icepick_trotsky 

I'm in the process of building my first dedicated century rider/randonneur. I'm much more familiar with vintage road bikes and track bikes, so cassette hubs and modern rims are fairly new to me.

The drivetrain will be Campy 10 speed. Any recommendations on wheelsets? Should I lean toward racing rims, or something more robust for long rides? The frame is a vintage Mercian, so I would like everything to look classic.

Weight isn't a big concern. I'm a measly 145 and don't plan to carry too much gear on this, just a saddlebag probably.

bikemig 

There's a lot to be said for somewhat old school 32 hole hubs for this application. These are fairly easy to fix and keep in true and they work. I'd go with a slightly wider rim though. Two rims that come to mind are the velocity A23 and the H Plus Son tb14 rims. The H Plus Son will look very sharp on a vintage bike, TB14 | H PLUS SON

There is a lot of stuff on the web about the virtues (pros and cons) of slightly wider rims, Implications of Rim Width - Slowtwitch.com

I'm running velocity A23s laced to shimano 105 hubs on my long distance road bike. They're pretty sweet with a lightweight 700 x 28c tire.

rhm

I'd get a pre-built wheel with a dynamo in it; and a matching rim to build up with the desired hub.

If you're thinking you don't need a dynamo, you're probably right. But when riding centuries, it's really nice to be out when it's getting light, and it's really nice to finish before it starts getting dark. Aside from that, "lights on for safety" is a good motto.

Bandera

I'm going light(er) on the MKII-A version of my Rando-ish build w/ 24F/28R and 25mm tires, parking the 32/32 w/ 28's for winter/wet.



I'm not a big guy or hard on equipment and ride (indifferently) paved roads so I'll be running this set-up or Shimano RS-81 C-24 CF/AL composite wheels on the CF Merckx this season for any distance rides. Less is more.

-Bandera

bikemig 

+ 1 on the dynamo front hub. I didn't do that for my build but if I were starting from scratch, I would.

icepick_trotsky 

I have my eye on a pair of Mavic CXP33's for a good price, 32 spoke. Anyone have experience with these rims for this context?

Wolf Dust

Sweet ride! Do you know if it would be possible to fit 35's in it with fenders?

unterhausen

I'm sure the mavics would work fine.

On the general subject, I have had nothing but trouble with my 28 hole rear wheel, I think I'm going to stick with 32 from now on. Randonneurs tend to hit things more often than other riders, given how much we ride in the dark. I am riding bigger tires than I used to ride because the last couple of winters have left potholes everywhere

RR3

Ability to mount 28mm at least or 32mm properly and also naturally to fit the frame is critical. I only run 70-80 PSI.

For rear wheels I have three that get Rando use. 28H Flo30, 21H Dura-Ace C50, or 32H A23 on Dura Ace hubs. The only wheel that ever needed any minor truing is the 32H hub and its sister up front is not true to my liking having suffered a trip up Rt 32 in Bucks County Pennsylvania. I am barely no longer a Clyde and these wheels have proven themselves to my liking although I don't trust the 32H wheels for a long ride. My front wheel is always 20H Flo30. I have a set of 48H Phil hubbed wheels on my ancient Rando bike.

The only time I have hit serious potholes has been when I was mindlessly following other riders's wheel. With good lights mounted in the right spot, I can see potholes fine.... Well, Vermont was just one big pothole.

Bandera

No, but Soma has other models.

28's are a good fit w/ Planet Bike Cascadia fenders which work a treat. No way for 32's w/ mudguards.
It's been a delightfully wet winter & spring in our drought zone and fitting the light wheels is a definite performance improvement w/ mudguards fitted.
Captain Fast won't take his Pinnalized-Specerello Team Shy replica out in such Damp conditions....

The Stanyan is much like an update of my '74 International: A club rider's light(ish) quick(ish) all 'rounder capable of covering miles at a brisk pace on secondary roads while carrying kit for an unsupported weekend ride. Too bad that they are discontinued.....



