Bike Rebel

I have 28,000 miles on my Mavic Askium Race wheels and my LBS said I either have to replace the rear hub or the wheel. I have allotted myself $500 for new wheels. I could stick with Mavic and go with the Ksyrium Equipe S. I've also looked at the Reynolds Solitude and Easton EA50's. The Vuelta Corsa SLR wheels have gotten really good reviews on the Nashbar site. I've read a lot of good things about Boyd wheels on this site. I'm a big guy (210 lbs) and slow. I care more about long-term dependability than speed. Breaking spokes or having to re-true wheels all the time really pisses me off but at the same time I don't want wheel that feel like they belong on a Humvee. Any recommendations?

Elduderino2412

Boyd Vitesse
Stan's Alpha 340 or 400 tubeless(what i have)
Soul 2.0(not sure of weight limit)
Williams 30X

BTW nice job racking up 28k miles

datlas 

If you want Mavic and you shop around, you might be able to find a pair of Elites on sale for something close to $500.

That said, you would do better with Williams 30X or a pair of handbuilts...send an email to psimet.

shelbyfv

You could get Ultegra/ Open Pro for $300-$400 and have wheels that are easily repairable at reasonable cost. For your weight, 32 spokes is not at bad idea.

Bike Rebel

Thanks, I have a set of Ultegra/Open Pro's 32/36 that I used when I weighed 250. Good strong wheels but they are silver and I want black to match the rest of the bike.

Bah Humbug

We need a wheel sticky to deal with all these questions.

tagaproject6

Have you looked at Neuvation Wheels?

bianchi10

I tried several months back but the thread sank and everyone just kept posting their own wheel questions. Its hard to do a sticky thread for this subject because everyones situation is different with weight, purpose, reason, budget...etc.

bianchi10

For about $600 you could look into a custom set of velocity rims, DT swiss 240 or 340 (less expensive) with revolution spokes.

Bah Humbug

https://www.novemberbicycles.com/fsw-23/

$25 over your budget. The Boyd and Zen Cyclery options are closer to $700. At that price range, I'd grab the Novembers and ride another 28,000 miles.

canam73

The main reason for the price jump is the spokes. The November uses standard double butted spoke that costs about $1 while some of the others mentioned use cx rays which are close to $3 a piece. Cx rays are a great spoke, but for the OP I don't think they offer any advantage.

seymour1910

Stay within your budget and go for these, I am bigger than you at 225# and I have these in 24/28 spoke count. I have absolutely NO complaints with these wheels.

https://www.boydcycling.com/30mm-rouleur/

Mike F

+1.

bigfred 

If long term durability is your primary consideration, cup and cone Shimano hubs are hard to beat. If you want to better color coordinate with a black bike, 105 hubs would provide exactly that and performance vary similiar to Ultegra for considerably less money. Pair those with any one of a number of black rims: HED Belgium C2, Velocity Synergy, Dyad or A23 if you want 23mm wide rims. Or, DT Swiss 585's, Velocity Fusion or DeepV if you would like to stick to more traditional 19mm wide rims. I believe all of those are available in black and cover a represent a reasonable range of rim weights. Then you just have to decide if you want black spokes and black alloy nipples or if you'll stick with uncoated stainless spokes and plated nipples. I'm reasonably sure you could build up most of those combos within your budget.

bianchi10

+1 bigfred

pgjackson

I'll say it again. Vuelta Corsa Superlite. 1460g, $400. You can't beat that.

NathanC

On brief this time!

RT

Word.

seymour1910

that is an amazing price for nice durable wheels, but don't they only come in 20/24 spoke count? and I don't know what color OP's bike i but Vuelta's have bold logo's...
OP...here are some other options 105 hubs, 32 hole velocity deep v for $255 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hand-Built-S...item4d0a4714a7

Ultegra hubs 32 hole mavic open pro $299 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-Ulte...item3f1dc6bb53

Bah Humbug

CX-Rays are great but the price/ performance is silly unless you're going deep carbon and spending a bunch anyway.

Bah Humbug

I'm sure they're fine wheels. I'd rather skip one meal out and get the wider rims, though.

pgjackson

Don't know about the spoke count on all Vuelta wheels. All I know is that I am happy with mine.

I would also recommend Forte Titan wheels. A little heavier than the Superlites, but they are bulletproof at an amazing price. I have a set as my backup wheels.

RT

I also own the Titans (rode them this morning, pic below), but they are a little flexy under my 200 lb load. The Vueltas are much stiffer.

Bike Rebel

I am seriously looking at these wheels. I like the idea of the handbuilt wheels from a smaller company. How do you like the laser etched labeling? Then I look at the Vitesse and think, well maybe I could stretch the budget up another $150?

Joelpatrick

I am looking into some new wheels myself. I saw the Vuelta Corsa Superlites on ebay for $320 shipped. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vuelta-Corsa...#ht_425wt_1161 . Would this be a worthwhile upgrade over my stock Shimano RS10 wheels that came on my CAAD10? I'm 175lbs.