magbike

So due to some unforseen events I weigh about 10 pounds more now than when I started cycling (240 vs 250). It seems I was on a cusp of bike issues because i'm breaking spokes like crazy now on my rear wheel. Even a rebuild didn't seem to help, suggesting that I'm pushing the limit of what I have. No, I'm not hitting edges or popping wheelies or do anything other than ride ride ride. This constant downtime is driving me nuts.

At this point I wanted to buy the best rear wheel for under 200 bucks so I don't have to deal with this problem. Is it possible within the budget I'm looking at? I don't care about the extra weight I'll incur - strength is what I want. If weight matters to me, I'd rather lose the weight on the bike, as its much easier for me to shave off of.

Reviewing lots of threads, people seem to recommend the Mavic CXP33 along with the thickest gage spoke it'll support. However, I'm not in a position to build a wheel. Are there any websites that offer decent prices on a custom wheels that people trust? Rose seems to sell just the wheel and is located in the UK (i'm in the USA), wheel builder starts at 250, amazon is spotty, not sure how much I trust ebay although they have stuff around 150.

Right now I'm about 250lbs, and the bike is about 22, and I carry about 10lbs of gear (mostly plenty of water). I have a 700CC wheel and have a 10 speed Shimano. I need a website that will sell me a rear wheel that can deal with its fair share of almost 280 pounds.

Note: I only need the rear wheel; My Front Wheel (Shimano RS-10) has never had a single spoke break on me :-) Note: I'm not looking for just a rim - I want the full prebuilt wheel, such that I don't have to worry about the spokes that are used or the hub that is used (I'm assuming standard will be a 105 hub, which is more than adequate for my uses).

oddjob2

Velomine.com is your friend. I'd get the set at their low price.

Mavic CXP22 Shimano 105 Hubs All Silver Road Bike Wheels 32h [66801 & 66802 or 66803] - $139.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

Jimbosays

FYI - I've ridden the Mavic CXP-22 N (32 spoke spoke both F/R) wheel set (stock on my Secteur Elite) from 320 -> 180 lbs. with nary a spoke/wheel issue whatsoever.

What type/brand/spoke count wheel set are you riding on now?

bigfred 

Mavic CXP33 are ok. But, there are both nicer rims and more affordable rims. Mavic have lost some of their reputation in recent years. You might also look at Velocity Deep Vs or DT Swiss 585s in that same category.

Absolutely nothing wrong with Shimano 105 hubs. If you need to save money you could even go Tiagra with no additional concerns. Shimano hubs are reasonably durable up and down the model lines.

At 250lbs, you don't need "the thickest gauge spoke" those hubs and rims can support in order to have a durable wheel. In fact plenty of builders would argue that double butted spokes will build a more "durable" wheel even if it isn't "stronger". The additional elastic spoke elongation makes it easier to achieve good tension equalization and provides greater resilience to lateral flex without seeing the spoke elbows or threads wear from repeated loading and unloading cycles, which is the most common cause of spoke breakage.

So, yes, you shouldn't have any problem getting a reasonably durable rear wheel for sub $200.

bigfred 

Oh, and just in case you hadn't already read this comment enough in those other threads: Wheel durability has as much if not more to owe to how well it's assembled than to the components used. Invest as much or more time into selecting your wheelbuilder as you do the components. The secret to durability beneith a clyde is "Uniform and Reasonably High" spoke tension. With a Deep V style rim and Shimano hub, that would be in the area of 130kgf on the drive side and 70+kgf non-drive side.

jwramseier

As a 260+ pound rider, I had Mavic CXP22 wheels that came stock on my bike. Initially, these wheels were OK. However, I soon started breaking spokes in the rear and then discovered small cracks in the rim near the spoke holes. I replaced the wheels with Velocity Deep V rims, Shimano 105 hubs, DT Swiss spokes and upped the spoke count to 36. I had them built at my LBS.

The wheels cost less than $350 for the set and are bullet proof. I have 6000+ miles on them and and I have never broken a single spoke and they rarely need adjustment.

