Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - new wheel build-- anybody using mavic a319's for rando bikes?

hey all-

just got back from the trexlertown swap with a very clean set of deore dx hubs, and i'm building them up into wheels with a pair of mavic a319 32 spoke rims.

i'm not a super heavy rider (usually around 165), but we ride a bunch of mixed surface roads where i live that can put the beating on a bike. just wondered if anybody has had any experience with the 319s as a nice responsive set of rando wheels? i'd intended to get a719's, but mavic pulled them out of production 2 years ago according to the rep (!).

a friend of mine whom i ride with often has NO worries whatsoever about running 3 cross 32 spoke wheels at all for our local conditions, and while i'm inclined to believe him.. i'm hoping i did the right thing anyhow! the wheels will never see less than a 32mm tire, so they have that going for them, and i'm not a big dude either...

what's the consensus?

I have A319 on a utility bike. They have been trouble free, I'm 215 lbs.

It's kind of overkill for a rando bike but I'm sure it will work just fine for you. It certianly isn't a bad thing since they are wider and made for the wider tires you want to use.

It's kind of overkill for a rando bike but I'm sure it will work just fine for you. It certianly isn't a bad thing since they are wider and made for the wider tires you want to use.

well.. i used to train (when i was a junior a million years ago) on weinmann concaves with 4 cross wheels.. THAT was overkill for sure.. but the roads WERE pretty bad too. i still had to true 'em fairly frequently.. i suspect the roads i'm on nowadays are actually worse than they were then.

i thought for a hot minute of going with open pros.. but i thought that might be a bit UNDER doing it, and i figured better safe than sorry.

i thought for a hot minute of going with open pros.. but i thought that might be a bit UNDER doing it, and i figured better safe than sorry.

I have been very happy with 32 spoke Open Pro's. I have 7000 miles on one set in the last 18 months. I run either 700x28 or 700x25 @ 95 to 110 psi. I'm between 225 and 205 lbs during that time period.

I ride on bad Chicago pavement several times a week.

Well over 10k miles by now on a set of machine built 36 spoke a319s laced to sora hubs from Harris Cyclery. Countless club rides, at least 7 or 8 centuries, and one or two 200k rides on them with no problems. Wouldn't hesitate at all going 32 spokes 3x on these rims.

well.. i used to train (when i was a junior a million years ago) on weinmann concaves with 4 cross wheels.. THAT was overkill for sure.. but the roads WERE pretty bad too. i still had to true 'em fairly frequently.. i suspect the roads i'm on nowadays are actually worse than they were then.

i thought for a hot minute of going with open pros.. but i thought that might be a bit UNDER doing it, and i figured better safe than sorry.

I have a set of OP Ceramic wheels that I've used for randoneuring since 1999ish. They've been all over the US and Europe with no problems. What's most important though is that you are comfortable and part of being comfortable is feeling like your equipment is up to the challange. For me, they'd be overkill but if you think they're what you need you won't hear me telling you you're wrong. ;)

I've got 36-spoke A319s on my touring bike, and they have done quite well with loaded touring on dirt roads. It seems like they'd be just fine for randos.

Probably more important than the kind of rim you use is the quality of the build.

I don't think you'll have any problem with durability of the A319's. I've been between 215 and 235 for the last 3 years and have about 8000 commuting miles on my 36 spoke A319's. However, for a rando bike, I think they might be overkill. Not a bad thing, but I think you could get by with a wheel that is not quite so heavy. I've never had a single issue with the wheels. They have been true from the day I bought them.

A319 rims are very solid and tough, heavier than needed, but give good peace of mind (all assuming the wheel is well built of course).

As for A719 availability: Using European dealers, there is no problem getting a Mavic A719 rims - they are readily available. They're also still listed (http://www.mavic.com/en/product/rims/road-triathlon/rims) on the Mavic website. Maybe the US importer isn't getting them in anymore, but that would surprise me.