wife has had access to this deep Mavic discount for a few years, and I haven't really cared. I don't need $700 wheels or a $2000 bike to enjoy the sport. But I'm riding quite a bit more now and the door is closing on the discount next month.

i would avoid open pros, they are a nice rim but i dont think suitable for larger riders. See if you can find something with a high cross section - Velocity deep V works wonders. Then just get a nice hub with butted spokes in 32

i would avoid open pros, they are a nice rim but i dont think suitable for larger riders. See if you can find something with a high cross section - Velocity deep V works wonders. Then just get a nice hub with butted spokes in 32
Open Pros are some stout rims. They're tried and true, nothing wrong with usin' them

i'l keep that setup in mind, so what frame are you running MTB hubs on with 700c wheels?

Sorry it took me a while to reply to this.
I have a Trek 7100 hybrid