Cyclocross - Le'ts build a wheelset

Hi all,

I am new to cyclocross but have owned my Soma DoubleCross for a couple of years, using it as a touring bike, commuter, and alternate road bike. I have recently fallen in love with offroad riding on it, and would truly appreciate your input on hub/rim/spoke recommendations.

I'm going with clincher for maximum versatility, and want a light, strong wheelset that will hopefully last me many years. I ride a Cannondale F3 mountain bike occasionally and have been impressed with the strength of the stock wheels. Should I expect a nicely built set of wheels to last a long time riding cross? I probably won't be racing, but the park that I mostly ride has some pretty bumpy sections.

Making my bike look good is also a factor. The bike is black with gold and orange lettering. I want the wheels to match somehow. I think I am going to try to minimize the silver on the bike when I get an actual cross crankset.

Here's what I have in mind so far:
-Gold Chris King Classic Cross Hubs
-Orange Velocity Dyad rims
-Black D/B Spokes (I've had good experience with Wheelsmith but want to try out DT Swiss)
-Gold Spoke Nipples

I am considering swapping the gold and orange colors, or maybe even replacing the orange with black so as not to risk having a Halloween bike. This is all just some initial brainstorming.

Thanks for your input. Here's the bike:

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Useful specs:
-rear spacing is 132.5, so both 130 and 135 fit equally well.
-rim brake only

EDIT: and maybe a moderator can fix the awful apostrophe location in my title. Thanks!
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Frankly that color combo sounds hideous to me, far too garish for what's a pretty unassuming bike. I'd lose the colored rims at the least. Just my opinion.

The component brands are solid.

You'll have loud wheels. Blingy colors, plus Chris King angry bees noise. Are you really, really fast? If you're not, then I'd pull it back a bit, because those wheels are screaming for attention.

I guess color is a personal choice. Dyad's are fine, but I might go with a nice deep section rim like an IRD cadence, which is strong and light. You could also try some Sapim Xray spokes if you dont mind dropping the cash. As long as you dont go scary light on the rims and make sure whoever builds the wheels knows what they are doing then you should be fine.

Using wheels with cross tires will make any wheel "stronger" due to the fact that you have so much more wheel protection due to the large volume of air.

These are Mavic CXP-22 Double-Wall Rims and DT Doubled Butted Champion Spokes, Felt Precision Sealed-Bearing Hubs, Kenda Cyclocross tires. The frame is the new DC model in Midnght Silver.

I've been thinking about it and maybe black rims would be better, especially if the wheels find themselves on another bike. Besides, Velocity Dyad rims only come in black or silver.

An important clarification of mindset: I really don't care if I am slow when my bike is flashy. I don't think that colors make anyone faster.

Anyone else want to comment on the Velocity Dyad rims? I love Velocity wheels. They can take whatever spoke tension you want to get them up to and they are beautifully crafted.


You could also try some Sapim Xray spokes if you dont mind dropping the cash.

What do you like about these spokes?

Dyads are made for touring. They'll be fine. Cyclocross you can get away with Deep Vs if you want, judging from the bikes in the picture thread that's what people roll on.

I've been thinking about it and maybe black rims would be better, especially if the wheels find themselves on another bike. Besides, Velocity Dyad rims only come in black or silver.

An important clarification of mindset: I really don't care if I am slow when my bike is flashy. I don't think that colors make anyone faster.

Anyone else want to comment on the Velocity Dyad rims? I love Velocity wheels. They can take whatever spoke tension you want to get them up to and they are beautifully crafted.



What do you like about these spokes?

These are supposedly the strongest, lightest spokes going. Even DH racers use them. They are 3 bucks a pop and you will find them on tons of high end wheelsets. Sorry I had a typo as they are CX ray.

What size frame is that Soma? Looks nice.

Thanks,

Eric


These are Mavic CXP-22 Double-Wall Rims and DT Doubled Butted Champion Spokes, Felt Precision Sealed-Bearing Hubs, Kenda Cyclocross tires. The frame is the new DC model in Midnght Silver.

What size frame is that Soma? Looks nice.

Thanks,

Eric

It's a 60. That head tube still surprises me :roflmao2:

I was attracted by that head tube! I have a mile of spacers on my Gunnar's fork, which has always looked kind of odd. If I may ask, how tall and what inseam are you?

