Fifty Plus (50+) - Wheelset Advice Needed

I've decided to build up a road bike just to get the experience and give it to my son for Christmas. I got a Giant OCR1 frame, with fork and seatpost from ebay and intend to used a mix of Ultegra and 105 components. I've got a few instructional books and dvd's and hope it will be a rewarding and educational experience as I have never done anything quite like this before. I'm having some probelms deciding on a wheelset. The OCR1 at an LBS comes with Xero XR-3 wheels but upon checking on Bikeforums posts, some heavier riders have had trouble with spokes breaking and hairline cracks on these wheels. My son's weight fluxuates between 180 and 200 and he is average height and heavyset although not overweight. I have also looked at Neuvation M28, Reynolds Alta Comp, Mavic Open Road and a few others. It seems that there has been both good and bad reviews of everything that I've looked at. My wheelset budget is about $150-225. I'm also looking at the FSA Gossamer Crankset that come standard on this frame. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ned

I ride the Neuvations wheels. My weight is 230 pounds (on a good day). The wheels stay in good shape fairly well for the price. I did break the hub on the back wheel, which was quickly replaced by Neuvation. I have read that is a problem that has been solved.

The gold standard for training wheelsets has usually settled on 32 spoke Shimano hubs (probably ultegra or 105 standard) with Mavic Open Pro rims. You can buy wheels of this caliber on line for about $200. At this level, most will be machine built but a good retensioning and trueing will give you a wheelset that will support that weight rider for a long long time and provide an excellent level of service also.


edit: you can substitute a Mavic CXP 22 or 33 rim for the open pro's for a bit more strength and aero at the expense of weight.

Mavic Open Pro's are generally considered rock solid-could build it up with an Ultegra hub.

Reality check. The Neuvations retail for $350, slightly above the $200 that RTB set. Unfortunately, I can't think of any wheelsets I'd recommend for $200. At that price point, I figure you'll get cheap parts and a crappy machine-built wheel. For $300-400, options open up more, with Neuvations, Velocitys, and some Shimanos, among others. RTB could get some custom wheels built at a shop, but should expect to budget about a hundred bucks for labor.

I ride Neuvation M28 areo 2's. I have over 1400 miles on them and at 192lbs they are fantastic.
Ride Mavic aksium's on my other road bike and they too are bomb-proof, yet little heavy.

I bought a pair of Open Pros (Ultegra) on sale at Performance for less than $200 a year ago and keep meaning to have them retensioned/trued...........in the meantime they have ridden well, held their true, and kept me happy. Considering what some people pay for wheels, how "hard" some wheels can feel, how some cheaper rims can irritate with welding seams brushing brake pads, etc...............OP's are good deal.

Reality check. The Neuvations retail for $350, slightly above the $200 that RTB set.

Check the price today at neuvationcycling.com (http://www.neuvationcycling.com/wheel/m28/m28.html).

get the Open Pro's from Performance, then promptly take them to another (non mega chain) shop and have them double check the tension. You should end up with something pretty rock solid....

Find a wheel builder and get a pair of Hand built wheels made. Not as expensive as you think and I got 105 hubs- 36 spoke and Mavic CXP33 rims hand built into a set of wheels that are superb. I am only a lightweight- but my builder has this spec out with a couple of Clydesdales and they are not a problem. You can even come down on the rim spec aswell= or even the hub- but from my wheel builder- 32 spoke rims have a Fault for Heavyweights in the spokeing. That is why he uses 36 spokes and what weight is 4 Spokes and nipple?


Can't give you a comparitive price but I paid £120 for mine- Your costs in US are less than us but I reckon for $250 you should be able to get a set of wheels that are strong- will last a lifetime and are far better than any off the shelf named Wheels at double the price. All you have to do is find the wheel builder.

Since you are not adverse to scambay: find a set of Campy Vento's with a Shimano hub. Bombproof and look sharp. $200 is the right price for this wheelset.

I strongly advocate conventional 3X 32- or 36-spoke wheels, particularly for your application. It is hard to go wrong with DT spokes and Mavic rims.

Thanks for all the responses guys. You've been very helpful. I'm sure that I'll be asking for more help shortly.

I don't think that I'll take the advice about the headset though. I wonder how that guy knew about my problem!!

Ned

Mavic Open Pro's are generally considered rock solid-could build it up with an Ultegra hub.

Ditto. Been riding them for years at between 210 and 240 lbs without incident.

You can buy a set of new Mavic Ksyrium Equipes on ebay for about $200. These are great wheels, been using them for 2 years and they haven't needed a single touch - still true as new.

Also consider the Mavic Aksium. Excellent performing wheels for around the OP's budget.

