Podagrower

As a Clyde, I know wheel issues are a potential problem. The rear factory wheel on my Defy owes me nothing, and at 4,000 miles it looks like I'm in for a catastrophic failure soon-there are cracks in the rim at 7 spokes. So I find myself overwhelmed today with choices. New rear wheel only, wheelset, really nice, basic...not looking for carbon.

What advice does the herd have? My average ride is 40 miles with 800 feet of climbing at a 17mph average. Is aero more important than weight? If I went full custom, what spokes and nipples to choose?

DMC707

Chris King hubs with Enve rims For The Win !

But seriously, -- how much do you weigh? That would be a determining factor in wheel choice.

I'm a bit north of 3 bills myself (325) - and when my factory stuff gives up the ghost, i am sourcing a set of 32 spoke MAvic CXP-30 rims and having them built up to a pretty hubset. (Hadley, King, American Classic etc. )


Dont know what brand of components you are running -- but the Shimano group hubs built around a decent set of rims are nice too -- $400 for these -- They are conservative looking, but are easilly repairable and will last a long time

https://www.coloradocyclist.com/ulte...pen-pro-blk-2x

DarthMonkey

Not claiming to be an expert on this, but what about Vuelta Corsa wheelsets?

Vuelta Corsa HD Road Wheelset

skidder

I'll second these wheels. I'm 210 lbs and I bought a set to replace some 10y.o. worn out wheels on an old Trek, and they've worked so nicely that I bought another set for a project bike I recently finished building. Not the lightest wheels you can buy, but if you're a 'clyde' you're probably better off loosing the body weight rather than paying a premium for lighter weight wheels.

Podagrower

Cartridge bearing vs. cup and cone bearing for the larger rider. Thoughts?

dr_lha

I wouldn't wipe my arse on a Vuelta wheelset, they're junk, I speak as a former owner. These appear to be built like tanks, literally, so if you don't care about weight, they will likely hold up I guess. They don't sound like a good wheels for the OP's need though.

What's your budget @Podagrower

dr_lha

I've been riding Shimano Ultegra and 105 hubs, which are cup-and-cone and they're great. They're easy to service and work. They're not as light as many cartridge hubs, but one of the reasons for that is that they use steel freehubs, rather than aluminum. The issue with aluminum freehubs is that they're soft and get easy damaged. If you're a Clyde and going 17mph, you're probably putting out a decent amount of power. Like me, you'd eat through these aluminum hubs. Therefore I wouldn't consider buying one unless it had some method to mitigate the issue. The "anti-bite-guard" thing might work, but White Industries T11 (or November's Ti hubs) have Titanium freehubs, which are light and don't notch like aluminum.

Jarrett2

Call Joe, tell him your specs and buy your last set of wheels:

Joe Young Wheels

Podagrower

What I am currently looking at on prowheelbuilder is HED Belgium rim, 32 spoke, brass nipple, WI T11 hub (could save a good bit of coin going to an Ultegra or 105 hub, hence the bearing question). A little over $500 for just the rear, I can handle that. I think $700 would be the limit, less expensive would be better. The problem is that his money is going to eat into my N+1 budget (looking at the Jamis Renegade Exploit for "less paved" roads), and my intention is (was?) for my next road bike to have discs (meaning this wheel wouldn't move to a new bike, but I have no idea when a new road bike would happen).

dr_lha

IMHO There are two main reasons to go for a WI hub over an Ultegra hub: Weight and Bling factor. I don't think a cartridge bearing hub works any better than a cup-and-cone, honestly.

So are you only after a rear wheel? If not you should check these out, which are under your $700 limit.

November Bicycles: Race smart. - Nimbus Ti Wheelsets

But if you're seriously considering moving to discs, you probably shouldn't be spending $700 on a wheelset!

customsound79

My freehub failed after 200 miles. I opted for the refund. I found some custom build CPX22 with 105's brand new on ebay for $180. Problem solved. What wheels did your Defy come with because that may be the push I need to keep the older CPX22 set I have listed now. The Alexrims were out of true from the start. But it's just my backup bike....

dr_lha

Yep, this is what happened to my Vuelta wheelset also.