BTW, to the original poster, sorry for this OT side conversation! I think orange with gold would look pretty bad, myself, but to each his own.

Eric


It's a 60. That head tube still surprises me :roflmao2:

I'm 6 foot. My inseam (barefoot, from the floor to crotch) is 34.5 inches.

Michael

Love those Somas. I really think many other companies could learn to use the slightly taller headtubes so you don't end up with a huge stack of spacers. Keep us posted Barrett when that one is done.:thumb:

Shimano Mtb hubs are a good alternative hub. They are cheap, serviceable and very reliable. I have three sets in use for doing the things you plan on doing, and have had no problems so far. As for rims, you might think about rim width. Mavic and Velocity rims go from 13mm width (e.g. Open Pro) to 19mm width (e.g. A319). If you are planning on running 28/32mm tyres, you would be better off with wider rims like the A319. As such, it would be my choice for this build unless I could come across one of the rare 17mm wide rims. I might not go for alloy nipples if I were worried about rounding them off.

Mavic and Velocity rims go from 13mm width (e.g. Open Pro) to 19mm width (e.g. A319). If you are planning on running 28/32mm tyres, you would be better off with wider rims like the A319.

Are you referring to the inside width of the rim wall?

that is the wheelset im going to build, san's the colors, but im going to use the deep v instead of the dyad...i say go for it.

that is the wheelset im going to build, san's the colors, but im going to use the deep v instead of the dyad...i say go for it.

Are you using the Deep Vs for pure strength or is there another factor in your decision. Are you concerned at all about the width of the Deep V? It's only 21mm wide on the outside. I may be looking at the Aerohead instead of the Dyad.

i def. wouldnt do the aerohead.
my thoughts were of pure strength, a lot of it comes by way of my boss' advice as he is an extremely competent and experienced wheel builder and uses the velocity line quite often.

i have a set of older shimano XT hubs laced up to salsa delgado cross rims with ritchey (DTswiss with a ritchey logo) DB spokes, 32hole. been riding those trouble free for the last 4 years, toured with 40lbs of gear on and off-road on them, rode trails, rallied, trained, and crashed HARD (wheel turned sideways at 20-25ish on a downhill, sending me into a ravine) a couple times where i thought the front would be tacoed but it came out okay, still had even tension and nary a millimeter out of true.

for bang to buck on an all around wheelset, i'd do XTs on salsa's again in a heartbeat. very reliable, quick, no muss, no fuss build, and a very versatile wheelset with super serviceable hubs.

Are you referring to the inside width of the rim wall?

Yep.

any decisions as of yet?

i have a set of older shimano XT hubs laced up to salsa delgado cross rims with ritchey (DTswiss with a ritchey logo) DB spokes, 32hole. been riding those trouble free for the last 4 years, toured with 40lbs of gear on and off-road on them, rode trails, rallied, trained, and crashed HARD (wheel turned sideways at 20-25ish on a downhill, sending me into a ravine) a couple times where i thought the front would be tacoed but it came out okay, still had even tension and nary a millimeter out of true.

for bang to buck on an all around wheelset, i'd do XTs on salsa's again in a heartbeat. very reliable, quick, no muss, no fuss build, and a very versatile wheelset with super serviceable hubs.

I'll second this. I've ridden them pretty hard - cross races and some "mtb" races - and haven't needed much truing at all. And they look pretty good with the black spokes.

On the downside, they're a little heavy, and the rims are wide - precluding any tires narrower than 28mm.

Does anyone have any experience with aerohead rims in rough stuff? I see that someone recommended against them. Does anyone have any actual experience? The Aeroheads are relatively deep, compared to many wheelsets.

Also, I think I have decided on White Industries hubs instead of the Chris King. They are much cheaper and are still high quality. I am uncertain, however, if I should get the 130 spaced rear road hub or the 135 spaced rear mountain hub. The mountain hub is supposed to be more beefy, but I couldn't transfer the wheelset to an aluminum road or cross bike with 130 rear spacing. Do you think that road hub should be ok?

what about some DT swiss rims?

Does anyone have any experience with aerohead rims in rough stuff? I see that someone recommended against them. Does anyone have any actual experience? The Aeroheads are relatively deep, compared to many wheelsets.

Sure, a number of my friends use aeroheads for their cross bikes. They seem to be tough enough. Remember, people have been getting away with super light and fragile tubular rims like the GEL330 for some time.