By the way to OP: I believe in the term OCR1, the "1" refers to the component package on the OCR frame. I believe the frame used for the OCR 1, 2 and 3 is the same. Your bike, as you build it, will be much superior to an OCR1 (which is a sora-level bike if I'm not mistaken).

Have fun!

But if you are not careful, it could cost more than a new bike with similar components.

The gold standard for training wheelsets has usually settled on 32 spoke Shimano hubs (probably ultegra or 105 standard) with Mavic Open Pro rims. You can buy wheels of this caliber on line for about $200. At this level, most will be machine built but a good retensioning and trueing will give you a wheelset that will support that weight rider for a long long time and provide an excellent level of service also.


edit: you can substitute a Mavic CXP 22 or 33 rim for the open pro's for a bit more strength and aero at the expense of weight.

I replaced the stock 16 spoke wheels on my R800 with Mavic Open pro, Ultegra hubs, and DT18 32 laced 3x. Colorado Cyclist had a good deal on these, and that have ridden true for over a year now.

Also consider the Mavic Aksium. Excellent performing wheels for around the OP's budget.

By the way to OP: I believe in the term OCR1, the "1" refers to the component package on the OCR frame. I believe the frame used for the OCR 1, 2 and 3 is the same. Your bike, as you build it, will be much superior to an OCR1 (which is a sora-level bike if I'm not mistaken).

Have fun!

The OCR-1 has 105 Shifters and derailleurs and an FSA Gossamer Crankset.

Ned

But if you are not careful, it could cost more than a new bike with similar components.

You many be right, but, hopefully, I will end up with a better bike and a great learning experience. BTW, congrats on the Vandy win!

Ned

I've got 2k miles on a set of Neuvation SL2s, trued them at 200 miles and haven't touched them since, and I'm 190. The M28s are supposed to be stronger. John's customer service is first rate, too.

But if you are not careful, it could cost more than a new bike with similar components.

It almost always costs more to build a bike than to buy one already built.

+1 on the Ultegra hubs/Mavic Open Pro rims. ... $200 at Performance Bike

I've put a couple of thousand miles on mine...haven't had a bit of problem.

It almost always costs more to build a bike than to buy one already built.

The way I built up my Custom frame a few years ago was to replace the parts on the Kona before they were completely worn out. I then had most of the components to build a bike so took all the parts off the Kona to put on the new frame- The Kona was rebuilt with the still servicable old parts and not a great deal had to be bought to get two bikes running.

I had the Xero 3's on my Giant - they were heavy, and flexy. I had custom wheels built and never looked back, but they were more than your stated budget.

However, you might want to check with Tom at http://www.gvhbikes.com/. He has a few rockin' wheel sets in you price range, and might be able to build a good custom set inexpensively if you spec the right components.

With a 20% coupon these Cane Creek wheels ship for $171. I now have two sets. They run strong, silent, and smooth. They weigh in at about 1800 grams - not light but not heavy.
I weigh about 205 lbs now and my commuter runs about 30 lbs loaded. The tags on my wheels indicate they are hand-made in NC USA.
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,75200_Cane-Creek-Strados-Road-Wheels-Set-of-2.html

Regarding the FSA Gossamer part of your question: I'm about 250 and have about 1800 on the Coda Elite that is equipped with the FSA Gossamer crankset in a a Mega EXO Bottom Bracket. Trouble free and I like it. Never even think about either one. Which is good, I guess.

If you are going to build up a bike buy the parts and build a set of wheels as well...Sheldon Brown has a great tutorial on wheel building. A conventional 3 cross lacing pattern 32 or 26 hole on 105 hubs will give you a great wheel. I just replaced a friend's spokes and Open Pro rims with CPX 33 rims on a 105 hub setup. He got more than 25K miles on the original wheels and the sidewalls were getting a little thin.
Wheel building is a great exercise. If you are worried you can take the wheels for final adjusting to a LBS with a good wheel builder and pay them to check and critique your build...very rewarding.

I have a Giant OCR 3 that is modified to 9 speed, FSA cranks and I run the Shimano WH-R550 bladed wheelset. I have done double Centurys, 6 day tours, even road raced on them. I have hit shallow pot holes and the rims have held up very well. I purchased the wheels on ebay for about $150. These wheels have a little over three thousand miles on them. I weigh 230 on a light day.

Last week I purchased a set of Ultegra 6600 wheels. They look exactly like the R550's except the finish is much nicer, brighter. The wheels set me back about $250 with shipping. Look on ebay and select a seller that has great feedback rating near 100%. You'll enjoy traveling many trouble free miles and you can do just about anything you want on these wheels. Wardie