Podagrower

My Defy came with Giant's P SL1 wheelset (DT Swiss hub and straight pull spokes, 24 count), rear wheel claimed weight was 1072 grams. Found an advert for the wheelset with a $350 price. They've been an awesome set of wheels, 1 broken nipple (and they were brass, must have been a defect), trued 3 times over 4,500 miles, once for the broken nipple, once very minor as century prep, and then 2 weeks ago...it was badly out of true (for a road wheel), should have looked it over more carefully then, but the black hides the cracks well.

Podagrower

White Industries T11 32 hole, brass nipples, DT Swiss R511 rim ordered from Prowheelbuilder. I wound up being limited in rim choices by the narrowness of the rear triangle on my Defy. 25mm tire on 22mm rim fits with a couple of mm clearance, but I was too chicken to try getting a 25mm rim in there. I decided to go with the DT Swiss rim since it's tubeless compatible, and I'll hopefully have this rim for many years.

oddjob2

These
Velocity Deep V Silver - Shimano 5800 105 Hubs 36h Wheels DT [640124] - $219.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

Podagrower

Well, snarl. New wheel did not ship in time for this weekends ride. I've been hauling the back up bike around for an extra workout, but I'm supposed to lead a ride tomorrow and don't want to do it from the back. So, I swiped the wheel off my wife's bike and swapped cassettes (hers is 9 speed, mine is 10). Somehow she didn't notice her bike was missing a wheel when she got home, but noticed mine had sprouted a new wheel. I may be in the tiniest little bit of trouble...

topslop1

I wanted to get these when I got my tax return. I did not, but if I were to do it, these would be the choice. I figured I'd ride my Rs10's til they fell apart and then replace when necessary.

Their carbon wheels are sexy but I'd feel like a good on an alloy bike with wheels that were 2x the purchase price of the bike itself..

PhotoJoe 

All I would have to do is explain that it was either i borrow her wheel, or sit at home pestering her. I'd be out of trouble in a heartbeat!

I hope you enjoy your new wheels!

TGT1

My BD Fantom Ti came with Vuelta wheels and though they are incredibly strong, the freewheel sucked in enough crap that after 3500 miles I had to break it down to service it.

it was a complete PITA to get apart and is a sealed unit, kind of a cross between a freehub and a freewheel. Also I could not find replacement parts available anywhere.

Built my own rear with a White CX-Ti 36 hole hub I shopped around for that was a bit of an orphan because of the 36 hole drilling. and an Alex wide rim I got for 17 bucks. Spent less than $350, including 60 bucks for the dial indicator. Used the bike as a truing stand. Ended up with a considerably lighter wheel as well.

One thing I discovered, is there aren't many higher end rims available in 36 hole without waiting for them.

Podagrower

New wheel day! Shiny, pretty, stout, light, sparkly wheel. Beautiful machine work on the titanium. I can't wait to get home and put it on the bike, hoping I have the right spacers for the 10 speed cassette on 11 speed freewheel (hub came with a spacer, not sure on size right now).

dr_lha

Congrats on the new wheel.

FYI for a 10 speed cassette on an 11 speed hub, you'll need the 1.8mm spacer that came with the hub, plus the 1mm spacer that came with the cassette.

Podagrower

First ride last night, not disappointed. Just a short 12 mile loop making sure the shifting is good before this weekends rides. Lots of cross wind, I was concerned about the deeper profile of this wheel adding to my bike's tendency to dance in the wind, but I don't think it made any difference, hopefully the more aero profile will add a little to the top end. On a scale of 0-10 for noise, with 0 being a fixie and 10 being the loudest hub you have ever heard, I'll give the White Industries T11 an 8 or 8.5, I will not be sneaking up on people.

Podagrower

Rides 2 and 3 complete, pretty happy. Covered some territory that we have ridden before and I was really looking forward to seeing a long string of PRs on Saturday, but Garmin decided I didn't need any positive reinforcement and ate the ride file (the average MPH was .8 faster than my typical speed in that area). Got a few PRs yesterday, which was nice since the legs were definitely not fresh, my recovery on Saturday was not on point.