dellwilson

Hi y'all

I'm build a century/CC-touring bike based on a Surly Cross Check frame. Ive only bought complete bikes in the past and dont know much about wheels.

My budget for wheels is max $700. I want to run 700x28 tires. I weigh around 200, but I don't ride heavy (rarely flat, rarely break a spoke). I guess many will think this is trivial, but I prefer black or white rims/spokes to silver.

I'd like some recommendations on wheels. If you recommend a custom built wheel, can you recommend where I might get that built as well.

Thanks for your help.

tarwheel 

Velocity Dyad or A23 rims, Ultegra hubs, DT Swiss butted spokes, nickle spoke nipples. You should be able to get a set of those hand built for $350-400.

niknak

For CC touring and at your size I'd go with 32H in back and 28H in front. Others in this sub-forum will probably recommend more spokes, which is perfectly fine if you want to err on the side of caution.

White Industries hubs would set you back about $365 + Velocity Fusion rims for $110 + some DB spokes & nips for about $75 = $550. That leaves you with $150 for tires, tubes, and rim tape.

You could definitely build a reliable set of wheels for cheaper. Some Shimano 105 hubs would be far less than the Whites.

bradtx

dellwilson, I've built many a road bike in the past, but my first touring bike build had me scratching my chin a bit. After wearing out the search function on this forum for wheelset nods I went with the WE512 https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheels/622.html . After about 100 miles they're doing fine and will give me some breathing room before deciding on a better wheelset, or even if I learn I need a better wheelset. One of my original wheelset ideas was a 36H Mavic A319/DT 15-14 DB spokes w/brass nipples/Hadley or XT hubs.

Brad

sstorkel

I went with Velocity Synergy OC rims, 32 double-butted spokes (laced 3-cross), brass nipples, and Shimano XTR hubs (wanted disc brakes, found the hubs on closeout for half-price). I'd have gone 28/32, but found great deals on the hubs and rims. The Synergy will accept tires as narrow as 700x28, but works equally well with the larger 700x32 or 700x35 tires I prefer when touring. Off-Center drilling leads to more even spoke tension, which may increase wheel life. I built the wheels myself, which I would highly recommend. My first wheel build, so it took a while, but the wheels turned out great and I now have the confidence that I can fix any problem which might arise. If you chose not to build them yourself, any competent wheel builder should have access to these components...

fietsbob

200# rider then add the gear ?
a 32 or 36 on front 40 rear wheel set would be a good loaded tour setup,
if you can spread the rear to 140, the dish is only slight.
Shimano Tandem hub offers that drilling and still the freehub swap of the cassettes.
still a modest priced component.

If you don't want to spread the frame, the axle and spacers can be swapped
to narrow the tandem hub to fit the rear spacing of the frame.

dished, shorter axle, the load on the right side of the rear, goes up..

update.
Ok just bringing Money? a 36 in back, and a 32 in front, and say Mavic Open sport rim.

Loaded tours , 99% trouble free , I carry extra spokes in the wheel, hence the added 4 spokes suggested..
1 broken spoke, means a few moments re truing the rim, then riding off for days
until I got to someplace to replace the spoke in comfort.

I'm my own wheel builder..

sstorkel

This advice borders on ridiculous... The OP only wants to do credit-card tours and century rides. He does not need a 40-spoke rear wheel and a tandem-capable hub!

antokelly

www.wiggle .co.uk have an offer on wheels just now.
i bough a nice pair mavic 319 rims swiss plain gauge spokes deore hubs 130 euro btw there hand made and i think they deliver world wide so check them out , they have lots of wheels on 20% discount.
good hunting.

LeeG

just to make sure I understand your intended use, given you've posted in a touring forum, is a "century/Cross Country-touring bike", "700x28 tires". What is unclear is that you "don't ride heavy" but you're setting up for Cross-Country touring bike. So is it safe to assume your cross country will be a credit card trip and not a loaded touring bike trip?

The issue would be whether you're riding light ALL the time or whether your touring involves any load. If it involves a load throw light weight out the window and go for durable. You don't have to spend $700 unless you want to spend $700. Call Peter White and tell him your criteria.

How about a 36 spoke Mavic Open Sport front and a 36hole Mavic 719 rear. https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/

LeeG

I got a 319 Handspun rear wheel with straight 14g. spokes and am very pleased.

brianogilvie 

Peter White built me a nice set of wheels for randonneuring and light touring: 36h Velocity Synergy rims (off-center for the rear), Wheelsmith 14 ga. double-butted spokes, a Shimano XTR M910 rear hub, and a SON-28 dynohub. I think the total price came to just under $700. I weigh just over 200 lbs. and I ride on some rough country roads so I wanted 36 spokes. And I sometimes ride with a slow companion so I wanted the SON-28 rather than the SONdelux hub, to get decent light at low speeds. If you're usually going fast, and you will always use an LED headlight, you can use the SONdelux on a 700C bike.

motobecane69

Don't buy velocity fusion rims, go to irocycle.com and buy their "cold fusion" rims which are unbadged velocity fusions and are $15 each! Just built 2 wheelsets for me and my gf.

Regarding rim choice, if you ever want the option of going to a larger tire like a 32 or greater, than you should consider something like the velocity dyad or the mavic a319 or a719. If you know your not going larger than 28, than regular road rims are more appropriate. Fwiw, i'm closer to 250 lbs and i do loaded commutes with about 30 lbs on my trunk bag and I have a mavic a719 36hole with DT Comp spokes and brass nipples. not a ton of miles on it yet, but it's big and beefy.

I also think your budget is huge, you don't need to go anywhere near that much expense. Some of the guys on the clyde forums are getting Deep V wheelsets with Ultegra hubs built for under $300 from prowheelbuilder.com. Thats a perfectly good wheelset at a killer price.

antokelly

good stuff i'm still waiting for delivery of mine.