WithanF

One of my favorite sayings: "Strong, light and cheap - pick two."

I_Bike

LOL! So true...

FWIW here's my wheels, with which I am very happy.

Velocity Synergy front and Synergy Off Center Rear
DT Super Comp Spokes 2.0X1.7X1.8 triple butted black
Phil Wood ATB Front 36 hole
Phil Wood ATB rear 36 hole for Shimano cassette with SL option

I had them spec'd and built by Joe Young. If nothing else I can leave the hubs to my grandchildren...

Dan

uMP2k

Very informative thread - thanks to all the contributors!

I am just about to put down some hard earned on a set of Ventos for my Masil Road Bike. Came with a set of Mavic Ksyrium Equipes, which just do not seem up to the task of supporting my currently 120kg (about 260 odd lbs in American ) frame. Lots and lots of lateral flex. Did not notice on the first couple of rides but once I got into my daily commuting it became noticable.

Was tossing up between the Ventos and a set of Easton Vistas, but the good reviews in this thread and the fact that the Eastons are a bit beyond my price range have given me confidence to get the Ventos.

Any of course they will help add some "bling"!

Dewey Oxberger

I can add what doesn't work for me: at 230lbs the American Classic Victory wheels went about 800 miles and started popping spokes, creaking and groaning. Retensioning didn't help. The wheels are 28 spoke rear, 24 front. Both front and rear have too much side-to-side play for my taste.

Just got some Mike Garcia wheels and they feel great - I'll post back in 2K miles and let you know how it's going.

ronjon10

Krysirium Elites. I rode them from 270 to my current 240. Had the wheels retensioned & trued after 500 miles, nary a problem in the last 1500 miles.

I've also got a set of Mike Garcia Niobium 30s. No problems with those at all, but only have about 300 miles on them.

uMP2k

Seems to be alot of good things said about the Krysirium Elites, I suppose that is what you are paying the extra bucks for over the Equipes!

Hardheadmandca

+1 Read about the testers on their site, and you'll understand why. I'm 265 and these wheels ROCK on my Calfee Tetra Pro!

formulaben

Me too.

uMP2k

yah - picket up my Ventos this afternoon. Looking forward to giving them a workout.

FatguyRacer

I'm at 238 and going back down. So far no problems with Neuvation M28 Aero 2s. I have a set on each of my bikes with Conti Gatorskins. I've got close to 500 miles on the set on my IF at a peak weight of 255 a couple months ago. I think i've only had to take a spoke wrench to them once. I'm wearing out the tires pretty fast though.

I also have a set of R28SLs too, but i'll wait until i get closer to 200 lbs before getting on those.

xlrogue

My 28 spoke Velocity Deep Vs are now closing in on 2K miles and they're still as true as the day I got them. I'm down to 235 from 250 now so I guess my spoke wrench and truing stand aren't going to see much action.

FatguyRacer

Update.

My Neuvations are starting to show signs of the strain of my weight. I'm getting spoke clack/creaeking on the front wheel. The wheel is still true, however those spokes are really starting to make a lot a racket when im riding normally. I notice that when i sit up and take the weight off the front wheel, the noise stops. I'm going to slap in my 2nd set of M28s and see if they make any noise. I bought all these wheel sets when i was closer to 200 lbs last fall.

I may have to get me a super stout set of training wheels built up. I have some CXP30 wheels with campy 8 hubs that need deconstructing. Those will do the trick.

jcbryan

Stick with anything Mavic they seem to hold up to the Clyde size issues. I used to worry about weight issues of my cycling parts until I noticed I was weighing in at 225 lb. Now working down, looking for the 200 number.

Best, John

FarHorizon

I must politely, but firmly disagree. My brand-new, custom-built Mavic CXP-33 rims disintegrated under me with less than 500 miles on them. When I say disintegrated, I mean disintegrated - while I was riding - at 20 mph - causing a bad crash - with permanent injury - with no response or comment from Mavic (even after my builder returned the wheels for analysis). In short, Mavic SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!

I ride anything but Mavic. Your life - your choice.

Air

For the mech minded Clydes if you could take a gander at this thread and let me know what you think, thanks!

