meltron

Ok, so now I'm realizing that the choice of the frame has a lot to do with personal preference and fits. Some frames I really like, others will ho-hum and vice versa.

Ah, but rims/tires! Thats where you can blow a good setup (imo - and from what I've been told).

So the question I'm posing now is, what is who makes good rims/tires for everyday road use? What should one look for in rims/tires? How important is the hub? What hub brand is best worst? Are custom wheels a good choice? Deep V? Are there such a thing as "run-flats"?

I'm a newbie at this, but hopefully this will shed some light for others as well.

Cheers!

mihlbach

Once you get in the realm of decent quality parts its more about the build than the specific components. Properly trued and tensioned wheels will perform way better than wobbly wheels with loose spokes, and they will last a lot longer. The quality of wheel builds can vary from wheel to wheel, but this can be easily checked and corrected by bringing your wheels to an LBS.

The rest really depends on you. How much do you weigh? How much do you value performance over durability? However, I think most people on this forum will agree that the best price/sturdiness/performance compromise is a pair of 32 spoke wheels with a good budget hub (Formula, Surly, Soma, or similar one with good reputation) laced with double butted spokes to a Mavic or Velocity rim. Mavic and Velocity both offer a range of rims with different weight/stiffness tradeoffs. For a normal size person, 32 spokes laced to something like Mavic Open Pros would be perfect. If you are a huge guy and/or you like to ride rough, maybe go with 36 spokes and/or a deeper dish rim, and if you are a lightweight or can avoid potholes 100% of the time, maybe go with 28 spokes. Given that recomendation, there are plenty of options for prebuilts (cheaper) or to go custom (more expensive, but closer to exactly what you want).

Tires are another thing...there are a lot of options there and they are less of a commitment, because they wear and are replaced regulalry. I've used a lot of different tires, but have never found one I really didn't like, except Specialized Armadillos. Buy whatever's on sale. If you don't like em, get something else when they wear out.

meltron

awesome advice mihlbach! I'm 5'9" and about 190lbs. not fat, just meaty. aight, i have some research to do and some shops to visit. any good place online to check out? I've tried performancebike.com, somewhat intimidating for a newbie.

Igneous Faction

All I have to say on this subject is that I ride on Vittoria Rubinos and that they were a total ***** to get onto some IRO Dark Matter rims.

However, the practically seated themselves on my Aeroheads. Strange.

trackstar10

vittoria zaffiros do not go with mavic rims. ive actually bent the rim and tore right through the wire bead on the tire trying to get it on.

mihlbach

If you want to know basically everything, just go to www.sheldonbrown.com and poke around.
Also check ebay for good deals on prebuilts with formula hubs and a variety of rim choices.

queerpunk

meltron - the deep V has gained lots of popularity in the past several years, mostly because it's another place to add another bold color on the bike. it has a reputation as being "bombproof," but as mihlbach says, what winds up making a difference is a good wheelbuild. a good wheelbuilder will be able to offer advice on rims, spoke guage, and number of spokes.

most of the offerings from velocity and mavic are popular choices for rims, though for specific info, check out their product page and search for specific products - i don't know enough about all the different options or about how they've performed, but i do recall some really interesting threads on this board that offered lots of really helpful information, not just people parroting what they've heard back and forth.

as far as hubs go, the options are endless. phil woods are considered the smoothest and the best-sealed, but they'll empty your wallet and then some. dura-ace hubs are very, very smooth but not very well sealed (loose ball, after all). there's a bunch of stuff in the middle, but a great great budget option is formula/iro/velocity/harris hubs. Formula makes 'em, a bunch of other people put their name on them. they're super affordable, smooth, and well-sealed. when the bearings get grindy, pop them out, and order some phil wood bearings. simple as that. won't break the bank.

worst - quando and suzue jr have poorly-sealed loose-ball bearings with less than admirable bearings. there are a billion and a half stories of the cog/lockring threads stripping. that might have to do with the hubs, or it might have to do with novice users buying low-end stuff and improperly installing cogs and lockrings.

as for tires... i really like the ride of vittoria rubino pros, but they skid down fast (took me about four months, but i was going easy on 'em). armadillos are flat-proof, but ride pretty badly, and i skidded through one really fast. i have a gatorskin on the rear - it's sticky, rides well, has a great flat-proof reputation. i like the rubino pro in front, gatorskin in rear combination a lot.

trackstar10

yeah...frickin... rubino pros wear down hecka fast. you dont really notice it untill you start to feel your bike oscilating and realize your rear tire is one big flat spot.

The LT

I haven't used many types of tires but I really like gatorskins....good flat protection and good tread wear

whiney

One month ago I ordered a wheelset at thebikebiz.com, and I recommend them.
I am 6'3", 200lbs and knew nothing concerning wheels (spoke pattern, number of spokes, brass nipples or not ...).
I wrote a couple of questions by email at the same time I placed my order, and they gave me advices (good ones I hope!).

They have a selection of hubs (formula --->Phil) and rims (mavic open sport ---> open pro and deep V). You just click on what you thing is good for you and the money you want to spend.
It took 2-3 days to build the wheelset, and one week for UPS ground to ship from California to NYC (45 dollars).

It is also the cheapest place I have found for Open Pro/phil hubs (fixed x2), something like 450 dollars.

jim-bob

I love the rivendell 'ruffy tuffy' tire.

Love love love.

meltron

Everyone here has been a huge help. Thanks peeps! If I see you in nyc, I owe a you a beer! Seriously.