csmo

I have a 2009 Bianchi Volpe. It's basically the stock bicycle; I've replaced the bars with Nitto Noodles, the tires with Panaracer Pasela 32s, and put a B17 saddle on it. Now, I'd like to slowly upgrade the components and thought I'd start with the wheels. It comes stock with WTB DX23 rims and Ultrega hubs.

If you were to upgrade what would you buy? I've looked at a variety of Peter White's wheels and they look very nice.

I like to ride on gravel/unpaved roads as much as possible, but of course spend a lot of time on pavement too. I want something strong.

Thanks for any advice.

CliftonGK1

Is there a problem with the stock wheels going out of true, breaking spokes, etc.?

If not, I'd just keep 'em until you wear out the rims. that's what I did with my Alex DA16/Deore stock wheels on my Cross-Check.

Barrettscv 

I went to 32 spoke Mavic Open Pro rims on Shimano 105 hubs. I've been very happy with the wheels. I'm 205 lbs and can be hard on equipment.

Michael

old and new

My advice is to stay with those wheels. They're known to be tougher than average and Ultegrs Hubs speak for themselves. Your wheels are more of a go to wheel than a change from. There are lighter wheels but I don't think that they're necessary nor is it your goal, right ? Lightening is another story, your only other direction.

zpl

Ditto here on the advice to keep your wheels. An upgrade it worth it IMO if you're starting with something crappy and are replacing it with something really nice, and those wheels are definitely not what I would consider "crappy." You may end up spending a lot of money for very little benefit.

Scott

ks1g

Agree with consensus these sound like decent wheels. But what about a second set and different tires, so you can quickly move from pavement to off-road (unless you want to do both frequently)? I just did this for my Bianchi Castro-Valley commuter so I can easily switch to something more suitable for snow/ice/slush, assuming we get any this year.

If you are determined to buy something else for the bike, consider a computer, seat bag, or fenders, depending on what you need. And there's always new stuff for "the motor".

csmo

Thanks everyone. I mistakenly wrote that the hubs are Ultrega; they're actually Tiagra. That said, I doubt I would notice the difference.

I'm by no means committed to buying new wheels now. It's simply that I bought bike with the idea that I would upgrade as time went on and wheels are a likely upgrade one day.

All that said, while I agree that it might not be necessary now, would folks please give me their suggestions--I'd still really like to know what people like and why.

Thanks

lonesomesteve

I have a 2006 Bianchi Volpe as my commuter. I now have nearly 9,000 miles on the original front wheel. It's never been trued and it's still rock solid and true as can be. The Tiagra hub has held up well. My rear wheel is not original and has about 5,000 miles on it (I converted it to a single speed a while back). My feeling is the Volpe is a good solid commuter bike with no obvious "weak link" parts that need to be upgraded. There's nothing really wrong with it, but the frame doesn't justify parts much better than what it comes with. If you really want to upgrade wheels, I'm fond of the old standard, Mavic Open Pro rims with Ultegra hubs. Anything fancier than that on a Volpe would be wrong. Personally I would focus on getting the cockpit (saddle, handlebars, pedals) just right and replace other parts as the originals wear out.

csmo

Indeed, the Volpe does not warrant a lot of fancy upgrades. My plan, to the extent that any of this is a plan, was to slowly upgrade here and there as I learn more and more about what I want, eventually ending up with a new frame and a mostly new bike. Is it the most efficient way to go about it? Perhaps not. I have swapped out the saddle and handlebars as noted above and pedals/shoes are coming this weekend.

I of course appreciate all the good thoughts; and I agree: it's not necessary to get rid of the wheels now. But I wonder what answer I would have gotten had a I asked: My wheels were stolen what should I buy for such and such a use? Mavic Open pros is one answer--are there others? I'd still like to know what people use and why.

Thanks

Barrettscv 

LOL, yes I do like to answer a direct question with a direct answer.

CliftonGK1

When I replaced my stock wheels, I went with DR RR1.1 rims.
My reasoning was pretty simple; they're strong, not much heavier than Open Pros, and I found them at a great price.
The real benefit with the rear wheel was that I could do a spoke-for-spoke swap into the new rim since the ERD was only 1mm difference.

I like the DT rims over the Open Pros for two reasons.
1) The RR1.1 has a wear indicator, so I know when the braking surface is getting thin.
2) I think the Open Pro is noisy. I have an OP wheel and it's much louder than my RR1.1 wheel on roads with a lot of chatter. Something about them just seems to amplify every little road noise. Not like amplify the feel of it through the ride, but literally, it's loud and annoying to listen to it for 300k.

Rowan

I am scratching my head a little bit about all the recommendations for the Open Pros when essentially, the OP is talking about riding gravel/unsealed roads -- a LOT.

While I respect the Open Pro as an option (and if I could have got them reasonably cheap, I might have opted for them instead of Velocity Aeroheads on Ultegra hubs for the Merlin C110 I have built for randonnees), I would be less certain if I had to subject them to the sorts of road conditions the OP is talking about.

Surely a wider wheel for wider tyres would be in order. I am not familiar with the WTB variety of wheel, but obviously it, too, is highly regarded among posters.

To answer the OP's modified scenario, I would likely suggest Velocity's Dyad, then followed by the Velocity Aero (note, this is the Aero with a slightly larger V section than the Aerohead I mention later).

I have the Dyads on my Fuji Touring, which was fitted original with incredibly crappy Alex rims that (wouldn't you kinow it) broke many spokes on the rear. It then had Velocity Aeroheads, including an OS on the rear. Riding the Aeroheads over rough or gravel roads (like the OP, I guess) resulted in spoke pull-through on two rear OS rims. Like I said, the Aeroheads equate to the Open Pro.

I put Aeros on my fixed gear steelie.

The Dyads are not lightweights, but they do allow me to use 28mm and wider tyres. The wheels came ready-built, with Velocity's hubs (Formula, I think, in cognito). With a few thousand kilometres under them, they have stood up very well in loaded touring, on short randonnes, and on gravel. They are currently fitted with Schwalbe Marathon XR tyres.

max-a-mill

open pro's are used on cross bikes all the time so i definitely think they are strong enough for dirt road touring. as for wider rims for wider tires i have heard this a lot but really i think it is overhyped. any normal touring tire is going to fit on a road rim without issues in my experience...

i prefer mavic rims to velocity. the new mavic pricing does make open pro's quite spendy though. but there are also open sports and cxp22s which are more budget (but still really nice) rims.

more than anything wheels need to be built properly to last.

IMHO if you want the best possible wheels go to a good local wheelbuilder tell him/her what you want to do, what your budget is, and let him/her build you some wheels. it will cost a lot more than the equivalent wheels bought on the intro-nut but you'll most likely get a much nicer build and you'll have someone to take them back to if they do come out of true.

if your really want STRONG wheels build it with 36 spokes in the back and 32 on the front.

csmo

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will for sure have them built locally or perhaps buy them from Peter White. The WTBs are fine for now.

Best wishes