Mavic Speedcity wheels for touring?
 

I'm doing some last minute shopping for a bombproof rear wheel for a 2 month tour coming up. Yeah I know, I shouldn't have put this off. I can't find ANYTHING at the LBS's around here so I'm getting a little worried. One local LBS did recommend a mavic speedcity that he had in stock as being really strong, and I really like the way the straight-pull spokes attach - making replacement really easy. But does anyone have experience with this wheel? I went in asking for 36-spoke wheels and the Mavic is only 24 spokes, though I understand if a wheel is properly tensioned blah blah that the number of spokes isn't the most important factor.

my existing 32-spoke rear wheel will probably be fine and I won't be far from a bike shop in N. Europe where I'll be so I'm not *too* worried, maybe I can find a decent wheel while I'm over there if I start losing spokes like crazy. I just got my Stein mini cassette remover gadget which is very clever, so I'll have that with me.

I have Mavic Speedcity wheels on my Stumpjumper HT for road riding. I've probably put ~7000 miles on them over the past 4 years (commuting, grocery shopping, organized century rides, etc), they've only been retrued once, and I've never broken a spoke.

FWIW, I weigh about 265, and I often carry panniers with groceries, etc. The wheels have not had an easy life, but they're holding up very well.

I've used a set of SpeedCity's for about 5 years straight, from touring, to mtb racing
uhhh.... I'm pretty sure I can't say enough about how great they are... especially considering price, and the MAVIC MP3 program
speedcitys rock!

I've used a set of SpeedCity's for about 5 years straight, from touring, to mtb racing
uhhh.... I'm pretty sure I can't say enough about how great they are... especially considering price, and the MAVIC MP3 program
speedcitys rock!