csmo

Hi everyone

There are, of course, versions of my question floating around the forum; I've searched but still would like to hear some advice.

I would like to take the plunge and have Peter White cycle build a wheel with a SON 28 (I am holding off for now on the rear wheel). I am wondering what rims to buy: Mavic A719, Open Pro, Velocity, etc? I am leaning towards 36 over 32 spoke (color choice is one small factor; I can get the 36 A719 in silver now). I like to ride on rough gravel/dirt as much as possible and am not concerned with the weight difference b/w 32 and 36.

Any thoughts? I might have left some variables out. Feel free if you must to comment on battery vs. dyno but that's not really what I'm asking about: I'd really like advice on rims.

Thanks and best wishes

Christian

bmike

what weight is rider / bike?
are you planning to tour on it?
large front load?
what size tires?
wider rim - wider tire profile.

i run an open pro with 32 spokes.
total load varies but had been as high as 250#s with camping gear.

had to rebuild the wheel once when the SON failed, Peter White took care of it.
had to true the wheel once when it flew off my roof rack @ 65mph and landed / rolled / missed a tractor trailer / and ended in a ditch in VT.

otherwise - no issues.


rear - i run campy 10sp. originally i had an open pro built to a campy hub with 32 spokes.
the open pro failed at a few eyelets - so i rebuilt with a velocity to get the benefit of the offset rim drilling.

csmo

I'm 5'10" and 190. I'd like to be able to do some light touring--or even some heavy touring. I use 700x32 Panaracer Paselas but one day might go wider. It'd be nice to have a wheel that I put on and forget about and it seems to me--though I could be wrong and I know there are Talmudic debates over ALL of this--that the main difference b/w 32 and 36 is weight. But it's a difference that likely will not make a difference to me.

Thanks

Christian

CliftonGK1

I'm building a pair on Sun CR-18 mirror polished rims.
Little bit wider profile for bigger tires (32 - 40+ if I wanted to), strong triple box cross-section, single eyelets. They're not horibbly heavy for being a wide rim, they're available in 36h drilling, and best of all they're under $35 each.

canopus 

I would go with Mavic A719 for gravel, touring, wide tires. I just built up a set of Open Pro's and added to my A719 set. The weight difference is small between the Open Pro and the A719 (about 110 grams) but the A719 builds into a much stronger wheel in my opinion. You could try the Sun or Velo Orange has some some good looking house brands rims for touring also.

csmo

The Sun CR-18 is a good idea. I will ask Peter White Cycles to work up a quote on several builds. The A719 is about twice as much.

vgXhc

I'd also suggest to not buy the Open Pros. Their inner diameter is smaller than that of the 719s and given that you want to run tires >32mm this would not be a good idea on the Open Pro. Especially when touring fully loaded this creates too much stress on the side walls. The A719 is rated for 28 to 47 mm tires which sounds like just what you want.

32 or 36 spoke? Doesn't matter much for the front wheel. 32 is fine but 36 won't slow you down much either.

unterhausen

I am running Velocity Synergy rims. I really like the offset in the back. They are a little wider. My experience with the Sun CR18 has been poor, and my LBS refuses to order me any because they have had the same experience. Now that I think of it, when I was replacing my last CR-18, all the shops in town basically advised against them. I know people use them because they are cheap, but that isn't a real convincing argument for me. Rims are one thing where I like to go with the best I can afford

CliftonGK1

What specific problems did you have with the CR-18? There's quite a few in my club who have them, and I haven't heard any complaints.

csmo

Thanks for all the ideas so far. The A719s sound attractive based on their ability to go anywhere. I do not know how much loaded touring I'll be doing anytime soon (I did a bunch in the 90s) but having wheels that COULD handle it is nice and I do like to ride on rough roads. The price difference b/w Open Sport/Pro, Synergy, and A719 is not tiny but it's also not very large, while the CR-18s are decidedly cheaper. Thanks again

canopus 

Chain reaction cycles in the UK has good deals on the Mavic's (when in stock), thats where I order mine from.

vredstein

Not to cop out, but I'd ask Peter. He probably has a lot of experience building these hubs up for different people with different rims, rider weights, uses, etc. There's a good chance he's received a good amount of feedback from past customers.

vengeful_lemon

Another vote on the A719, if you want a strong 700c wheel.... Mine have been great.

Daveyboy

Another option is the DT Swiss RR 465. 465g, 19.4mm width, classic box construction, double eyelets, 32 spoke - they make a nice wheel (hands down better than an OP imo.) I had a set built up 3 years ago - 32 hole 3x front and back. At 225lbs I can be pretty tough on equipment, but these wheels are still true & round. They're quite affordable as well $65 or so, they come in black or silver.

Andrey

I just went through the same decisions and settled on Velocity Fusion 32 spoke rim with Shimano dynohub.

I always preferred rims taller in profile for stiffness and reliability over box section rims. I am not planning to run tires wider then 32 mm Pasela though on my long distance/touring bike. I may also run 25-28 tires also on it on other bikes. I am the same weight as you but I do not like very heavy rims/tires, but at the same time I like stiff and reliable wheels. At my weight I never broke a spoke on the front wheel and some of my bikes have less than 32 spokes.

Velocity Fusion was the best compromise for me between weight/strength/quality/stiffness/price. I may add a rear Velocity Deep-V for the rear later on to match the front Fusion rim. I also looked at Mavic CXP 33 and Kimlin 270 something as well as Open Pro and DT Swiss RR 465(double), Velocity Dyad and Deep-V.

csmo

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

zowie

Don't overlook the inexpensive Alex Adventurer for this kind of application.

zowie

This amused me.

Six jours

I have used the A719s with great success. They have even held up to tandem riding with no troubles. The only downsides IMO are the fact that you are not supposed to use tires narrower than 28mm with them, and the fact that they are really heavy.

And I'm adding my voice to those curious for specifics of problems with the CR-18.

subgeniuskitty

You might want to consider the Velocity Dyad. It's a bit cheaper than the A719 and has an excellent reputation. I'm using the 36 hole version in front with my SON28. I regularly ride with a bunch of junk in the front panniers and it has held up fantastically so far. I made my decision based on PW's endorsement and have been very pleased with the result.

csmo

Thanks for the recommendation. Peter White thought that a Velocity Synergy would be a good choice given the kind of riding I am doing. It's a little cheaper and a good bit lighter than the A719.

unterhausen

in favor of the synergy, I hit a hole so hard that I blew both tires and the synergys look ok. Gotta put them on a truing stand to make sure

CliftonGK1

Just finished my CR18 build this weekend. Aside from the fact that they're a heavy single-eyelet rim (517g) I didn't notice anything different about building them up than with my DT RR1.1 rims. Once tensioned and trued, I brought them out to the parking lot for my usual roll-about testing. No pings or creaks, they feel strong when I lean the bike way over from side to side, and the braking surface feels clean and smooth at the seam.
Rolling them into work this morning they felt great. My 32mm Pasela TG kevlars felt a little harder than usual at the same pressure; which is maybe due to a straighter sidewall profile when compared to the same tire on the RR1.1 rim. (Wider rim == less sidewall deformation/tire compression? Or am I just imagining things?)