Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Wheel Update

So in May I picked up my new bike which came equipped with Bontrager RacexLites, at the time many people said I would have issues because I ,m a clyde. Well rolled over 2400k today and so far still true as the day I got them. I'm 220lbs ride on all kinds of road surfaces which in Canada includes many potholes and nasty cold fill used to try and fix them. Wheels have taken many hard hits but perform great. I would highly recommend these wheels and the 2010's look even stronger as Bontrager went away from paired spokes. Now as good as these wheels are I'm looking to get some carbon clinchers just to give them a try.

So in May I picked up my new bike which came equipped with Bontrager RacexLites, at the time many people said I would have issues because I ,m a clyde. Well rolled over 2400k today and so far still true as the day I got them. I'm 220lbs ride on all kinds of road surfaces which in Canada includes many potholes and nasty cold fill used to try and fix them. Wheels have taken many hard hits but perform great. I would highly recommend these wheels and the 2010's look even stronger as Bontrager went away from paired spokes. Now as good as these wheels are I'm looking to get some carbon clinchers just to give them a try.

You need to try a Toronto size pothole, like this one:
http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/44/36/8bd30bc444e7843ca79ba4d32a08.jpeg


Technically this is a sink hole, with all the rain we have been getting lately, Finch avenue collapsed (again), near Dufferin, this time, it's not as bad as the one near Jane a few years ago, which was at the end of a bridge. They are not promising a quick fix though, the problem is a leaky storm drain about 4m down, so they have to dig that out and fix it. For those who don't know pot holes are formed the same way, water gets under the road surface, eats away the supporting road bed, and with heavy traffic, it collapses. The light gray band under the asphalt is a 4" thick slab of concrete.

Considering the way traffic flies down this section of road, someone could have been seriously hurt or killed if they ran into it.

2500 miles isn't a whole lot of miles. With wheels it all comes down to how they are built. Those Bontrager wheels are machine built so it is kind of hit and miss with them. Glad to hear you are having good luck with them. Here's to many more trouble free miles to you!

Glad to here that they're working for you. As has already been pointed out 2400 miles isn't that many. If that's 2400 Km, they're just getting broken in by my standards. I'm back on a schedule that will have me averaging in excess of 5,000mile/8,000km per year and would hope to get more than one season out of a set of wheels. Ideally 2-4 seasons. At 220lbs you probably have a much better chance of these holding up than if you were 250+.

Glad they're working for you. Keep us informed of how they do over the long haul.

Just a thought -- It may be a good idea to check the spoke tension. I'm 240-250 ish and ride 20/24 spoke wheels. I had the wheels checked after a few hundred miles and even though the wheels were still true, needed to be retensioned. Getting the wheels retensioned after the "break-in period" will go a long way in preventing broken spokes.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!!

Yeah it's not really a lot of k but when I got the bike I heard nothing but well it's nice but I give those wheels about 500k. The spokes and rims get inspected after every ride, these are so much stronger than my old shimano ones. I went thru 5 spokes on them inside of 8000k starting at about 500km,

2400k is only 1488 miles right? That isn't much at all. I'd say most wheels don't start failing at 2000-3000 MILES. At 220, Bontrager didn't last over 9 months. Of course that was a lower model (Race) and 9 months that year was about 5000 MILES. But Mavic OP's wouldn't last for me either. Not much over 2000 miles, handbuilt by the local pros!:p

But either way, in my experience, wheels will fail just over 2000 miles. Even if it's 4000, I can't afford to buy a new set every year as I do 4000-7000 miles a year. But then again, I can't afford to ride a Madone!:

My Deep V's have about 20,000 miles now.

As far as wanting low spoke count wheels, I don't. I still can't figure out why so many riders want low count lite wheels ( I know yours came on the bike, so not directed at you). Most say they climb better but I can't sem to get any of them up in the hills while my V's do fine!:D

I'd like to have a set of rims last me longer than 7000 miles before needing replaced from all the grit, sand, cinder and grime wearing down the braking surface.

I'm another Clyde who expected a wheel replacement on my new bike a long time ago. But my Fulcrum 7s (entry level wheel set) now have 3,000 miles on them and almost as many pot holes and rough RR crossings and they are just as true as the day they arrived. (However, I do hope to upgrade in the very near future!)

I sometimes believe it's the rider not the wheels and not trying to offend here. I ride with a guy same size as me and goes thru spokes left right and center no mater what he has. Mavic SL which he was told to be bomb proof nope popped spokes, handbuild deep v's 32 spoke, nope poped spokes. Now I realize some will say wheels should take it but this is one of those guys who would rather bunny hop a set of train tracks than go over them slowly heck I've even seen him go out of his way to bunny hop potholes.

I'd like to have a set of rims last me longer than 7000 miles before needing replaced from all the grit, sand, cinder and grime wearing down the braking surface.

It has a lot to do with where you live and the conditions you're cycling in. My last 6 months in New Zealand has put more wear on a set of wheels than 6 years in Bermuda or time in Florida. I suspect Beanz is in a similiar situation with living in So Cal.

I sometimes believe it's the rider not the wheels and not trying to offend here. I ride with a guy same size as me and goes thru spokes left right and center no mater what he has. Mavic SL which he was told to be bomb proof nope popped spokes, handbuild deep v's 32 spoke, nope poped spokes. Now I realize some will say wheels should take it but this is one of those guys who would rather bunny hop a set of train tracks than go over them slowly heck I've even seen him go out of his way to bunny hop potholes.

Exactly. There's a lot to be said for riding light on one's wheels. If I really wanted to, or didn't care, I could kill just about any rear wheel in a matter of a few rides.

Just because a wheel is hand built doesn't necessarily mean that it is a well built wheel. I had a brand new hand built 36 spoke Mavic OP wheel blow up 370 miles in to a 750 mile ride. The wheel has to be built by someone who knows what in the heck they are doing.

Go to someone like Peter White and have them build a set of wheels and you will have a set of trouble free wheels that will last for many, many miles. I have a set of randonneuring wheels that were built in 1997 and I've ridden all over the world on roads much worse than anything here in the states and they've never been touched.

I'd like to have a set of rims last me longer than 7000 miles before needing replaced from all the grit, sand, cinder and grime wearing down the braking surface.

The answer to this is disc or drum brakes.