Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Wheels...Am I imagining things?

I just finished up a mtb/commuter that was outfitted with a pair of Mavic 32 spoke wheels on Deore hubs. I took it out for a first ride around my area yesterday and it rolled along great. However, I kept hearing what sounded like a random popping noise from time to time from what sounded like the wheels...followed by what sounded like a spoke nipple rattling around in one of the wheels. I brought it home and all the spokes were ok and no visible damage of any sort on the rims or around the nipples. I'm big.. 250 stout. Now I'm paranoid that I'm going to go out on the commute and the wheels are going to fail and fly apart. I don't encounter rough terrain or anything. Where I was at yesterday was paved and flat. For us big guys..do wheels just come apart or, is there usually some catalyst that gets it started ( rough road, bumps, holes ) ??

It's normal for new wheels to make some noise. Just get them checked and retensioned/trued regularly by an experienced wheel builder and you should be ok.

Same thing for me not too long ago, except it was a consistent little "click," but only under load, not when I would spin the crank with my hand on the trainer. After I did a little research on here and Sheldon Brown's web site to find out what it was, and it seemed that it might just be a loose spoke. I took it in and had the wheels checked. Sure enough, I had a few spokes that had loosened up on my new wheels. Easy, cheap fix. From what I was told, you should have your new wheels checked out after the first 200-300 miles anyway, to check for spoke tension and trueness. Maybe one of these days I'll learn to do it myself. Seems like it's not too hard.

From what I was told, you should have your new wheels checked out after the first 200-300 miles anyway, to check for spoke tension and trueness. Maybe one of these days I'll learn to do it myself. Seems like it's not too hard.

+1 New wheels like to complain in the first 100-200 miles, especially for us Clydes. Mine did the same thing. I just took them home and checked for spoke tension, and sure enough...

Just take it to your LBS is you don't true wheels yourself. It will probably only be $5-10 if they charge at all. Actually, if you bought the bike/wheels at a LBS, go there and they will almost for sure do it for you free.