Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Your suggestion on 36hole OpenPro OR IRD Cadence HplusSON TB14 rims for Brevets

Hi guys,

Other than being so addictive LD riding is also really confusing everytime you go out and ride you wanna change something or the other & see how it affects :). Anyway after some thought and persuation from a friend I've decided to upgrade my wheels since they were local ones & quite heavy.

Would love to with a Open Pro-DH3N72 front & 105-rear, but currently OP are unavailable & need to be shipped to India from Germany (that too not in the colour I would like). total is working out for 139euros with DTspokes.

in Singapore though I've come across a seller who has a set of IRD cadence rims (lighter than OPs) & also HplusSon TB14 (weighs in at 490gm) both are coming for cheaper than the OPs.

I've read a few mixed reviews on IRD rims & can't find much on TB14s. What would you guys recommend??

Thanks,
KK

Actually, I find my interest in changing my bike is waning rather than increasing.

I'd much rather get my bike's fit correct and work on the engine.

I don't think you need to worry about wheels as long as a) they are well-made and robust, and b) you're not doing competitive LD's. If this is the case, I recommend you ignore your friend. :D

If you still need to chance, fwiw I tend to prefer Mavic. You don't need anything too special, even CXP22's are fine as long as the wheelbuilder knows what he's doing. But it sounds like it's going to depend on what's available in the first place.

well, I'm not into competitions and have already done about 6k with these wheels. And yes you are correct, weight isn't much of a concern, though I just thought I'll check with more experienced riders here...

Probably I should have asked is in this way :).... My current wheels weigh in like this:

Front 36hole with Shimano DH3N72 hub 28mm Duranos = 1.97kgs
Rear 36hole Shimano 6600(NOS hub) with 9spd 11-28 cassette 28mm Duranos = 2.00kgs

You guys think these weights can be considerably reduced with Open pros or anyother sub 500gm rims?? You think it's worth it spending close to 200USD just for newer rims?

I'd be quite interested to know how much does your LD wheels weight in at.

Thanks,
KK

Consider the Velocity A23. I changed over from Open Pro's and have been very pleased. http://www.velocityusa.com/default.asp?contentID=746

I value reliability above a grams. At 210 lbs, I can use a 32 hole hand-made wheelset with either Open Pro or A23 rims. The weight is about the same. The wider A23 allows a little less air pressure than the 19mm Open Pro. It's a great match with any tire from 23 to 35mm wide. the 19mm Open pro has a 28mm size limit, according to the Mavic website. I know many riders exceed this without the risk of failure. However, the wider tire on a narrow rim will not handle as well and will ride more stiffly.

Had a look at the A23s they look nice & for a wider rim they're not that heavy either. Any online site which delivers to India at cheaper rates?? some UPS quotes I received were more than double the cost of rims :).

When I was looking at getting a Powertap wheelset built I spent about a year searching for the right set of rims. As it is I'd go with the Open Pro's. They come from the factory much more round and true than most other rims on the market and build into a great wheel. I looked at OP's then IRD's, then Zipp's, then the Excellight's, then everything else until I went mad and bought a SRM instead. Now that I have done that, if a mechanic was building my wheel I'd just take his best advice, have him build the wheel with the parts he selects, and be happy with it.
Good luck.

I have Velocity A 23 rims also, 32 holes rear and 28 holes front and I weigh 170. I use 28mm tires with 85 psi aft and 65 psi forward. These were hand built by Spinlite. http://www.spinlitecycling.com/ These were at a reasonable price for quality work. However, Velocity is an Australian firm so it may be more cost effective to seek out Australian wheel builders.