Road clydes help a brother out!
 

So I just got this R600 like new, 54cm frame fro $500 off CL and I was sweating the T3 24 spoke wheels. I am 5'8" and 295 Buck Neked(pics not availiable at this time, lol). I called my LBS and the technician laughed and said the t3 wheels are very stout and will hold me with no problem. He said Cannondale rated these to 400 LBS and told me to relax and enjoy. Am I going to kill myself at 30mph when one of these 24 spokers lets go? I love the bike, the fit, Its a dream:love:, I am just worried about the wheels! Any Advice/Experience? Thanks-James
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/c...del-4RR6T.html

You might ask the LBS guy to show you the documentation from Cannondale that specifies the 400 lb rating for the wheels. "Put it in writing", so to speak.

Alternatively, you could find a customer service number for Cannondale and call them with the question.

Good luck.

Calling them Now! Great idea, Thank you.

Just talked to Cannondale Factory and was told I "may break a spoke or two, but no problems with 300lbs on the t3 wheelset", I am so excited, these wheels are so sexy!

Those wheels are pretty sturdy. And, even if you did happen to break a spoke at 30 mph, the wheel wouldn't explode or anything...

I seriously was expecting to taco the wheel at 30mph, I thought with such few spokes and so much of me it would cave in. I will ride fast and hard and see what happens!

No, they are not Carbon, They are Aluminum and have 25mm nipples and oversized spokes. The low spoke count was what scared me! I am going to ride this weekend(100 Miles) and check them for trueness and spoke tension. I love this bike!

I have the 16 spoke Gipiemme Grecal Parade Wheels on my R900. I'm at 215 right now, and after 4 years, I have yet to even need to true these babies up.

AND that's not a problem?:eek:........Well I say ride them, get your money out of them and go from there.

Depending on what style of spokes you have, you may not be able to find replacement spokes. Or it may take a long time to find/order.

All of my wheels are "low" spoke wheels. As long as you are careful maintaining them they should be fine. Take them in and have them retensioned by someone who knows what they are doing. I have a set of Shimano 7700's (24spokes) that are almost 9yrs old and I just broke the first spoke in them last month. When you do break a spoke on a wheel like that you will know it pretty quick. It will probably go far enough out of true to rub on the brakes but that's about all. I rode 10miles home like that.

well as I was walking out the door a Craigslist ad for a medium OCR3 like new for $375. I originally wanted an OCR so I had to look and for $340 it was mine! I will put up pics on a new thread tommorow after I get it adjusted to my body. Thanks for all the help! James

It just dawned on me that you're up in Alaska. Your enthusiasm is impressive and everything, and that's great. I'd just make sure you can outpedal the bears and dodge barreling RV's on the Alaska Highway (watch out for my grandfather too! he never pays attention to the road). Do that and you'll probably be fine.

Failing that....maybe you can adapt a U-lock bag to hold the .44 Magnum (oops, there goes the weight savings!) :)

Just kidding. Have fun!

Tom

So what did you do with the R600?

I can vouch for this, I've popped a couple of spokes on my Crosstrail and nothing horrible happened. So far I've not broken any on my Sequoia.

Low-count wheels usually have pretty beefy spokes under a lot of tension. No, the wheel will not disintegrate, it will make your next XX miles pretty durn miserable, going out of true enough to rub on the brakes. Speaking of disintegration - it is like riding the brakes and generating heat and heating the tire, and....Just watch out for this development, OK?

Ride safe

SF

Are you sure you have 7700 Shimanos? I just sold a pair of Dura Ace 7700 wheels 4 months ago and they are 16 spokes.

+1.

I'm not familiar with those wheels but 24 spoke wheels would leave me questioning the durability if I was that close to the weight limit. Save your pennies and ride them till they die. You might like them and who knows? You might be able to squeeze two or three years out of them.

Nice, so you've got two bikes now?

You are absolutely correct! I had to go out and actually count them. Thanks for catching that.

well that just does it...

I am going to get some 32 spoke deep Vs and build me some wheels...

no two bikes, had to rescind on the r600 that I had agreed to buy. Maybe a ding on my character, It was on CL and I had 10 people do the same to me so I kinda didnt feel too bad, I dunno....

I was heading out the door to pick up the r600, 7 hour drive and all, when the OCR3 popped up for $375. Owner claimed it was flawless(and aside from a bent front DA22 it was. I paid $340 and spent another $400 at my LBS on a setup, clipless pedals, pump, ect. I am happy with it!

I rode 16 spoke front and 20 spoke rear Mavic Ksyriums at 295 and had no problems at all. Just went under 270 and they are still perfect. I would think you will be fine.

Your wheel won't explode..but breaking a spoke? Highly likely at some point. If you end up deciding to upgrade to something more durable, a 32+ spoke Velocity Deep V will serve you extremely well for years to come on the harshest of surfaces.