-Bandera

Wolf Dust

[QUOTE=Bandera;17759607]No, but Soma has other models.

28's are a good fit w/ Planet Bike Cascadia fenders which work a treat. No way for 32's w/ mudguards.
It's been a delightfully wet winter & spring in our drought zone and fitting the light wheels is a definite performance improvement w/ mudguards fitted.
Captain Fast won't take his Pinnalized-Specerello Team Shy replica out in such Damp conditions....

The Stanyan is much like an update of my '74 International: A club rider's light(ish) quick(ish) all 'rounder capable of covering miles at a brisk pace on secondary roads while carrying kit for an unsupported weekend ride. Too bad that they are discontinued.....



-Bandera[/QUOTE Hey, thanks for the info! I've known of the Stanyan before, but never really looked into its specs... Had no idea they discontinued it though.

guidoStow

Take a look at the Soma San Marcos. It fits 32s with fenders and is a sweet ride...

RR3

Just noticed that you want the bike to look classic.

Then, you would need Silver colored box shaped rims with tan side walled tires. Grand Bois from Velo Orange might be a good place to find wheels all built in the classic vein. Compass tires have nice tan sidewalls and are fast. The rims that took wide tires back in the day were also stout.....Super Champions and Weinmann Concaves come to mind. The Mavic rims that I had were mostly for racing or training.

None of the new wheels come close to looking classic.....wide with torroidal shapes and anodized finishes and odd spoke counts and lacing .....for instance, my read Dura Ace wheel has 7 spokes radial on the non-drive side and 14 spokes 2x laced on the drive side of the wheel. Most modern wheels are radial up front whereas radial lacing was reserved for time trials on old bikes.

clasher

Mavic open pro can look kinda classic if you take flashy stickers off. I have the hard anodized (CD en francais) version laced up to some tri-color hubs and they've been working out well for me but I'm still a clyde so I chose to build 36 hole wheels but my night-time bike will have a 32 hole front since the dynamo I have is a 32 hole. I saw an older bianchi built up with some Velo Orange PBP rims and it looked stunning, they are another option.

antimonysarah

I like the way my A23s ride, but they are a bear to get tires on and off of, even with thin rim tape. Most of the Velocity rims are available in polished silver for an upcharge, if classic-ish looks matter.

If I were building a set now, I'd be kind of tempted by the reflective-coat Dyads -- heavier than I need, but side reflectivity is always a plus in the middle of the night, and they don't have the tubeless-ready profile that makes the A23s a tight fit.

MilesDealer

Texascyclesport sells a Dura-ace 9000, 32 spoke Mavic open Pro wheel set for $550. I don't think anyone else even comes close to this price. In my mind a perfect wheel set for distance cycling. I've got around 8000 miles on my set with no problems. Whatever you purchase I would suggest investing more in your hubs than the 105.

joewein

24 or 28 spoke wheels always made more sense to me on a racing bike where aerodynamics matter at lot rather than on a randonneur, where you want things close to bullet-proof. I would never go for fewer than 32 spokes, even though I'm not a heavy rider.

At least around here, your brevet average will largely depend on how fast you can climb on 5-10% grades, for which the spoke count won't matter.

icepick_trotsky 

I saw those, but they're not Campy compatible.

The VO wheels are a nice choice. A friend of mine built up her All-City Mr. Pink with Athena and VO Raid wheels. Very slick looking bike, and she reports that they ride nicely.

clasher

Velo-orange make a campag compatible hub but I dunno if they sell wheels with that hub or not.

chriskmurray

I personally use and would suggest A23's, they come in both an off center version for the rear and polished which would look great on a vintage bike.

The off center makes for a better rear wheel build as it helps balance drive side to non drive side tensions. The fact that the rim is wider than a lot of common options like Mavic makes for not only a little better ride but makes the rim a little happier if running wider tires.

For hubs I would let your budget be your guide, there are a ton of great options out there but some can get very spendy. I personally really love White Industries hubs or if you want to spend a little less, DT 350's.