Shibbyhey

I'm going to start commuting to school next month when I move to a new town. It will be about 60-70 miles a week with 20-25 pounds daily. I'm 5'9" and 150 lbs.

I just ordered a new Shimano Tiagra 4600 groupset since nothing currently on the bike was taken care of. Now I just need to figure out wheels and tires.

I read Sheldon's post about spokes and honestly, it left me kind of confused. It seems that most people are running 32/32 and he is advocating a lower spoke count on the front wheel.

I'm not really sure where to go from here. My budget is maxed out at $175 so I need to find something that mixes affordability and reliability. I toyed with the idea of building my own but that seems to get expensive relatively quick.


Does anyone have recommendations on a wheelset I should look into? Spoke count? Should I build my own?

Appreciate it! Cheers!

EDIT: Bike is a 2006 Trek 1000. I plan on putting a pannier rack and fenders on it. I'm used to riding 23 mm wheels from a Trek 1.5

CliffordK

Post some photos of your bike, frame, etc. Brand? Model? Gearing?

What do you like to ride on? Wheel size?

How long is your commute each way?

I've been commuting on my road bike for decades... And only ride 23/25mm tires. Others prefer fatter tires (which don't fit in all frames).

Most of my wheel sets are 32 or 36 spoke wheelsets, but I'll try some lower spoke count wheels soon. The newer rims are more stable than the old ones, and perhaps better with lower spoke counts.

I periodically find good wheels at the local bike recycler co-op, or on Craigslist.

I've also built quite a few wheels myself. It isn't too hard, just takes some patience. But, one can often find good used deals of almost new wheels for less than on can make them.

Darth Lefty 

Vuelta Corsa HD are bombproof. $155 set and Nashbar often has sales. Not sure whether the deep V black look is appropriate for your bike. You can find other options for similar dollars. Check Niagara for Wheel Master sets built around 4600 hubs to match your groupset, maybe? Like this\

There are so many tire options you won't know where to start. Look for Kevlar belts or better. Put in the biggest thing that will fit on your bike, taking into account whether you'll want fenders.

Shibbyhey

2006 Trek 1000, 50/34 chainset with 12-28 cassette.

I'm used to riding 700x23.

It will be a 10 mile commute each way every day. Here's some pictures of wheel clearance with the current ones on: Rear Tire (25mm) - Album on Imgur

Yeah it seems that building wheels gets more costly in my price range.

bmthom.gis

I'm using Shimano R500 wheels - spoke count is lower than a lot of people like, but they have served me very well. They were free for me, but they are not that much money. I like my Panaracer tires

Shibbyhey

I checked out those Vuelta Corsa HD and will probably get those. I looked at the specs and aren't they 700x19? I'm trying to get 700x28 tires on them so i dk if that would work?
Product: Vuelta Corsa HD Road Wheelset

jaxgtr

your weight and load will survive just about any wheelset you choose. 32 spoke front and back should be a set and forget setup for you. I would look for something with a wide based rim, 17 or 18 mm on the inside and you will be able to run 23's or 25's and at lower pressure and get a slightly wider footprint with the wider rim.

jaxgtr

700*28 on the Trek 1000?? Are you sure they will fit with a wide rim? The Michelin Pro4 Endurance 25's on my Boyd rims measure out at 28's. I'm thinking since you want to run fenders as well....you might run into issues trying to get that wide of a tire on that bike.

CliffordK

It looks like you have two wheels on the bike. What is wrong with the current wheelset? They don't look like anything spectacular that one would need to save for racing or something.

If necessary, hubs for the most part can be rebuilt, new grease, bearings, cones, axles, etc. And it is much cheaper than buying a set of wheels, and easier than building a set of wheels.

I have snagged a couple of good 700c wheelsets off of Craigslist for around $50, often requiring some lube, truing, and etc. But they pop up from time to time.

Building wheels from scratch can be time consuming, but fulfilling. And, really doesn't need any very expensive tools. My truing stand (posted elsewhere) is homemade, and a generation old. Or, some people have built wheels on the bike.

Shibbyhey

I'm not sure what will fit at all tbh.. So maybe Max out at 25 mm?

What does the higher inside width change when having tires on, larger distribution of the forces acting on it?

jaxgtr

This wider rim profile allows for the tire to take on a better shape, not having to bend back as far to fit into the hook of the rim bed. The tire profile will give you an advantage with better handling. The amount of air inside the tire is also increased as the sidewalls don’t have to bend back as far to fit into the rim. More air volume means you can run a little less tire pressure which is great for vibration dampening. It’s also easier to run a 25mm tire for even better vibration dampening and handling, especially for larger riders.

However, as mentioned above, if the wheels you have on the bike are working....why not just use them? Are they usable? t I had a set of Mavic Reflex rims that came with a bike I bought off Craig's List in 2006, that were 3 years old when I bought it. They had Shimano 600 32 spoke hubs that were manufactured in the early 90's on them that I just recently had to say goodbye to. The Rim surface gave up the ghost, but I still have the hubs. I hope to put back into production on something at some point in the future. I serviced them every year and they are as silky smooth as they were when I bought the bike. If the rims are bad, but the hubs are still in good shape, you might consider getting new rims and have them re-laced.

Matariki

If you end up building your own, consider Sun Ringle CR-18 rims. I have these bargain rims on my commuting bike and have found them to be rugged and reliable.