Rolf Prima Vigor RS for 225# hard rider???
 

Hello. I'm new to this thread. I weigh about 225# and am fortunate to be married to an ex-road racer so I get to ride a lot and hard! I've gong through two rear Bontrager Race Lite Aeros (cracked rims), one rear Bontrager Race lite, and just broke a spoke on a brand new set of Mavic Open Pros (32 spoke) on my 4th ride on it. We have a Rolf Vigor on our tandem and I'm reading that the 32 spoke rule may not apply to Rolf Wheels. Does anyone have experience with the durability of Vigor RS wheels? Should I bee looking at a tandem wheel instead? I'm not concerned about weight, or even price, at this point. I just want a wheel that will last!
Carl Schreiner
Roseburg, OR

no, never had a desire for rolf or any sparsely spoked wheel
why why not a 36 spoke or 40, on the tandem, Chris King builds a tandem hub-set
a 36 spoke , not a loaded touring , with 2 aboard wheel , I suppose..

though people have gone all over the world on Rohloff hubs , 32 hole..

but they gain strength by making a dish-less rear wheel, widely spaced flanges.

rather than an asymmetric dish for cassette stacks ..
145 axles do shift the hub rightward, towards center,
but still a narrower base..

There is no "32 spoke rule". And no, you don't need tandem wheels. At 225# you can ride most any wheel (except maybe some of the lightweight climbing wheels). I'm about 240, and I ride two sets of Mavic Aksiums and a set of Neuvation M-28's. One set of my Aksiums is 24/20, and the other is 20/20. The Neuvations are 20/16 (I think). I ride as hard as anyone. I use them for general riding, training, triathlons, and even a few criteriums. I have never had a single problem aside from a broken hub flange on the Neuvaitons, which was deemed to be a defective hub and was replaced no questions asked.

However, having said that, I don't know that I'd feel comfortable with Rofl wheels. I have a friend who has a set (not sure the model) and I have ridden with him three times since he got them. Three times he has had wheel problems and had to get a ride back to where we parked. Twice it was a broken spoke, and once the freewheel engagement went out or something like that, so he had no freewheel and it became a fixed gear.

IAmCosmo is on the right track. There probably is no need for tandem wheels at 225 lbs. As mentioned the Neuvation M28s are solid, strong, and pretty aero. My dad rides the Neuvation R28s and he is about 215 lbs. and puts out significant power. Those wheels have never given him any trouble.

As for Rolf Prima wheels, I've had good experiences with them. I weigh about 210 lbs. and train on Rolf Prima Echelon SLs (16/20 paired spokes, 31 mm rim depth). These are strong and I've never had any issues with them. The rim on the Echelons seems to be very similar (maybe the same???) as the Rolf Prima Vigor RS, except the Vigor RS uses a lighter, slightly more elaborate hub design. In addition, I often ride Rolf Prima Vigors (14/16 paired spokes, 34 mm rim depth) during fast group rides or charity centuries and they have been great—no problems whatsoever. As for their paired spokes with recessed spoke nipples, Rolf claims that the use of paired spokes allows higher, more even tension among the spokes and less stress on the rim, while their recessed nipples means a smaller spoke hole is drilled in the rim and, again, producing less stress on the rim. Both of these, Rolf argues, help make their wheels stronger than a "traditionally" laced wheel.