pdq 5oh

I'm riding a Trek Pilot 5.0. The wheels are Bontrager Race which weigh around 1800 gr. I've been considering lighter wheels, around 1500. It seems to that saving 300 gr on the wheels would be a big benefit. Bontrager Race X Lite and Easton Orion II wheels are at this weight. My concern is ride and durability. The Orions are built for a bigger rider according to Easton's site. The Race Xs don't make any mention of this. Have those of you that have used lightweight wheels seen much benefit over heavier wheels? I weigh 220, BTW.

Mr. Beanz

You're thinking too much and must have money to throw away!

pdq 5oh

It seems to me that 300 gr (10 oz) of rotational weight is a big difference re: efficiency. I don't consider it throwing money away....................and I can still pay the bills after I buy my toys.

Velo Dog

In my experience, if you're posting in the Clyde forum you don't want any part of trick wheels. My weight varies from about 220-240, and I've had problems every time I've gone below 32 spokes on a pretty stout rim. For nearly all my riding these days, I'm using 36-spokers on Velocity Deep V's or some equally sturdy rim I can't remember (bought it from Rivendell after the rear on my Atlantis came apart, no problems in 3000 miles).
The pavement around here is pretty sorry, and I do take the Atlantis (but not the other bikes) on gravel roads occasionally, but I'm an experienced rider and apply my old rigid-mountain bike skills on the road, trying to cushion the shock. No big air and no crashing potholes or curbs.

Mr. Beanz

Big body x lite wheels = flex, not efficiency!...and you will be buying new wheels every 11 months. Hope you have long term job security!

pdq 5oh

This is what I'm looking to find out. Will lightweight wheels hold up? Will they ride harshly? Form what I've found, the Orion IIs may be a good chioce for me. Maybe I'll just have to find out through experience.........good or bad.

Hey Beanz, I was thinking and had this thought. I think the train of thought is well thought out thinking leads to well thought out ends. What do you think?

Tom Stormcrowe

pdg,

The general experience of the Clyde's on the board runs this way:

Low spoke count wheels, while stronger than they used to be, are still an issue with us Clyde's. All I can say is if you can afford to get them, then fine, but keep us posted....good or bad. Contribute to the knowledge base here, Bro!

If you do get them, I really hope they work out for you!

Mr. Beanz

Hunh!.... I do have a friend that rides several double centuries. He's about 210. He destroyed Mavic K's ($800). He ditched them then went for some VELOMAX wheels. He said he liked them alot, back then. But haven't seen the guy in a year so not sure what condition his wheels are in now.

jaxgtr

I used to run the Bonty Race Lite's and was told by the LBS service manager that the Race Lite's were much stonger than the Race X Lites. I started riding on them when I weighed 335 and never once had an issue with them. Not to say I wasn't nervous on my first ride and I put a little over a 1000 miles on mine, but they were designed for 130mm spacing and I was using them on my 135mm spaced hybrid. I picked up a bike off Craig's List that had a sweet set of Mavic 32 spoke from WheelSmith and I liked them better, so I sold the Bonty's versus letting them hang in the garage. The Mavic's were a couple years older and weighed about 100 grams more than the Bonty's, not much, but as I still weigh 295, I don't think one hundred grams was going to matter in my situation.

Now, would I buy them again? It depends on the situation at the time, but I would probably wait until I was a little bit lighter, below 250, and it would have to be at the right price and would definitely have to ride better than what I was presently using.

I know a lot of folks here really don't like the low spoke count, but each situation is different and I personally do not think you would have any issues with the wheels at your weight.

pdq 5oh

Thanks Tom. I have the stock Race wheels on my bike now. These are paired spoke wheels. So far I've had no problems with them. The Race X Lites may be as strong, just lighter? The lighter - 300 gr weight difference - is a real plus, IMO. The Orions I mentioned are the same weight as the Race Xs, but are said to be built for bigger, stronger riders. At least according to Easton. These may be a better choice as they have a higher spoke count. I was wondering. Is it reasonable to assume that less but bigger spokes are as strong as more though smaller ones? Or is spacing on the wheel more what determines strength? I'll let everyone know how this all plays out. This is something I'm kicking around right now.

Beanz and jaxgtr, thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

Tom Stormcrowe

OK, Here's a parallel for you.

Look at wheels as an endless suspension bridge, because that's what they are, more or less.

The rim is the bridge deck and the hub can be considered the supporting cable strung between the towers and anchoring to the Bridge footing. The spokes are the deck support cables. Each spoke can only accept so much load before failure. The rim, or deck can only provide so much load bearing capacity and stiffness as the spokes can provide. Higher spoke counts, particularly on a dished wheel like a freewheel or cassette hub requires have greater lateral stability as well as along the spoke axis. Other factors to be considered are rim type: Deep dish is stronger than a box rim, etc.

mammut

FWIW, had the Race Lites that came on my Lemond last season and hated them, I weigh it at 225. They went our of true every 200 miles or so. Had them trued professionally as well as myself and no difference.

