mr.smith.pdx

I have a wheel build in my future for the following two reason:

2nd place in a clyde race earned me a credit for the labor,
my current wheels suck as$.

I go 210lbs most days, crash a lot and think that 20 spokes are not enough for me.

I'm thinking 3 cross spoke pattern (my36 in the rear?). A decent hub I can overhaul myself, and a tough as heck rim.

Yes, I searched. Yes, I know that opinions will differ and my assumption that 20 spokes aren't enough will be challenged. As well as my asusmption that I need 36 spokes in the rear.

Without starting a fight where everyone starts ragging on others' wheel choice, can you all provide me with some advice?

I would ask at the shop where I am going to get them built, but it is inconveniently located for me to just drop in. I don't need the latest thing, just something that will last and not slow me down too much.

jonestr

Open Pros on a reasonable hub like Ultegra should be fine.

I would just run 32 spokes as cross tires provide a lot of rim protection.

Cynikal 

For a geared wheelset I would look at Ultegra hubs (or whatever you like) and a asymmetrical rim from Velocity. The aerohead and one other come in the asymmetrical drillings. This keeps a more even tension between the drive side and nondrive side spokes, thus a stronger wheel.

jonestr

It is a open question whether or not the benefits of the offset drilling out weigh the fact that you are not pushing the spoke holes away from the center. The few good builders I know are just using no offset rims and then using thinner drive side spokes to balance the tension difference.

grueling

Not very light, but my Mavic CXP 33s are BOMBPROOF. I weigh about 250 and try to race cross (I know, hard to beleive). I also do some single-tracking with my bike. 32 or 36 spokes doesnt seem to make much difference with cross tires.

mr.smith.pdx

I currently have ultegra hubs on my road bike and velocity fusion rims. Oh, and big flat spot (thanks for pointing out the missing water meter cap on the group ride!)
For my race this weekend, I plan to swap tires and put my road wheels on the cross bike..

The CXP 33's where on my short list.

Any extra info is always appreciated.

nubcake

I think if you want still affordable, velocity dyad or salsa delgado cross. I have clydes running around on both without any durability issues. I wouldn't call it necessary but I would recomend 36 spokes in the rear, because really, how many of us can truly notice the weight difference in an extra 4 spokes and you gain a good deal of strength.

As to which hubs, ultegra is always a great and affordable option and then you have alot of other great hub makers out there but they do cost a little more, dt 240's are without a doubt the easiest hubs to service (you don't even need tools) and just wont die. King is always great, super fast engagement and bombproof, they even have a new and faster rolling road hub they just released that looks promising.

**warning, rant about mavic ahead**
Other than that I always recommend staying as far away from mavic as possible, yes they make great rims but they are without a doubt the worst company I have ever had to deal with in the bike industry when it comes to support. It usually involves being on hold for 10 mins with the guy on the other end failing to help at all anyways. We have even had them say their freehub wearing out in 2 months could be normal wear and tear and that riding their mountain bike in the mud voids the warranty...that is kinda what mountain bikes do is get muddy. Sorry about the mavic rant, they have been worse more so than normal recently and I just want people to know how terrible they are.

ridethecliche

32 front, 36 rear.

3X laced.

PS: Nothing is anything proof. Everything breaks.

I weigh 145 and I broke a spoke nipple during a cross race the other day.

mr.smith.pdx

Oh I learned the everything breaks lesson. I had my velocity fusions w/ the ultegra hubs less than 6 months when they got the big ding in them. THey are 32 front, 36 rear and 3x.

Britishbane

I'm curious about how easy Ultegra hubs are to work with, as I too am a clide and am in the market for a new set of wheels.

TimJ

Easy. Cone wrenches are all you need. They're just regular loose-ball hubs.

kennykaos

eh, im running at a round 200 pounds and racing on mavic aksiums with no real issues, my only complaint is i wish the rims were a little wider but still true as can be.

joejack951

Huh? You lost me here. The spoke holes get pulled, not pushed. Pulling at the rim from slightly off center won't make a lick of difference compared to pulling directly at the center. The offset geometry of the rim takes care of any issues that could arise with the design.

Thinner non-drive side spokes will stretch more than heavier gauge spokes which will keep tension on the spokes when heavier spokes would be going slack (the cause of spoke fatigue failures). Thinner non-drive side spokes, however, will not help balance tension. Tension is tension no matter what type of spoke is used to apply it to the rim.

Having just built a set of wheels using IRD Cadence VSR offset rims (disc front hence the VSR up there), I will be using offset rims whenever possible from now on. Front tension was within 10% and rear tension was within 25%. I did use thinner gauge spokes on the NDS rear as well for some added protection.