Jaddax

I have frequently heard how important it is to have a master wheelbuilder especially if someone is a clyde. My question is how does one locate a master wheelbuilder and distinguish them from regular or newbie wheelbuilders?

I have purchased sun rhyno rims which are suppose to be rather strong and wide riding surface for my mountain bike. Now I need to figure out what the strongest spokes are that I can put on the bike. Any suggestions? Also, does the kind of hub matter for clydes? The last question is....since I am a very large clyde at 380 lbs. should I switch to disc brakes or stick with my v-brakes?

CliftonGK1

Ask around locally who people recommend. Most areas will have either an independant wheelsmith or a shop with the best reputation for their wheel skills.

Spokes... That starts to get into a very polarized debate on "the strongest" vs. best for a given application. If your hub can handle the large elbow of a DT Swiss Alpine III spoke, then they are a top performer. Take the strength of a double butted spoke, and add the tight-fitting elbow butting to assure the spokes can't jostle around at the hub under heavy loads. For heavy riders who might not be "riding light" over obstacles, or other harsh applications, they're worth the extra money.
That being said, I don't use them because they're expensive and I've never had a problem with plain old straight gauge 2.0mm spokes on any of my wheels. But, I'm a bit lighter at 230-ish, and I ride with caution towards keeping my wheels in good shape.
For a "strong enough for the average Clyde" I'd go with a 14/15 double butted spoke like DT Swiss Competition 2.0/1.8mm.

Hubs... You're most likely not going to break even the cheapest of hubs. The issue with the cheap ones is that they use low-grade bearings and hardware, so things wear out and need replaced. Or they skimp on the axle strength and you might end up bending the axle (not catastrophic, but still needs replacing). If you stick with a Deore level hub or better you should be fine.

Can't help you with brakes. I use rim brakes on all my bikes.

jonathanb715

Ask folks from a local bike club, particularly if there's one nearby that has a touring or rando bent. If you know long distance cyclists, ask them - they'll value strength, durability and repairability over light weight and aero, so that's a good start. Psimet.com (the owner is a frequent poster on the road bike forum) has a good reputation. I've gotten wheels for my road bike from Excel Sports in Colorado that have served me really well.

Others that I haven't used but have heard of:

oddsandendos.com
colorado cyclists

Good luck!

JB

jr59

Peter White builds VERY stong wheels, and has for years. I strongly recomend you take a look at his web site.

Joe Young also builds custom wheels, that are very good.

Psimet, I have heard very good things about, from the road ( go fast) guys.

As far as disc brakes, i have no idea.

Peter_C

My 00.02 worth on brakes?

I am on a comfort bike, but in your weight range, and in 500+ miles I have been very comfortable with plain-jane rim brakes - never ever felt remotely like they weren't going to stop me, with one exception...

Hard rain, broke a rear spoke and had to unlock the rear brake (due to the bent wheel) - and stopping took roughly my normal distance.

Unless off-road creates different needs, and while I'd *like* to have disc brakes - I have no need whatsoever.

HTH

Sequimite

I never had any issues at 335 riding on old mountain bikes with both cheap and good components.

When I got my road bike two months ago I went to a 36 spoke rear wheel out of caution, as they are less forgiving than mountain bikes. That being said, the best bike mechanic in town was riding 24 spoke road wheels at 330 lbs.

Wogster

For wheel builders, you don't state where you live, lots of people will assume your in the USA, but we can't be sure as this is a global group. Wheels are considered by most shipping companies as a oversized item, so shipping wheels a long distance can get expensive, especially if you cross international borders.

If you do a lot of off-road, then disc brakes can be helpful, in that they don't wear the pads as quickly, the disc isn't as exposed to mud and dirt, as rims are. Have a look at your frame, does it have mounting tabs for disc brakes? If it does, then when hub shopping consider a disc compatible hub, you can then change over later if you wish for a reasonable investment. If it does not have the mounting tabs, it's a moot point because you will need to deal with that, and it can get very expensive.

V-brakes are a fairly modern design and they work quite well, they need to be setup properly though, and usually when they seem lack-lustre it means they are not setup properly. Starting at the brake unit itself, the pads when the brake is closed should be square to the rim, and have full contact with the rim, pads sometimes get twisted slightly or end up a little low on the arm and don't fully contact the rim, the amount it hangs over is lost brake capacity, it also doesn't wear properly. Still with the pads, the brake needs to be centred over the rim, so that when closed both sides contact fully, and when open the space between the pad and rim is the same on both sides. That space should be quite small, 3-4mm is about right, that's about 1/8 inch, on each side, sometimes though when people are lazy and the wheel is slightly out of true, they make this space bigger so it doesn't rub, this is common, but a really bad idea, get the wheel trued instead. Brake pads wear slightly, and rim brakes are not self adjusting, so this space grows slightly as they wear, there is usually an adjuster on the lever to change the cable length, by turning this you can adjust the brakes, if there isn't enough adjustment there it's probably time for new pads. With new pads there are ridges that channel water, these are also wear indicators, when they disappear, you need to replace the pads. I actually keep a set of pads in my bike parts box, and change them out when they get close. Get your bike shop to set them up properly if they are not, and to show you the adjuster and pad wear indicators.

fietsbob

If You are going to be an Aggressive Off road rider , the wheels get beat up anyway,
if you are JRA on a casual ride on the MUP or a dirt trail thats different .

what service life will your bike see?