Jarrett2

I just bought this one for my bike:

Shimano 105/Mavic Open Sport Rear Wheel

Here is a slightly higher quality one as well:

Shimano Ultegra FH-6800/Mavic Open Pro Rear Wheel

MRT2

Yup. After a season of back wheel truing issues and a little over 2,000 miles of use, the stock rims on my bike, Salsa Delgado Cross, 32 spokes, started to fail. (cracks developing at several spoke holes). So I went to the shop that sold me the bike, and they built me a new wheel around an Alex DH19 rim, Wheelsmith spokes, and a 36h Velo Orange Grand Cru Touring hub. We discussed the possibility of going with Velocity Deep V rims, but the wheelbuilder at the LBS seemed confident the Alex rims would do the job, as he used this build on his own touring bike. We will see how it holds up. So far, so good, but I won't know for sure until I get some bigger miles on it, so probably sometime next spring as my outdoor riding season will likely be over by Thanksgiving.

magbike

Is Velmine hassle free in that the wheel will come ready to install on the bike and I know its a quality installation? Ideally I'd love for it to arrive, I pop on my own cassette, and the world moves on.

magbike

Yes, based on what I read here, I am aware of that. That is why I was asking about where to buy it online prebuilt. Thanks for reiterating this point :-)

Should I have it re-tuned regardless of where I buy it from? I'm eager to buy it now because I'd really like it to come in so I can start riding again :-)

bigfred 

At 250, I really would suggest something more than a Mavic Open Sport or Open Pro rim. Not that those, can't provide a reasonable service life. But, apparently they just aren't what they used to be when their reputations were built. And, there are better options available.

One of the challenges with building a clyde worthy wheel out of an Open Pro is that it's box cross section can not support the necessary drive side tension (130'ish kgf) to get the non-drive high enough (70'ish kgf) to prevent nipples backing off without some form of thread compound. Take an Open Pro rim over about 110kgf and it starts to collapse into the shape of a potato chip or taco and become extremely hard to keep true. Run the tension low enough that it can reasonably maintain it's structural integrity (<110kgf) and you're faced with non-drive spoke tension in the 50s and the need to use some form of thread compound to keep them from backing off as the wheel flexes laterally while climbing, sprinting and/or standing.

I've ridden both rims. And, in the past they represented good choices. But, times have moved on and there are now better options available to 250lb clydes. I whole heartedly encourage the use of those better options instead of what we had to make do with in the past.

I wish I knew how well Velomine assembled and tension equalized their wheels. I do not. Perhaps one of the clydes who owns a tension meter may use Velomine as a source for the parts(in assembled form) and provide the community with a record of what the spoke tensions are as delivered. That would be very helpful.

MRT2

In my experience, wheels do settle in, so the notion that you will buy a wheel pre built from an internet vendor and it will remain trouble free may be a bit elusive. At the very least, I would get it checked after 50 to 100 miles, then again after another couple of hundred miles just to have a little peace of mind. This applies equally to clydes as to non clydes.

magbike

Can you elaborate here? The issue I have is that the nipples come off the spoke and get lodged inside the wheel. Is it really a poorly tensioned wheel that I'm a victim of?

intransit1217

I'm in the midst of a wheel learning curve too. If they are the stock wheels, (what bike? are you on?) then likely they're just cheap spokes. I'm popping them on my dual sport.

The Giant (brand) pxc-2 cost me 130 bucks, has a deep v profile, is double wall, has nipple thingys in the wheel (not brass), dt stainless spokes, and a sealed hub. It's worlds better than the factory wheel.

That's my .02

bigfred 

I can fully understand your desire to get back on the road. That issue is why a lot of cyclist have a spare set of wheels somewhere in the garage.

Having a wheel built by the likes of Peter White "re-tuned" by a local mechanic would be a sin! Having a hap hazardly assembled but affordable wheel of reasonable components actually "finished" by a local "wheelsmith" would be an excellent ideal and one that many have relied on in the past. The challenge is finding that "wheelsmith" if you don't already know who they are. So, there's no straight answer to your question without knowing who built the wheel and who would be re-tuning it.

You don't list a location in your info. But, if you live within a reasonable distance of a metropolitan area there's a chance you have someone not to far away that does nothing but, or has a reputation for, wheel work.

I just had a look at the Velomine website and they list several versions of the Velocity Deep V as well as other more suitable rims for a 250 lb clyde. Although I'm no longer a Mavic fan, I would still recommend the CXP22, which Velomine also list, before an Open Sport.

