Multipurpose wheelset advice
 

(I crossposted this to the CX list as well, because I'd like to hear from both perspectives...)

I'm new to this list but realize I'm perhaps recycling a recurring theme on this discussion list: which wheelset?

To be specific, I'm building up a planet-x kaffenback to serve as a multipurpose bike: I want a bike that will serve as a commuter, a fire road & trail bike, and a night-time & crappy weather trainer. I have an airborne zeppelin I hate to ride in the rain and I certainly won't commute with. And I certainly won't put lights on it for nighttime rides. and I have a cheapo fuji "mountain bike" that's crappy and won't take fenders or racks.

enter the kaffenback. I'm trying to pick a wheelset that will fit a pair of 700x28s, a wheelset that will take the occasional pothole and fire road. the bike will end up with fenders and a rear rack, so it won't exactly look sexy. I weigh about 180. anyway, I picked up a new pair of vueltas on ebay for $100. they looked quite slick but I had to send them back immediately: the hubs were sooooo cheap, as they spun like the bearings were as smooth as talus, and the outer bearing shield was made of an incredibly soft rubber that wouldn't have protected those, ahem, bearings from a sneeze much less rain.

the wheelsets I'm considering include:
- bontrager select
- alex 300s
- mavic a719 w/ 105 hubs
- open pro w/ ultegra hubs
- open pro cd w/ ultegra hubs
- shimano wh-r500
- performance forte gemini
- Cane Creek Aerohead AG

I'm not sure whether some of these hubsets won't take rain, or some of these wheels won't withstand the occasional rock or curb, or whether they're just plain crappy or way too heavy.

Which sound good? Which would just be plain stupid? Obviously I'll need to compromise one way or another.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

pjherron,

No advice from me, but I'm interested to hear some responses. I'm about the same boat as you looking for a new set of 700x28 for my commuter. The guys at my LBS recommended the Open Pro w/ ultegra and they've got a pretty good price. But other friends said the Open Pro's aren't quite as tough as I'd like and I should lean towards Alex or Sun Rhino Lites for day-to-day durability. As I don't have much experience in buying new wheels, I'm up in the air and might just let Ebay make the decision for me.

That's precisely one of my fears GTcommuter--that the Open Pros would be just a bit too small, not only for 700x28 tires but also for the pounding they might need to take. I have a pair of open pros (in orange!) on my airborne, a 32 spoke set up with radial front & cross three rear, on dura ace hubs. It's a great wheelset and they're true despite not being tuned once over 1500 miles but I do my damnedest on them to avoid even the slightest of pebbles. I'm ha ving a hard time imagining them on this trail/commute rig, but knowledgeable people insist they're pretty tough.

I bought the velocity veep v's and their hubs. they cost around 300.00 for the set locally hand built. the hubs have sealed cartrdige bearigns and they are all black. the rims are very tuff and look cool.

How about Velocity Dyad wheels? They make them with their own hubs. The 24 mm cross section rims are strong and will take 28mm tires and much larger. Generally well reviewed. I have seen sets from $160 (with ugly black hubs) on the internet

my velocity's are all black including the spokes. I think they look cool.