iamtim

My Poprad came with Bontrager Race wheels which have held up surprisingly well to both on-road and off-road riding (the Fullerton Loop in So Cal, if you know that route) until this past Saturday when I was descending a small hill and bunny hopped over a very wide rain rut. Unfortunately, my back wheel didn't clear and hit the lip of the rut at a 45 degree angle, which caused a pinch flat and threw my wheel seriously out of true.

So, while my Bonty wheel is out being trued, I want to look into a stronger wheelset. I'm a pretty big guy; 6'3", well over 200 (prolly close to 235 or so.) I ride mostly road, but lately I've been riding a lot of off-road on my local trails (again, the Fullerton Loop for those in the know.) I don't race, and I don't want tubular wheels.

Any ideas?

Lycc825

I've hear Mavic Open Pro rims on Ultegra Hubs are good and durable. I have no first hand experience with them, but every time I go to my local Performance, they seem to head in that direction.

dougkran

I went Mavic CXP33 on Hope 11 and love 'em
The freewheel sounds like a fishing reel with a big fish on.
Anyway, they are light and tough!

Cyclist01012

Im going to guess that the wheels you have are a set of bontrager selects. Once you have them trued keep an eye on the spoke holes in the rims then have the bad habbit of cracking. The best thing about bontrager whhels is the 5 year warrinty.

iamtim

No, they're Bontrager Race wheels, like I said. But thanks for your tip about spoke hole cracks; I'll keep an eye on 'em.

kennykaos

i just got some mavic aksiums for race wheels and they're pretty rad.

Cyclist01012

The races will do the same thing, They are supposed to have it worked out now I have a brand new set of whatever the selects are being sold as now on the wheel rack in the basement, I may use them but not sure. in the process of switching everthing I own over to 32 spoke wheels maybe evan a set of tubulars for next season.

knobster

One thing I didn't see listed here is if your wheels are disc or rim brake. That's going to change the suggestions for sure.

funurdiesel

I'd guess that from what you describe that you'd knock just about any road wheel out of true. Having said that, a more durable wheel might be a 32 or 36 spoke open pro. Slightly, more durable would be a 32 or 36 spoke velocity deep v.
As usual with wheels, the build is very important. A well built wheel may be very durable while another wheel using the same components could be not durable at all.

iamtim

Oh, right, my bad. It's a canti Poprad, so they're rim brakes.

knobster

I'd second these. I have a set on my touring bike and they are quite sturdy wheels while not being heavyweights. Great wheel for the price.

flargle

https://www.velocityusa.com/default.asp?contentID=677

The Velocity Synergy rim is the right width (23mm), the right weight (496g), and best of all comes in an off-center version for a virtually dishless rear wheel, making it superior to the Open Pro for heavy-duty riding.

The Velocity Aerohead is almost exactly the same width and weight as the Open Pro (20mm, 410g), but also comes in an off-center version, again making it a better choice than Open Pro for geared bikes.

TimJ

Check out chainreaction cycles, wiggle uk and probikekit when you're shopping around. Prices in the UK can be really good right now and those 3 places either have free shipping or free shipping once you reach x amount of dollars.

Sawtooth

I will 3rd these. I have two custom built sets from CC. Love them. I use them regularlaly for both road and some pretty serious off road riding.

lyonheart

i've ridden the loop and fairview park/sheep hills a few times on them and i ride my cross bike like a bmx bike on the roads; i.e. driveway to driveway gaps, small drops, and general antics...they were even used when i got them, been using them the past 5 months, back rim got a little wobble, mostly my fault from laziness, took less than 5 minutes to get it back to true. cant complain one bit about them. maybe i'll see you on the loop someday....i'll be the one breathing heavy and cursing, haha.

nubcake

Id go more on the side of durability over weight and I would imagine the open pro being a little to much of a lightweight for what your doing. I have a 36h open pro/king hub combo and It has been good for light mountain biking and light touring with lots of road and commuting miles but Im about 175lbs and really try to take it easy on the technical stuff. I have managed to knock them out of true a bit and if I could do it again I would go with a stronger rim, hell I don't notice the weight in swapping tires so i doubt I will notice 50 grams per wheel or so.

I would have to suggest something like the velocity deep v or dyad rims laced to whatever your favorite flavor of hub is. If your looking for ideas there I love the hell out of my kings but they are pricey, another great hub is anything shimano, If your contemplating between an ultegra or dura ace hub keep in mind everything is almost identical minus freehub, same bearings and races, etc. One thing they do different on dura ace is they laser select the ideal bearings per hub shell on dura ace so I guess technically they might roll a tiny tiny bit faster but to most its not worth it and they will never notice the difference.

Hope this helps

flargle

Dyad would be a better choice because of it's width atmho. Synergy even better because of its off-center version for the rear wheel.

Dyad would be a great choice for singlespeed, but without OC drilling you essentially halve the number of spokes on the rear wheel.

For hubs, I think 105 would work great too.

iamtim

Damn, wheels are expensive. Now that I look at prices on some of these, I don't know if I can afford them right now.

I have a set of CXP23s laced to Shimano Tiagra hubs that I used on my old bike for a while; they stood up well on the road. I'd be interested to know all y'alls opinions on them.

flargle

Great. Won't win any weight weenie awards. Go ride the snot out of them.

knobster

You could probably rebuild these wheels with some Ultegra hubs and some lighter spokes and have a great wheelset.

flargle

It would be silly to go to so much trouble for those rims.

There's nothing wrong with the wheels as they are.

iamtim

Yeah, if I'm going to snag Ultegra hubs, I'd just as soon get Ultegra/Open Pros.

ambro

My CX bike came with FSA RD-60 rims and while a tad on the heavy side, I've found them remarkable to staying true. I'm 6'1 and 205 and have ridden these things over everything - and they never once went out of true. I would highly recommend them and even picked up a spare set that I switch out for road rides too. You can get a pair on the internet (Try EBAY) for around $225.

Mike T.

If ya want OP/Ultegras look at Bicycle Wheel Warehouse -great price and built in CA by someone we know. I've got a set plus their OP/DuraAce. Great wheels at great prices.

knobster

Sure, I'll agree with that, but it's a fun experience to build wheels.