Cyclocross - Best wheelset?

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Wow, 9 year old thread. Way to be relevant.

Wow, 9 year old thread. Way to be relevant.

And yet it is. I was thinking today about clincher wheels for CX. I'm not likely to go the tubular route just given the fact that I'm new at this. Sooner or later I'm going to trash my current wheels - would be nice to have a solid spare set.

Yeah, but the Bontrager Race X Lite Wheelset he linked have too low a spoke count to be durable enough for cross. So other than the shill for his website, the info is worthless.

And yet it is. I was thinking today about clincher wheels for CX. I'm not likely to go the tubular route just given the fact that I'm new at this. Sooner or later I'm going to trash my current wheels - would be nice to have a solid spare set.

I keep thinking I'll trash the cheap Alex/Deore/Tiagra wheelset that came with my bike, but so far I've barely managed to get a wheel out of true. I bought a set of Ultegra/Open Pros which I use for commuting and long summer rides, but until I either become fast or manage to trash the Alex wheels I'm sticking with them for CX.

Yeah, but the Bontrager Race X Lite Wheelset he linked have too low a spoke count to be durable enough for cross. So other than the shill for his website, the info is worthless.

I rode and raced 'cross on those wheels for a couple of seasons and the wheels were perfect. I never even had to true them. So real world experience says that they're a good set of wheels for cyclocross.

Plenty of people race on Ksyrium's and other wheels that are also have low spoke counts. If properly built and tensioned, they should be fine.

I just tend to like traditional spoked and laced wheels because they are easy to repair. But having said that, I do have some X Lite tubulars on the way...

215# and racing on gen 1 Ksyriums on Sunday. Hopefully you'll hear from me sometime after Sunday afternoon, otherwise, send out the cadaver dogs.

I'm riding Ksyrium SLs with zero problems, but I'd like to find something cheaper - sooner or later I'm gonna trash em.

I'm riding Ksyrium SLs with zero problems, but I'd like to find something cheaper - sooner or later I'm gonna trash em.

You wanna buy my Alex/Deore/Tiagra wheels? ;)

I'd have to vote for the Easton EA70X's. I think tubular is of great benefit in cross (far more than on the road due to the advantage of being able to run them at lower pressure), and cross tubies are pretty reasonably priced (tire-wise).

Stan's No Tubes ZTR 355 rims laced to whatever...

The Williams tubular wheelset at $370 would be hard to beat for the price. Or if you want clinchers, one of their road wheelsets.
http://williamscycling.com/cyclocross/cyclocross.html
http://williamscycling.com/cyclocross/ccwheelset.jpg