Originally Posted by
mtalinm
many miles later, I'm not convinced. moreover, I'm frustrated by the lack of tire options, the difficulty of finding presta-valve tubes at the LBS, etc. I've broken two spokes on the 451s but none on the 406s (could be coincidence I suppose). I also miss the power of the v-brakes at times. plus, I've got a matching set of 406 Marathons and Marathon Winters on my flat-bar Swift that I'd love to use on my drop-bar Swift. not a huge fan of the Primo Comets on my 451s...
I can relate to this frustration - I've ran 406's, 451s and 520s, all on drop-bars. I've raced the swift on 451 and 406 and overall the 406's were faster.
V-brakes are ace but a well-set up pair of road calipers (decent brake blocks, keep rims clean) should provide all the stopping power any of us need. I've also ran travel adjusters and there worked find for me. I run v-brakes in the rear with travel adjusers but I don't actually use the gearing on them - i just use them in 1:1 mode as a smoother way to get the cable to turn the corner. This means I have to pull my dura-ace levers twice as far but that gives more power, and there is enough travel in the levers for this to work fine.
For me, the reason I now run 406 wheels is all down to tire choice. I love kojaks for racing, and Marathon Racers are nearly as fast but a lot more durable. I run both of these tubeless for even lower rolling resistance and less flats. If schwalbe made the Kojaks in 451 I would probably run 451s again just cos it helps on the gearing, and I would hope they would also roll slightly better. In reality I think 406's have been faster for me than 451s is because the tires I use on them are better that the 451 tyres I've tried (only the duranos, perhaps IRC or comets would be better).
Spokes will break on any wheel. One factor is the bumps you ride over and the speed you do it at. Another is the volume and pressure of the tires and how much suspension they give - narrow tyres run at high pressure will stress the wheel when you're riding fast over bumps/potholes. Depending on all those factors you need a wheel strong enough to cope and this is impacted by the number of and quality of spokes you have. I have broken many spokes on my swift on my Uriel 520 and Kinetix pro 406 wheels - the common factor is fewer, paired stiff spokes. I've never broken any spokes on the stock wheels or my 24-spoke 451 wheels which have even spacing and regular spokes. Sounds like your 451 wheels are just not strong enough for the way you ride and you could get a 406 wheel built up with the same problem if you're not careful.