Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - A clyde with Wheel Issues. (Hybrid Bike)

Hello fellow clydes, I am 250 lbs. and I have a Mongoose Pro Mountain bike. I switched the tires for semi-slicks. So far every wheel I have bought has broken spokes and untrue issues. I was wondering what is a wheel set or back wheel for a mtn. bike/hybrid that is strong and wont wobble and break spokes but also wont be heavy?

I have a nearby LBS that ordered me some sort of Sun wheel I think its the Sun CR18 and he is building the wheel. Plus my bike uses a freewheel system, but he says a Cassette system will be stronger for my weight? So I have to buy a cassette too, a shimano one/ 7 speed.

Does everyone think I am doing the right thing? I don't want to spend a fortune on this bike either, I just want to have fun and lose weight. I love riding thou.

Have your wheel rebuilt with heavier gauge spokes. I am far more heavy then you and broke spokes on the back wheel of my 2009 Raleigh Cadent FT1. The shop I bought it from rebuilt the rear wheel. He then had me ride it for 50 miles and bring it back to recheck that the spokes were still tight and the wheel true. I haven't had any problems since.

You might have a bit more trouble if you are regularly doing jumps with your mountain bike, 250 should be in the range of a well built rear wheel as long as you aren't doing 2'+ drops.

When I started riding, my mountain bike had Alex rims with 36 spokes. As a matter of fact, it still has the same rims and tires to this day. And I was at 270 when I started riding. I didn't get real serious with it until I got my road bike.

My mountain bike:
http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2003&Brand=Giant&Model=Warp+DS+3&Type=bike

If it has 32 or 36 spokes, you should be fine. If the wheels go out of true real easily, find a new wheel builder. Mine is fine no matter how much of a beating they take. I lucked out.

In response to AtlanticOcean : Fantastic bike, I test drove that puppy and its amazing. Great bicycle choice, all we need now is some true "bombproof" wheels.

I am 300+ and learned how to build/rebuild indestructible wheels because I am cheap, and did like spending money at the LBS.

Spoke failure is caused by fatigue. Strong wheels have high and uniform spoke tension. The build/rebuild process is: tension, true, stress relieve, true, stress relieve, true.

I use Wheelsmith spokes - see Peter White's website for the reasons. DH13 on the drive side, SS14 on the non drive side and in the front. If you have disc brakes, use DH13 spokes on the brake side too.

My wheels are 36H or more.

The build is the most important thing; any hub and any rim that is fairly true unbuilt (no spokes) can be built up into an acceptable wheel.

I had similar problems. Definitely not a bike-tech here, so I don't know the details, but the new wheels (no idea what kind) my lbs got me, which they put together with VERY carefully tensioned heavy (no idea what gauge) spokes, have worked beautifully. When I see a bump coming, I also try to stand up a little, to distribute my weight more evenly between the front and back wheels. Don't give up!

Do be careful riding if your wheels are out of true -- I got a blow-out flat once where my brake wore a hole in my tire, from it being out of true!

You can make yourself lighter in the saddle, which won't solve the problem, but will make it less severe. If you're going to ride over a speed bump, you want to shift your weight to the rear wheel when the front one goes over the bump, and move your weight forward as the rear wheel clears it. You'll want to be standing on the pedals as you do this.

These probably won't be very comfortable on a mountain bike or hybrid, but the Fulcrum Racing 7 (http://www.fulcrumwheels.com/jspfulcrum/productsdetail.jsp?productid=2&varid=50) wheels that came with my road bike are fantastically strong. They haven't gone noticeably out of true after about 2,700 miles, including pot holes, accidental curb jumps, and the like. I've seen them online for about $200. But they take skinny tires.