"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Lightweight wheels for a clyde?

Hey all,

Yes another thread from me. I am in the process of working on a build you could say. I am waiting for a call from the LBS about getting the CAAD9 frame (depends what he can get I guess). Anyways I am a clyde and even though I will loose some weight and probably be down to 160-170 I am tough on wheels. I am looking for a wheelset that is cheap, lightweight, and can can handle a little punishment and it would be great if it could handle my current weight of 220#. There probably aren't any out there. But as some of you know I want to pick up a power tap so I am looking for a wheelset that I can install the PT on and use for both training and racing. Which is probably not possible but a man can hope can't he?

I am not looking to spend big bucks (like on a pair of zipps.)

Any input would be appreciated!

I'd think in a race situation, at 220ish lbs, you'd be better served by a tough wheelset that'll not flex under sprint loads and end up rubbing the brake pads or busting spokes.

There are plenty of nice mid-range aluminum wheels that can hold up to some abuse. Look at the Reynolds Solitude for one.

1550g, 31mm rim depth can be had for ~350 bucks.

thanks will have to look into them!

Mavic Ksyriums are always a good choice.

36h open pros double butted spokes

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36h open pros double butted spokes

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Laced 3x.

ohh yeah, i forgot the lacing, thanks

How much does a "lightweight" wheel weigh?

How much are you willing to spend?

thanks for the replies all, will look into them!

CXP33 rims are brutally tough. If I can't kill them, I don't think anyone can.
Deep V is similar.

This is more a question of budget and what sort of riding you do.

If budget is an issue, then the rims I mentioned can be had at a reasonable price.

There are a number of wheels that cost more and are lighter, but I can't really help you there.

Speaking of type of riding, the Ksyrium ES is light and on sale at lots of places like Nashbar. I have no idea if it will stand up to a Clyde, but I have seen them.
They are light, but nicely built and spin like a dream. I want them.

But... if you want to hang with experienced racers, they are not the most aerodynamic thing around, especially considering the price.

I still want them, the only time I get that fast is coming down off a mountain :)

Anyway, what's the budget?

I have the ES's and I'm 215.

One nice deal is a Campy version of the rear Ksyrium ES at $274:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=60001317&sku=21952&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Brand%3A%20Mavic%20Inc%2E

Change the freehub (about $50) and you have a Shimano version.

They also have the front ES (carbon hub) at $374

You can see both builds with them in my sig.


CXP33 rims are brutally tough. If I can't kill them, I don't think anyone can.
Deep V is similar.

This is more a question of budget and what sort of riding you do.

If budget is an issue, then the rims I mentioned can be had at a reasonable price.

There are a number of wheels that cost more and are lighter, but I can't really help you there. Speaking of type of riding, the Ksyrium ES is light and on sale at lots of places like Nashbar. I have no idea if it will stand up to a Clyde, but I have seen them.
They are light, but nicely built and spin like a dream. I want them.

But... if you want to hang with experienced racers, they are not the most aerodynamic thing around, especially considering the price.

I still want them, the only time I get that fast is coming down off a mountain :)

Anyway, what's the budget?

at 220#, with as you say 50 - 60 lbs to lose, you should make your wheelset choice dependent upon durability and serviceability, not weight. A lighter wheelset is not going to do much for you until you shed the lbs. from your carcass.

whomever said mavic open pros w/36hole and a power tap hub (if you're looking for the ptap), gets a big +1 from me.

fyi - I'm at around 148# right now and train on a mavic open pro 32h with a p-tap. durability and serviceability, most important factors in an everyday wheelset IMO.

thanks for the reply all. Yes I know that a lightweight wheel is going to be better once I loose the weight. I was just looking for some info on them!