Any time the cost of an assembled wheel is less than a local wheelsmith can buy the components for, I start to wonder how well it's been assembled. In my book, any such wheel would be a candidate for a good going over before use. Which should cost a few bucks. $35-75. Or, you can just spend a little bit more coin with the same trusted wheelsmith to begine with and get a comparable wheel delivered into your hands. Although, sometimes, "Buy an assembled wheel, and then bring it to me for finishing." may still be the answer you get from your wheelsmith.

So, who's your wheelsmith? Answer that first. Provide a location. Do a little searching for them. If you want online wheelsmiths with excellent reputations, you're going to get recommendations like Peter White, et al. Or, at least businesses that have a personality, name and reputation behind them.

bigfred 

What rear wheel do you have right now? Is it the rear partner to the RS10 front? And, how many spokes does it have?

magbike

Great info thank you very much; i'm in Orange County, CA so I'll look around here. I'm sure there has to be one.

magbike

Replaced the RS-10 wheel with a Forte Titan; it was Performance House Brand Wheel.

The Spokes on the RS-10 would break and I replaced it with a Forte Titan after talking to their Bike Mechanic. The Forte Titan's doesn't break, but as you described the nipple literally threads right off leaving a spoke that simply isn't threaded to anything. I've taken it in, and each time they fix it and claimed to have re-trued the wheel.

Edit: Both are 20 Spokes. Forte Titan doesn't have cyclindrical spokes, but instead the spoke is a flat strip of metal.

Edit2: Just to clarify...Current Front Wheel RS-10 (Never an issue). Current Rear Wheel Forte Titan (Nipples keep unthreading during the middle of rides)

magbike

Great info thank you very much; i'm in Orange County, CA so I'll look around here. I'm sure there has to be one.

bigfred 

Right. From what I see on the Performance website, that's a 27mm deep alloy rim with 20 bladed stainless spokes.

Under a 250lbs clyde: 27mm rim depth = Good
Only 20 rear spokes= Poor, unless really well done.

I would recommend 2 possible solutions:

1. Locate that local wheelsmith (a thread in the Clyde forum asking for recommendations in Orange would probably work). Take the Titan into him and ask him to retension and true the wheel using "SpokePrep", plumbers dope, beeswax or the none permanent treatment of his preference. Personally, I avoid the various Loctite products. Even the low bonding ones. You need something more than "nothing" or a "lubricant". Obviously, neither of those is working for you.

This won't stop the wheel from flexing laterally. But, it will prevent the non-drive side nipples from backing off and should keep the wheel true. Until the non-drive spokes start breaking from having been tension/detensioned so many times at the same point (elbow or head).

2. Take the Titan back into Performance (who I hope has some sort of satisfaction guarantee) for yet more free service and suggest that you've been sold the wrong wheel by them for your intended purpose and that you would like to exchange it (at full purchase price) toward the purchase of a more suitable wheel. I know I've said I'm not a fan boy of Open Sport rims. But, I don't see any other options on their website with 32 or more spokes. A trade in toward a Performance built 105/Open Sport shouldn't cost you much. If they had them, I would prefer a CXP33 or 22 if stuck with Mavic products.

But, then, take that brand new Performance built 105/Open Sport to the wheelsmith that you've already identified and explain that you would like it repeatedly tensioned, trued and stress relieved until additional stress relieving no longer effects either tension or true and then tension equalized to within +/- 5% instead of the industry accepted standard of +/- 20%.

MRT2

20 spokes for a 250 lb guy? Don't know why they would sell you such a wheel.

magbike

Just an update...I ended up using Velomine and purchased a new rear wheel CXP22 (actually I got both front and rear because the front cost me an extra 10 bucks).
I called them and they were able to build the wheel for me which was great. He was a little hesitant when I asked for tension within +/-5% but I explained my situation and why that mattered and he said they'd be able to nail it well enough for me. Well its several months forward and I still don't have any broken spokes and I love it. I don't have a tension meter so I don't know how its holding up right now, but its still gotta be better having that load distributed over 32 spokes instead of 20 spokes.

Willbird

Well that is a good deal then :-).

I rode my stock Trek 7200 rims which are 32 spoke from 280 clear down to sub Clyde and never had to have them touched, between 1500 and 2000 miles worth. I have a Fuji 1.5 now and I just built a spare rear wheel which I have not ridden yet.

Bill