Went with a pair of 32 spoke Open Pro's with Ultegra hubs and haven't been happier. Havent had to touch them over 1000 miles so far..

FarHorizon

Hi pdq 5oh!

I've used Campagnolo Vento wheels (low spoke count, radial pattern) with good results. Eventually, I broke a rear spoke, but even then, the wheel didn't taco. I believe that the deep-V profile of the Campy rim allowed the wheel to successfully hold me despite the low spoke count.

I wouldn't necessarily trust anybody else's low-spoke-count wheels, though... Just me.

If you DO opt to get light wheels, then yes, please keep us informed of your experience with them.

I currently ride 32-spoke, three-cross wheels. The stock 26" MTB wheels on my Specialized bike have been bullet-proof, and the Dura-Ace wheels I plan to put on my next road bike are (hopefully) just as durable.

Good luck!

braced

This is a good thread. I had never considered my weight being a detriment to lighter wheels. Learning as I go.
Tim

KingTermite 

I can't speak of the wheels....just wanted to say "nice ride".

When I was looking to buy a road bike, I came VERY CLOSE to buying the Trek Pilot 5.0 bike. It rode like whipped cream. I ended up chickening out on the carbon because of my weight (330 at time) and got a Trek 520 (steel touring road bike) instead.

djwright

I think if you are riding to lose weight then maybe you don't want the most super efficient bike. You will burn way more calories per mile on a Huffy!! I am only half kidding. If a more efficient bike helps keep you motivated then more power to you. But unless you are racing maybe a little extra weight will help you lose a little extra weight.

ronjon10

This place has the Easton Orion II for $500.00. I know someone who's ordered from them in the past with good results.

https://gvhbikes.com/

I say go for it, I've been eyeing these wheels for a while.

Pugsly

I just went with a set of the Shimano WH-7801-SLs, 1520 grams and a reputations for toughness.

JonnyOgre

I have a brand new Lemond Zurich bike that has the race x's on it. After putting 30 miles on them my rear is out of true. And while the roads around here are not the best, I was very cautious about having my ample behind on the saddle for dips, rough gravel, etc. SO now I need to go but some new wheels.

Lambo

JonnyO,
I wouldn't necessarily say you need new wheels. You might but new, machine built wheels could go out of true pretty easily as they are being broken in. Just like cables stretch, I imagine wheels break in as well and a free retrue from your LBS is probably in order. I'd try that before I bought new wheels.

On my CrossCheck I figure on getting the rear wheel trued a couple times a year, despite having the spokes replaced not long after I bought it.

shog

One thing to consider when looking at the weight of wheels is to go to the rim mfg web site and check the weight of the rims. The weight out at the rim/tire has a much bigger effect than the weight at the hubs. So make sure you are not just buying lightweight hubs with a heavy rim.

Shog

surfjimc

I'm 270 right now and ride Mavic Kysriums (1460 grams I think). I have about 1000 miles on them and I absolutely love them. I talked to a Mavic guy about them at the Tour of CA and he said they were stronger than what I was riding; Ultegra hubs 14g straight and Open Pros. I was rather surprised by this, but bought them, and I love the way they ride. Still perfectly true too.

JonnyOgre

I took the bike down, and just as you predicted, they retrued the wheel and told me to come back after getting a few miles on them. I'm doing 40m total this weekend, so we will see.

I did look at the Ksyrium ES's though. Only thing that held me back was that they told me they have a 200lb limit. So if anything happened to the wheel, it wouldnt be under warranty, and a grand is not something I throw away lightly.

trace22clawson

I guess we all want to go "fast." I'm no different. It's just that I think in the long haul the best thing for me to do is to lose the weight. I'm also about 220 but I need to get to about 170 to be in peak physical condition. At that point, that's when I will think that I also deserve a top of the line road bike with a light set of wheels. In the meantime, I'll just keep trying to lose the weight and keep working on the "engine" to try and get "fast." The way I see it, it doesn't matter what wheels or what bike I ride at this point... cuz there is no way that I'm going to keep up with the 22+ mph club until I leave the clyde group and get to my ultimate fitness level at 170 lbs.

But hey, if you're 220 and 6% body fat... go out and get the best wheels and bike that money can buy... you deserve it!

pdq 5oh

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm putting the wheels on hold............for now. I've been looking at FS mountain bikes. Trek has some very interesting things coming for 08. I'm going to plow the wheel money into a mountain bike instead. Thanks again.