My wheel builder is under my Hat, and it's worked out OK.

Zudnik

I had my mtb wheels built about 9 yrs ago by speed dream. They've been abused for years and keep holding up. I get them checked for trueness yearly, but they rarely need any work. I'd rather pay once than several times.

Jeff Wills

Same here- I've built my own wheels for 30 years. I'm Clyde-lite: 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. My 36 spoke rear wheels are essentially bombproof.

Polar Foil

I'm a lighter guy at 220 but I have cantis on my mountain bike and they've always worked just fine. I remember reading a rant by Keith Bontrager about how v-brakes were completely unnecessary. I wouldn't spend the money on discs.

I ride 20f/24r spoke wheels on both my mountain bike and road bike (Rolf Urracos for mountain and Bontrager Race Lites for road). No problems.

mtalinm

lots of people told me to go to Peter White, so I checked out his website but was turned off by his lose-some-weight-and-call-me-in-a-couple-years attitude. ymmv

Wogster

I don't think you really got what Mr. White was saying, the lose-some-weight comment was talking about super light weight racing wheels where people want a super light wheel, a 250lb guy on a 16 spoke wheel, you break a spoke that wheel is going to fold up faster then a Taco Bell soft taco. In reality whether we like it or not, saving 100g on the wheels when the motor is 30kg heavier then it should be, doesn't make sense. You want a solid 36 spoke wheel that is well made of good, but not light weight components, he has no problem building you a set.

Mr. Beanz

I build my own wheels and even I wouldn't build myself a set of low spoke count lightweight wheels. I won't waste the money................ I turn myself off!

jr59

Peter white is at times very gruff, and some times hard to get along with. That being said, he builds the very best of wheels for tandems, heavy touring, and heavy riders.

There are others out there that can do as good of job, but all compare them to Mr White.

Being a 275 lb rider myself, I would never call PW and ask him to build me a 20=24 spoke racing wheel. I would expect to be told to lose 100-125 lbs, and then told to call him for wheels.
Now if you want a 36-40 spoke, bomb proof wheelset, that the builder will stand behind, who has been doing it for many years, Peter White is your guy.

And no I don't work for or am I realted to PW.

Homeyba

16 spoke wheels aren't going to fold up if a spoke breaks...geepers! I had one brake a few months back (on a 10yr old wheel no less) and I'm in the 230-250 range. There are thousands of 16 spoke Rolf tandem wheels out in the world. They're holding up way more than 250lbs. They don't fold up when they break. You guys are making way too big of a deal about spoke count. 36 spoke wheels are a crutch for poor wheel builders.

Peter White isn't such a bad guy. He built a set of Zipp 404's (28spoke) laced to a Schmidt hub for randoneuring a few years back. He is a great wheel builder though!

socalrider

PW point is view is through the eyes of a person who I'm sure is asked on a daily basis to built low spoke count / super lightweight wheels for riders who have no business riding low spoke count wheels.. If you use a deep dish rim, you can build up a wheel as low as 24 spokes with few issues if they are built by a good wheelbuilder.. Proper spoke tension is a key with building a solid set of wheels..

Sure I own a set of low spoke count wheels - Campy Eurus but they are not my everyday training wheels.

Wogster

I should have phrased my comment differently, I was, as well as Mr. White in his web site comment, talking about super light weight racing wheels, pop a spoke and you have a taco, more then one 150lb racer has done exactly that.

What it really comes down to though, Peter White has been building wheels for a long time, he has experience with different types of wheels, and different sized riders, and backs up his work. I would rather tell him what I want the wheel for, tell him my weight, and let him recommend a wheel, using his knowledge of wheel building. That knowledge is why I would be going to him in the first place, if I want a wheel based on my own knowledge, then I can get the local bike shop guy to build it.....

Jaddax

I live In the USA within the state of Oregon. I ride a Trek 830XC, but don't know what year it is since it was a craigslist find.

Greg_R

Jaddax, if you are near Portland then check out https://www.bike-central.com (see if Dean is still there) & https://www.epicwheelworks.com/index.html (they -only- do wheels).

fietsbob

Use a 32mm wide tire?
A Touring/utility wheel set fit on your road bike? should be a conservative old school design.

3 or 4 cross 36 spoke quality rim and hub, you may get away
with a 3 cross 32 spoke on the front .