Best wheelset?

[afelig]

Hi All,

What woud be a good cyclocross wheelset in the $200-$500 range? I have some old roadbike 700c wheels on my Surly now, which will break eventually. Any thoughts?

-Michael

[PacificJim]

It's pretty hard to beat Mavic Open Pro rims with a decent road hub (Durace or Ultegra). There's also the CXP-33's which have a little higher profile. This is good if you ride a lot of sandy or muddy courses. The gunk doesn't go over your rim, and you seem to steer better.

I typically put new hubs on my road bike, and drop the old ones down to the cross bike. They're gonna get the stuffing beaten out of 'em... But, if you really want to get trick with the hubs, you could find some Chris Kings or some mtb hubs that are well sealed.

If you don't build wheels yourself, try finding a builder who has done cross wheels.

[toddm]

Hello,
Another good rim is the Mavic MA-40, 36 hole if possible. I don't believe that these are still in production, but it shouldn't be too hard to find a shop who still has some lying around. It takes quite a bit to mash up these wheels. My set lasted 2 and 1/2 years of messengering daily and other riding. They were only retired when I found a good cheap set of 8 speed wheels.
I don't have the time to go in to it here, but doublebutted spokes are lighter AND stronger than straight gauged spokes (Look at Jobst Brandt's "The Wheel Book" if you would like a very thorough explanation of why this is).
And if your not confident in your wheel building, it is definitely worth your money to find an experienced wheelbuilder.

[Rich]

I'm gettong a pair of Mavic CPX-33 rims which I think will work well in muddy conditions. They'll be built on my current hubs, which saves a fair bit of money on a new set of wheels.

[afelig]

Thanks to all for the advice. I ended up getting a pretty good deal on a pair of Mavic CXP-21/Ultegras, which seem great so far. I'm not actually a very serious cross rider, so I think they'll be fine.

Ride early, ride often!

-Michael