DX Rider

I'm currently working on a design for a new wheel set for my Jubile Sport, since the original rims were old Rigida rims and one of them was destroyed on Sunday.

I have pretty much already decided on the rims. Although feedback or alternate suggestions is welcome on the rims. The rear rim I'll be using is a 36 spoke Mavic A719, the front will be a 32 Spoke Mavic A319.

I'm looking for suggestions for durable hubs that I could use for touring purposes. The hubs I've seen so far aren't really all that expensive, so I don't think cost is that much of a concern. I checked with everyone's buddy Sheldon Brown, but his hub information is dated. As far as I know, Mavic doesn't even make cranksets or hubs anymore, but there is still information on his page about them.


Thanks.

CliftonGK1

XT rear hub, and for touring I suggest going with a 3N80 generator up front. Even if you're not going to need all-night lighting it's nice not to carry around a bunch of heavy batteries, and there's now a company (PedalPower+) which makes a converter you can use to charge cell phones, GPS, etc. and it plugs right into the hub socket.

Grim

I just rebuilt a set of wheels using my existing hubs and I am into it for over $120 if I buy new spokes (I reused the old spokes but they are about 2mm short so I may replace) and nipples. Really hard to beat the $195 36 spoke CR18 with 105 touring wheel set on Velo Orange.
https://www.velo-orange.com/sh105plcrwhs.html



The CR18 not quite as strong as the Mavics but that price is smoking after seeing just how much it would cost buying the parts and assembling.

oldranger

Phil Wood hubs - lace em up and forget about them (well, a polish job now and then)

wmt3rd

Ask this question in the Touring section.

cycle_maven

Sounds like you have a good choice for your rim, but to fit a mountain bike hub in your Motobecane, you'll need to cold-set the frame to 135mm. Even a modern 130mm hub will be a bit of a struggle to fit without cold-setting the frame. Why not just lace up your existing hubs to a couple of new rims?

That being said, the Velo orange wheelset looks pretty nice for not a lot of money, if 130mm is OK.

Me, if I were planning on touring with a wheelset, I'd use LX hubs and A719 rims with 36 or 40 double-butted stainless spokes laced 3x, built by somebody who knows what they're doing.

Leebo

On my commuter , I used the same mavic rim and a 105 hub, works well for the bad potholes and rough roads around here. At 230 lbs plus gear and stuff, it works for me.

sauerwald

On my new commuter I have 36 hole A719 rims front and rear. The front hub is a Schmidt dynohub, and a Phil Wood in the rear.

The priority was for something strong and durable. Too few miles on this wheelset to know yet.

tarwheel 

I would use the A719s front and rear. If you really do some serious touring, you will want to carry some weight on a front rack to balance the load. You might also consider Velocity Dyads for rims. Nothing wrong with the Mavics, but the Dyads are lighter and considered comparable in strength.

froze

Will you be using front panniers? or if not now what about in the future? If so, then I would use a 36 spoke hub and rim on the front and not 32. But it sounds like you already have the 32, and it sounds like your not going to use a dynohub either, so I would either go with a Phil Wood hub at about $125 if you want the best, or if your trying to conserve money then go with the Shimano 105 for the front at about $40, it's very dependable and easy to maintain.

On my touring bike (the Mercian) I went with Phil Wood on the rear and the front is a Schmidt dynohub. The Schmidt or now known as the Son28 is a tad expensive about $400 including rim and spokes and build, but it has the lowest drag of any dynohub that I know of on the market currently, its drag is so low you don't even know your using a dynohub. The build for this wheel was based on a Mavic A717 silver rim with DT 14/15 double butted spokes.

Supposely the Velocity Dyads are not quite as strong of a wheel in the 36 hole category as the Mavic A717's for a heavy duty front touring wheel combined with a dynohub, but that of course would be arguementative, but that's what Peter White told me so I went with his advice. However for 40 and 48 hole tandem configurations the Velocity is probaby better.

imi

I went with Mavic A719 36 hole rims, DT Swiss Champ spokes, XT hubs, Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, front and rear... about as unimaginitive as you can get but bombproof touring wheels

hrtmnstrfr

Check out my sig below.

pathdoc

I vote for Mavic Open Pro rims with upper end Campy or Shimano hubs depending on your drivetrain.

martianone

Another vote here for the Mavic A719 rim with 36 hole XT hubs.
Have a few thousand km on mine often with a fair load over poor roads, gravel dirt etc; no problems with my wheels.
They were hand built and carefully stress relieved - I think the build quality is as important as
the component choice.

cyccommute 

You've decided on a good rim. For a hub, an XT would be an excellent choice however there is the issue with hub width. A 130mm road hub of 105 or Ultegra level would also work...they aren't that delicate If money is no object and longevity is of primary concern, a Phil Wood 130mm hub would be a most excellent...but expensive...choice.

The final part of the equation you are missing, however is spokes. Most people go with "whatever". But the spokes do most of the heavy lifting in the wheel dynamics. A "whatever" spoke is usually not the best choice if you want a wheel that will last. The best choice for strong spokes, hands down, is the DT Alpine III. They are wonderfully strong and long lasting. I have a wheel I built with them from 2000 on a mountain bike that is still going strong. I just don't build (rear) wheels with anything else.

stomppow

Just a thought: I see you have used the logic that since on a bike, most of your weight is on the rear wheel (which is usually weaker) then you should get a less heavy duty front wheel.

But, given that most touring involves little need for turning agility, you can pack your big panniers with all your food/fuel etc. in the front, keeping the rear ones just for clothes and sleeping bag etc. Yes the bike is hard to turn, but you're going in a straight line most of the time, so you can get your weight distribution to around 50/50! I tour with a blackburn rear rack, and a monstrous Surly front rack. 36 hole A719's in the back and up front.

cyccommute 

The symmetry of the front wheel makes it stronger than any rear wheel. Even with a lower spoke count, the front wheel probably won't have problems with spokes breaking. In years and years of bike riding, I've only ever broken one front spoke. And that was on a tandem.

I like about a 60/40 split for the load when touring. I'll even go full front if I'm not carrying stuff for camping.

froze

Everything I've ever read about loaded touring suggest about a 60/40 split. Also everything I've read about loaded touring suggest using a 36 spoke rim on the front just to be safe, though there have been tourers who've done it on 32. Note I said "ever read", I've have not gone loaded touring yet but working in that direction and went with 36 all the way around on the Mercian-just to be safe.

Besides if you do break a spoke a 36 spoke rim is easier to repair with less adjusting of surrounding spokes, in fact you could probably ride without the spoke till you got it fixed if you didn't have an spare spokes with you; on a 32 wheel you may not be able to do that.

gomadtroll

+! on all the suggestions, all are workable. One consideration, riding around town hauling stuff is harder on wheeels. Its always a pleasure to get out on the open road :-)

I use Phil Wood, Xt, Dyad rims, Son Hubs all good combos, Phil wood will fix just about any situation. One of my favorites is his freewheel hubs with shimano 7 speed freewheels. He has 126mm hubs.