DavisClydesdale

1100 miles on my Mavic Ksyrium Elites and no problems whatsoever. Haven't even needed to re-true them once.

Lecterman

I acquired a set of FSA RD-80s from a very generous forum member. I have been as high as 232 and currently weigh 216. I am no stranger to bad roads and have never broken a spoke or had my wheel go out of true in over 1k miles on them.

I think you can buy the new versions (RD-88s) for around $200

mkadam68

Me: 6'3" tall, 260-265 pounds. Race/fast recreational rider. 175-225 miles per week.

Used to ride: Mavic CXP33's. 14/15-ga, 32-spokes, single cross pattern in front, 14-ga, 32 hole, 3-cross rear. Rear was consistently coming out of true (1-3mm here or there...enough for me to see the wobble). Front did okay. I finally broke a spoke on the front after 3,000 miles.

Now ride: Mavic Ksyrium Elites, front & rear. Have put on about 160-miles so far. Holding up well. I commute downtown-ish Los Angeles, bad roads (cracks, potholes, etc). I can just barely discern the slightest out-of-true in the rear...nothing in front. Solid while climbing (Rock Store climb). Light weight (compared to the CXP's). I'm hoping for a great and long time with them. BTW, got them at lickbike.com for $477--best price I could find. They were out of '06 rear wheels, so they upgraded me to an '07, no charge

Metaluna

I weigh around 245 lbs and ride CXP33 14/15 36-spoke 3-cross wheels. I'm seeing the same thing on my rear wheel (though I think I'm just hard on rear wheels). I think part of the problem in my case is uneven spoke tension due to the excessive dish of the Campy freehub. I have my non-drive-side spokes *really* loose (like 50 kgf) and my drive side spokes really tight (150 kgf+) and the dish is still about 2mm off to non-drive side. The wheels have been bombproof though...no broken spokes in 4000+ miles. Oh yeah, CXP33's also have that annoying rattle problem.

I was thinking about maybe rebuilding the rear with an offset rim. Anyone have opinions on the Aerohead OC or Synergy OC? How do you calculate spoke lengths with these?

Oh, another thing...I recently serviced my Record hubs for the first time, and the bearings seemed really small to me...much smaller than the balls in the Shimano XT hubs on my Cross-Check. Makes me wonder about durability, especially considering the Campy rider weight disclaimer someone posted earlier.

mkadam68

Your CXP's have a rattle? So do mine!! I thought it was just something wierd. Do they all have this? It's like something loose is inside the rim. I can't get it out. Talk about annoying...

Wurm

You're comparing a road hub to a MTB hub - 2 different animals for 2 different applications. In general, road bearings don't need to be as large as those in MTB, since they're not taking the beating that MTB hubs do. Beyond that, if you're questioning the durability of Campy hubs then you're asking the wrong question.

Metaluna

This is a known problem with the CXP33 and it's annoying that Mavic seems unwilling/unable to fix it (at least as of a couple of years ago which is when I bought mine). There's a little alloy plug that is inserted in the rim when it is formed. It is used to hold the two ends of the rim together at the seam before it is welded. The problem is that this plug later comes loose and rattles around. It does not affect the strength of the rim but it's certainly annoying. There are a number of tricks people have tried to fix the problem. Most of them involve drilling small holes around the area of the seam and squirting in some superglue or expanding foam insulation to hold the plug in place. I finally tried the foam trick on my wheels and so far it has been working for a couple hundred miles. I managed to do it without drilling.

Dubbayoo

5'8, 240'ish, Mavic Ksyrium Elites - no problem with either of two sets.

mkadam68

Update:
My new Ksyrium Elites have held up very well!! Last night, did a local training race around the Rose Bowl. 3+ ish miles each laps, 10 laps, plus 3 warm-up and 1 cool-down lap. The road is not the best. Worst part is coming down the east side: about 100' drop over 1+ mile. We go around 35 mph down this stretch. No potholes, but plenty of those ruts across the road every 20 feet. I thought for sure, hitting them at speed would knock my wheels out of true. Finished, went home, inspected...I cannot find an out-of-true spot...rear or front. Woohoo!!

Leaky Gas

God bless Ultegra/Open Pros. For lots of reasons.