Hey guys, happy MLK day!
So backstory: I'm a 150 lbs competitive rider and I bent the axle and put a hop in the rear wheel of my Vuelta Corsa SLRs, though I don't remember hitting a pothole or anything that heinous.
Bummer, since those wheels were incredibly light, smooth as butter, fairly stiff, and generally great performers for the $300-ish I paid for them. I did have a few gripes with them though, mostly their nonstandard lacing pattern on the rear wheel (0x NDS, 1x DS), and their lack of outstanding stiffness despite having a relatively high spoke count (24,28), though this is probably more related to the low box profile of the rim.
I've decided to go custom for my next wheelset since I did the math and could probably do it for under $500.
I'll probably do
- 24h, 1x or 0x on the front, Sapim CX-Rays, laced to one of those bicyclehubstore.com wide hubs
- 32h, 2x or 3x on the rear, Sapim Lasers NDS and Sapim Races DS, laced to a Shimano FH-6800 Ultegra rear hub or White Industries H3 if I can save up enough clams.
I have a few questions for this build. First is with the spoke lacing. Do you guys have any suggestions as to why I should choose one of the above listed lacing patterns over the other for each wheel? If so, then why? Also, I am stumped on the front rim choice. I'm more or less decided on a IRD Cadence Aero on the rear (30mm depth, 19mm width) if only for the stiffness of a deep profile rim. However, for the front, I torn between two options. I could just make the front match the rear and reap the aero benefits of blah blah blah (this would be mostly for aesthetics), or I could go with a lighter lower profile wide rim. I had the Velocity A23 (23mm wide, 19.5mm depth).
The way I see it, the wider rim has the advantage of having better cornering manners than a traditional road width. I'm operating under the assumption that the front wheel has a bigger impact on cornering than the rim, correct me if I'm wrong. I also believe that unlike the front wheel, a high profile rear wheel is less susceptible in cross winds because the rear is more weighted by the rider. A high profile front wheel would be more aerodynamic in headwinds, but also be as stiff or stiffer than a wider but lower profile rim. Which would you prefer? Are my assumptions correct?
Thanks for the help guys!