Wheel set for city commute
 

Hey everyone,

I am currently building a bike to commute to and from classes and various other places in a decently crowded city. It's gonna be a fixed gear because I have to deal with a lot of people and traffic and it's too hard to get into any kind of a pace on my road bike. I was looking into getting some Velocity Deep-v rims but don't really know much about them. Are they strong? I have also heard that Sun makes good rims for this kind of thing. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Well I don't know much about rims, but I would strongly recommend a nice puncture proof tire such as the armadillos. Or does that go without saying?

Im using Mavic A719's with double butted spokes built by Harris Cyclery. Good stuff...

Mavic Open Pro. Amidillo stink too heavy and harsh on road.

260 lb rider, mavic open pro, 36 hole, laced by a pro. Nary a problem.

If you are looking for indestructable for a 700c rim Sun makes a Rhyno-lite in that size. That is what is on my tourer/commuter. These things are indestructable. When I was out road riding a few weeks ago I was looking behind myself to see where my friend was and when I looked forward I was going into the ditch. I didn't have my hands near the brakes so I just road it out in the ditch and hit a road that was going over the ditch and thought I was toast. But instead of wrecking I just hit it hard and jumped it very ungracefully. I thought for sure my rims would be toast. But they weren't even untrued! I was going at least 15mph. I'm still pretty shocked. That's my .02$

My jts came with Mavic Open Sport

I assume they are a less expensive oem version of the mavic open pro. Might be worth looking into.

I'm using 36H Mavic T519s (earlier version of the A719) with db spokes and 36H XT hubs, built by me. Good stuff too!

Cycling in wet weather with rim brakes can wear the sidewalls of the rim over time. I'd stay away from higher priced, lighter rims made for road racing.

I'd go with either Sun CR18 or Mavic MA3 rims. Both cost around 70 bucks a set (half the price of Mavic open pros). Both are stonger than open pros as well-- but you guessed it-- the're also a bit heavier. For the money, the cost per mile for these rims is likely the best buy you can make.

I'd search using froogle or some other search engine for a pre-built wheel set using these two rims, 32 to 36 spokes and hubs that aren't total junk. The trick is to wait and hit the right sale. I got a pair of 700 wheels from Performance with Mavic MA3 rims and Shimano 105 hubs for $140 last year-- really nice wheels at close to half off the QBP retail price. Shop around for a deal-- don't rush it. (I'm the rush kind of guy myself, so I know it's not easy sometimes)

Velocity makes a good product-- those deep V style rims would be fine. Pair them with good sealed SS hubs and you've got a quality wheelset with a lot of bling. Get a chrome bag and learn to track stand. You'll be super cool. Chicks dig fixie riders.

You could also just go down to a pawn shop and buy an old steel MTB, put street tires on it and ride. Cheaper than a new wheelset and you get a whole bike.

City riding often really doesn't require a top end bike because of lights and traffic. I go about 12 mph across town-- on an old MTB or top end road bike, it doesn't matter much. So I ride bikes that could be described as *craptastic* or *beater bikes*-- I seem to get around OK, however.