lucky1976

I am planning on using an online wheel builder for a set of touring wheels but I am having a hard time deciding between Velocity Dyad Rims and Mavic A319 or A719 Rims with Shimano XT hubs 36 spokes.
I will be carrying front and rear panniers, mostly likely credit card touring but who knows what the further may hold.

I am looking for something that will be mostly low maintenance as Im not too experienced with the wrench.

I have to decide between DT Swiss and Wheelsmith spokes also. Butted or not.

Any feedback would be appreciated

Doug64

I have the wheels you just described on my LHT: Dyad 36 hole, XT hubs, Wheel Smith DB spokes, with Schawlbe Marathon tires (32mm). They have been on 3 relatively long tours including a 2,900 mile fully loaded tour that took us over 400 miles of dirt and unpaved roads and trails, and over 500 miles of cobble and paver block surfaced roads and trails. They are excellent wheels.

You will probably get a lot of input about the newer XT hubs. IMO they are just fine. The issue is that Shimano switched from a solid steel axle with 9- 1/4" bearings to a hollow Aluminum axle with 13- 3/16" bearings. I don't think it is a big deal. The new XT hubs have excellent seals. The grease in my hubs looked really clean when I serviced them this fall with about 4,000 miles on them.

The one thing that I was a little leary about is the way Shwalbe Marathon tires fit on the Dyad rims. The tire is a very loose fit. I don't know if the rims run small or the tires run large. Maybe some of the other members of the Forum will have some ideas about this. My wife who has the same setup only with Ultegra hubs had the same issue. It did not cause any problems but I was a little "antsy" when I first put it all together. I think the Dyads are lighter than the Mavic rims. My wife rode a set of wheels with the older XT 36 hole hubs, Mavic A119 rims, and 28mm tires fully loaded on a 3,650 mile cross country ride a few years ago; and they also performed well. The Mavic's have eyelets, which may be better--or not. If you go with the Dyads you might want to specify or make sure the braking surface is machined. They come in machined and non-machined braking surfaces. Then there is the choice between black and silver

I also recommend Universal Cycles in Portland, OR. Their work is excellent, prices are good and they have great customer service.



Good luck!

seeker333

Lucky 1976, you've asked this same general question twice before in the Touring forum.

You make the OP and then leave the discussion with no follow-up. You don't seem to be serious in discussing this topic.

Why should we bother to answer you again?

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=#post13529006

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...lset-Questions

Doug64

Seeker333,

I wish I had seen your post before I posted!

antokelly

doug thanks for your post i'm in search of a rally good set of wheels myself, my current favorites are from spa cycles in the uk grizzly rims still not decides on hubs dt db spokes but spa recommend straight pull on drive side make for a better stronger wheel.
btw seeker333 the op is quiet entitled to as the same question again god knows i ask the same question a million times nothing wrong with that just saying.

tarwheel 

I had some commuter/touring wheels built with 36H Velocity Dyad rims and Ultegra hubs, and they have been bulletproof. The deciding factor to me was the weight. Dyads are significantly lighter than Mavic A719s/319s. That said, my next set of wheels will have 32H DT Swiss 465 rims and Ultegra hubs. My mechanic says the 32H DTs are stronger than 36H Mavic Open Pros, and I trust him because he is a very skilled wheelbuilder with tons of experience. He built a set of DT 465s for a cyclist who rode across the US with them.

staehpj1

My suggestion is to do one of the following:

1. Use the wheels you have until you find them to not be adequate. Keep and eye on them for even spoke tension and trueness and you will likely get a good long life out of them.
2. If you must replace your wheels... Pick a reputable wheel builder and trust them to pick components that are suitable. Especially since you say that you are "not too experienced with the wrench", why would you presume that you or some stranger on a forum knows better than your wheel builder of choice? That is part of what you are paying a custom wheel builder for.

LeeG

lucky, sounds like you're paralyzed with indecision while using a "custom builder "program" that requires you to decide the parts, moreover you've shifted from credit card touring to fully loaded or whatever while leaving out the second most important factor, your weight. Your previous post two months ago started with 4x consideration and credit card touring.
Staefphj1 pretty much nailed it. Tell the builder what you're doing then pay for the build. If you're fixated on a particular builder whose online order form requires you to chose just do it. All the rims and spokes you picked will work, if you want to save $10 or so use straight gauge, if you want to save $40 use the 319s, if you want X grams lighter use the Dyads and butted spokes. Butted spokes will theoretically provide a longer life wheel but it's probably academic in a crash or boxed/transportation accident. DT or Wheelsmith doesn't matter, it might matter if you've built a wheel or two and developed an attachment to one or the other.
The parts really don't matter, you could have the wheels built up with even cheaper rims and hubs and they'd last a long time if built well.
Once you made the option of fully loaded touring a possibility you've pretty much thrown out the window the consideration of light weight, which is ok since it really doesn't matter as much as the motor.
My personal opinion is that the Velocity seams aren't as smooth as I'd like and as strong as the rim is(very) the bead/flange holding the tire could be thicker to resist bending when hitting potholes with marginally inflated tires.
My suggestion, buy only the rear wheel from this custom builder then buy a Handspun front wheel. That way you can spread the anxiety around. You could get a Handspun front wheel meeting your needs between $100 and $160

lucky1976

Sorry about the double/triple posting. I thinnk I am a little overwelmed with all the options/info on wheel building.

I think I maye be over analyizing the situation.

tarwheel 

I think the advice about finding a builder, telling him what you are looking for, and going with his advice is good. In my case, I chose all of the components myself and probably overbuilt for my intended purposes (mostly commuting). That's why I'm going with a reputable builder and his recommendations next time.

fietsbob

+1

antokelly

i like the sound of dt swiss 465 rims 32 hole but cant find them this side of the pond (ireland) so what other model of dtswiss will do the jod as good what about those ceramic rims, see them on chainreactionreaction cycles.

Doug64

+1-- I'm having a set of wheels built on Tiagra 36 hole hubs (130mm rear dropout), WS-DB spokes,and Mavic A119 rims for one of my bikes. I expect them to perform as well as the wheels mentioned above.

Probably- Just remember that it is not an irrevocable decision. Wheels can be changed.

LeeG

1. because there are choices within a range doesn't mean the differences matter on the road. Those differences exist because there are enough people to support more than one company making components. If you're over analyzing it means the decision really isn't that important.

2. Handspun brand wheels are good. go to the Pavement series https://handspunwheels.com/products/#mtn_29er_-_trail $240 for Mavic 319 on DeoreLX hubs with straight 14g. If you want to spend more spend more whether another builder or $345 Mavic 719 on DeoreXT hubs with butted spokes.

3. the rear wheel is more important than the front wheel so if you're waffling over weight/durability make the rear wheel the overbuilt or overanalyzed one.

4.more weight differences will be realized with the range of tires than rims/spokes so getting a heavily built wheel can still allow the option of a light tire/tube.

tarwheel 

You should be able to buy DT Swiss 465s in Ireland. They are made in Switzerland, and Chainreactioncycles.com has them listed on their website.

lucky1976

I finally placed an order with universalcycle.com. I order Velocity Dyad rims in silver with Wheelsmith double butted 36 spoke count in silver and Shimano XT M770 hubs in silver also. Ill let know when they arrive and post some pics of bike.

thanks for all the info and suggestions.