Sometimes I like to take off and ride for two or three days. i wouldn't call it touring, because touring is really about, say , a week or more, so I am carrying 40 lbs of gear of so in the rear. Any suggestions on a tough wheel to handle the weight? I have a touring bike perfectly suited to carrying the weight but I am talking about adapting a road bike.

first thing that comes to mind are velocity deep v's or the b43's..b43 may be a bit of overkill though

hope's road hubs laced to mavic open pros. 36h

What wheels do you have right now and how much do you weigh? An extra 40 pounds of gearing isn't much. That would be someone 175 pounds riding on my bike instead of me.

However I have heard Mavic Open Pro Rims with DT Swiss spokes and Ultegra Hubs are bombproof. I know two friends who use them. One uses that wheelset on his road bike and weighs about ~200 pounds? The other is over 250 pounds and uses a front wheel on his commuter (with 700x28). He hasn't had to true it yet (probably over 1500 miles on it).

cxp 22

thanks for the input. I have several sets of really light racing wheels, and one set of Shimano R500's that came stock on a bike, but those are just hanging on a hook in the garage, I've never ridden them and know about nothing about them.

A319 is a good value. If $ is tight, then check out CXP22 or Sun CR-18. Stick with 32 or 36 h hub. Proper wheel building technique is also critical for long-term durability.

find some 36 holes Mavic Open Pros, I like old GP4s, or similar rim with your typical shimano ultagra hub and lace it up 4 cross with DT spokes. When I was racing I train on wheels like that all the time. I was not nice to my wheelw and they held up just fine for a long time.