wheels for the 210+
 

Been away from the road crowd for too long. Worked as a bike mechanic some 15 years ago. Need some opinions on light yet durable wheel set, yeah I can dream. Appreciate the help.

6'5", at 215 in the winter, 205 in the summer.

Contemplating a bike with Kysrium Elites.

Forget the Elites. Plump for a pair of Campag Eurus instead. I'm 6ft 2 and weigh 185 lbs and i'm very hard on my wheels. The Eurus are outstanding. Very strong set of wheels. Used them regularly for the last 2 months without any problems even after rocketing over deep potholes at 35 mph+ They're half a pound lighter than the Elites too with very stiff 30 mm semi aero rims instead of the standard box rims found on the Mavics. The hubs are great, Record quality, have very smooth bearings which want to roll and roll. Also the thinner aero spokes are better than those silly fat ones you see on the Elites. The Campag's look better IMO too.

At 6'3" and 250lbs, I've has great success with my Cane Creek Arrowhead wheels. I raced all last year on mine and never had a single problem with them. Check around online and you can get them for around $250.

Good wheels
 

How about Dura Ace hubs with Mavic CXP 33s in 36 spokes? My 40 hole tandem wheels are very strong, so I would assume 36 would be too. Some people swear that 36 hole with Revolution spokes are much stronger than 32 hole with 14 gauge and weigh less. The CXPs are supposedly very tough. I have never tried 36 spokes, so someone else may have first hand experience.

Take a look at the Shimano wheelsets. One of our guys(225 easy, broke a seven pound instigator freeride frame in seven months, a Bianchi eros in less than a year, a C-dale R??? in two years, an FSR pro in less than a year, LOTS of wheels, and three susp. forks) pounded a set of R540's for two and a half years before breaking a spoke, they never even needed truing until the broken spoke.

make sure you talk to other 210 (or around) pounders before you decide or even try a pair of wheels. those who really know.....know that a rider 20 to 30 pounds lighter can in no way relate experiences with wheelsets and be accurate.
i ride with a guy who is 210-215 and he breaks spokes all the time. several spokes with CXP-21's (on different occasions) and even breaks 'em on mountain bikes. it wasn't till he stepped up to the elites that he no longer had a problem.

i'm not saying that there aren't other wheelsets out there that are equally as good as elites, that would be narrow minded, but the combination of the elites reliability, warranty, hub quality, spoke count make it a great wheelset for a 210+ lb rider like yourself.

and i'm yet to find a bike or a wheelset ride down the road by themselves. meaning, a 210lb rider with a 20 lb bike instead of a 19 lb bike weighs 230pounds instead of 229pounds (less than a 1/2% weight savings) when you try and spend money soley on shaving a 1/2 pound here or there.

and lastly, i ride at 180 pounds. my buddy weighs 155 and likes to ride near 130+ psi in his tires, while i find that anything over 120 is too jarring for me. my 210 pound buddy rides closer to 110-115 psi (same tires) and feels comfortable there. we are each 25 pounds away from each other and ride, ride quality and characteristics are VERY DIFFERENT with differing rider weights.

ask other riders who are your build to share their wheelset experiences with you.....and don't ask the 160 pounder...or even the 180 pounder. there is a big difference.

to answer your question, i think that a light(est) AND durable wheelset might be a tough thing. i'd go durability first, and if you worked in a shop then i can see why you are thinking about the elites. not the lightest wheels, but handling wise (aero but not aero in crosswinds if you know what i mean)

i'd go durability first then lightness (it depends where the weight is concentrated on the set as well)...unless you are sponsored and get a new set with every season....

Im around 200lbs and i have flexed every set of shimano wheelsets ive had the displeasure of riding. Including the WH-7701 dura ace which were supposed to be 30% stiffer. In the sprint i could hear the rear wheel rubbing the brake blocks. Other people i ride with have the same experience other than the sub 160 guys. Take a look at tthe reviews sites and you will see similar feedback.

For me i have riden Ksyrium SSls for over 10000 miles and cannot fault them

I'm kinda new to this stuff, but I weigh 235 lbs., and I've been absolutely thrilled with these Bontragers that I have My Wheels . I was at first concerned about the low spoke count, but after a couple months of hard riding, they still haven't needed to be trued. I'm really happy with them.