Thanks again all!

at 220#, with as you say 50 - 60 lbs to lose, you should make your wheelset choice dependent upon durability and serviceability, not weight. A lighter wheelset is not going to do much for you until you shed the lbs. from your carcass.

whomever said mavic open pros w/36hole and a power tap hub (if you're looking for the ptap), gets a big +1 from me.

fyi - I'm at around 148# right now and train on a mavic open pro 32h with a p-tap. durability and serviceability, most important factors in an everyday wheelset IMO.

+50

The difference in weight between "heavy" wheels and "light" wheels is about 1 pound. So, until you feel that losing 1 pound off your bike will make any difference, get wheels that won't break. Wheels are pretty important, and it's a bummer when they don't hold up.

Also, did you check out the "clyde" forum ?? I bet they would have ideas.

Mavic Ksyriums are always a good choice.

Maybe not. The newer elites with the radial rear flex quite a bit under heavy load.

FWIW, I had Ron Ruff at White Mountain Wheels build me a custom set to my specs. He asked me about my weight, power, riding style, and what complaints I had with other wheels.

They weren't anymore expensive than a set of Ksyriums (SL's or whatever they're called now) would cost, and they're much better wheels.

http://www.whitemountainwheels.com/

Want fast wheels that will survive the Apocalypse?

Get some OLD Campy Shamals, or, better yet, get the new Gipiemme version. They have more spokes, are actually race legal, and still have the 40mm BOMBPROOF rims.

Thanks!

When someone says they are tough on wheels what does that mean? Do they just ride over potholes without unweighting their saddle? If so, why? My 125lb wife could hit a pothole hard while in the saddle at 15mph and do more damage than me hitting a bigger one at 25mph while slightly elevated.

AC Hurricanes. 32 spoke and very tough. I have a set I started riding at 235 and in 2 seasons I've replaced one bearing and trued them twice.

When someone says they are tough on wheels what does that mean? Do they just ride over potholes without unweighting their saddle? If so, why? My 125lb wife could hit a pothole hard while in the saddle at 15mph and do more damage than me hitting a bigger one at 25mph while slightly elevated.

I usually find the people that proclaim themselves to be "tough on wheels" to be big-gear mashers as well. My friend Phil, who has broken everything on his bike but his frame at least twice (his frame he broke once), has got a slow, Honchar-esque 70-80 rpm kind of pedaling style, with which you can hear the whoosh whoosh of his downstrokes, and you can see the flexing of his rear wheel. He's heavy, but not terribly - 185-190 or so - but he runs pretty heavy stuff for training, too. On the other hand, I know even heavier guys, usually trackies with a smooth and high cadence, who break a spoke once every two years. Of course, this is just personal observation.

I'm 200+ and I've got experience with a few wheelsets.

Carbones: my favorite wheelset, ultrastiff & aero, no flex at all, not very light, but I don't really care
Kysrium SLs: I don't really notice them, nothing bad to say about performance, stiff, somewhat light, but never needed truing
Zipp CSCs: Haven't done a lot of miles on them yet, but they seem very SL-like
Equipes: Absolutely the stoutest wheelset I've used, but really hard to accelerate and get to speed. Somewhat sluggish & heavy
Open Pro on PT: Great feeling wheel(hard to explain), flexes somewhat, kinda heavy, goes out of true & dish pretty easily though.
Zipp 303 tubies: borrowed a friends and if I put the calipers anywhere close to the rim, I'd get brakerub all over the mofo'ing place when I sprinted.

For heavier, high power riders, I cannot say enough good things about the Carbones. My training set currently is CSC wheel up front, SL in the back.

You guys know that PowerTaps don't come in 36h, right?

32h Deep-V, Niobium 30, CXP-33, or DT RR 1.2. Laced 3x both sides, with Wheelsmith or DT 2.0/1.8/2.0 DB spokes (for the budget).

For the front, same rim, 28h, radial, pick a hub according to budget.

Here's a comparable wheelset, but with a bigger hub and spoke budget. Final weights are near the bottom of the thread. We did some fancier lacing on the rear though: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=381303