illdthedj

Hi guys,

Insert "im not fat im big boned" cliche...
well, im 6'3, 215ish pounds and guess i just have a big build. i do go to the gym 5 days a week. ok basically my ego is getting bruised trying to convince people on the internet im not fat haha

anywho, im building up a titanium frameset (litespeed tuscany)...

have been looking into a carbon wheelset for the build of the somewhat deep profile variety. lots of flat and/or rolling riding around me.

However ive noticed that some of the wheelsets im looking at, like a pristine used pair of HED Alps, have a weight limit. for instance, these have a weight limit of 200 pounds.

So is it instant death if i ride my 215 pounds of girth on a 200 pound weight limit wheelset? or is it fine? any other 200+ riders out there with experience on this?
i obviously dont want to waste money on something i shouldn't even consider riding, but perhaps the weight limit is flexible and wheel makers just dont want to be sued by 250+ pound guys or something. i dunno. thats why im asking you guys


so then, are there wheelsets that are more suited for my weight?
i noticed the HED Alps i was looking at have steel spokes in the back, titanium in the front. are spoke material a consideration for weight limit?

i will say i weighed 245 a year ago and have been slowly losing it with incrementally longer rides, more gym time, and being a newlywed to a vegetarian (of which before i ate very little veggies. i know im gross sorry) so maybe in another year i can reach the 200 weight limit


anywho thanks for any help

MX_2_Spandex

I ride Zipp 404 firecrest. They are rated for 250 and I have rode them from 260ish down to my current 220. Never required truing and they are my daily wheel.

Psimet2001 

Go with at least a 24/28 spoking, with quality spokes and brass nipples and you shouldn't have any problems.....

Psimet2001 

Oh...and FYI - just because they put that rating on there doesn't mean that they are "suitable". It just means that riding them over that weight will positively void the warranty.

YMMV

datlas 

I can't argue with PSIMET above but would add you should use 25mm tires instead of 23's.

You probably already know that though.

kleinboogie

I defer to Psimet on the details. My experience has been more spokes doesn't hurt much and the peace of mind is worth it. I'm 200 lbs and ride Chinese carbon tubulars and 2009 Zipp 404 aluminum clinchers, not known for their high spoke count, and haven't had any problems. GL

sbxx1985 

I hate to state the obvious, but this guy can build you the carbon wheels you want.

Congrats on the weight loss, by the way.

Commodus

25s!

At that size, if he's building up a custom bike, why not 32s?

ColinL

um, a dearth of proper road tires in that size?

there are unfortunately many tires no available in 25mm, let alone 28. by the time you are talking about 32mm, you get into heavy city tires and cyclocross tires (which typically have at least file tread).

Commodus

Two Compass links in one day...

https://www.compasscycle.com/tires_gb_700_32.html

illdthedj

thanks guys for the input...

yes on my "fast" road bikes i have 25cs. although i do have an old centurion with moustache bars im thinking about rocking 38cs haha should be fun

anywho, can i ask a potentially stupid question?
what dangers are there in a 215 pound guy riding a 200 pound weight limit wheelset? spokes breaking? will my fat ass instantly taco the rim or something (can carbon taco?)? ??

why dont i just give it up and just save up my allowance (how much my wife allows me to spend on bikes) and buy a legit wheelset that will handle my love handles, such as which psimet can ultimately offer?
because a guy has some pristine HED Alps at an extremely good price and i think they would look pretty on my bike. plus they have yellow decals just like my litespeed frameset. being a graphic designer makes me way vain in terms of color matchy matchy.

but hey if those who obviously know more than me tell me its a stupid idea even if they are a good deal, ill definitely look elsewhere.

once again thanks guys for your input

zaqwert6

I can't give you any specifics but I did ride with someone once, rather big boned gentle man , during which he miss timed hopping a small pot hole. Pretty loud bang and no taco but quite egged shaped it. Closer inspection showed a number of nipples pulled right thru the carbon rim.

My guess would be under normal fine conditions that you'd be fine but any additional stress or impact might be all she wrote.

EdIsMe

If you don't mind going consumer-direct, www.neuvationcycling.com offers some superb quality carbon tubulars with no weight limit at a rather reasonable price. (Currently on sale for the 4th of July week too).

I have a set of alloy rims from him that were just in a 25 mph crash a few days ago. Only minor truing required on the rear and they were good to go the next day. Not to mention they have close to 6,000 miles on them.

revchuck 

Being a knucklehead, I've got to ask - why do you want carbon wheels? If it's just 'cause you want carbon wheels, well, that's tough to argue against. But you might be better served by aluminum wheels, even if they lack bling. Something like HED Ardennes CLs would be awesome, and you're within their weight limit.

Also, go with psimet's suggestion of at least 24 front/28 rear spokes and brass nipples. I'm 6'2"/190 lbs. (used to be 225) and broke aluminum nipples on a 32 spoke rear wheel, then had it re-built with brass. The weight difference is irrelevant for guys our size.

deleteyourselph

The owner of my lbs uses Bontrager Aleous rims on his madone and he has to be between 250-300lbs. I've never heard him complain once, in fact he swears by carbon rims. He uses carbon rims on his mtb's also, so I would think you wouldn't taco rims. I would say that Psimet would be my first choice in aftermarket/high end wheelsets though.

NWS Alpine

I'm a similar build. 6'1 and about 205 and new to cycling. I am built more like a football player. Anyways I am running a pair of PSIMET 24/28 CX Ray spoked 50mm carbon rims tubeless. These rims are awesome. They are much stiffer than the stock RS10 wheels that came on my caad10. When I get up and sprint they are more stable and don't flex much.

ColinL

it is possible to ride rough and to ride gently, above and beyond your weight.

however, despite being gentle on rims, if you strike an unforseen object and you are on the heavy side, it's a simple matter of physics that your wheels are much more likely to be knocked out of true or even destroyed then if they were ridden by a much lighter rider.

mpath

I know it's hard to pass up on a good deal. Congrats on your continual weight loss, diet change, and the pursuit to get fitter and healthier, not to mention the bonus of doing it from a bike. If your target is below 200lbs, I'd pick up the wheels while you can, and put them away - a self-imposed exile from it so to speak. When you hit your weight target, you can award yourself by putting these on the bike. They'll make for a good motivator too.

nhluhr

It comes down to how long they are going to last. Since high end wheels represent a significant cost, it's worthwhile to make sure they last you a LONG time. With that said, if you're close to or above typical weight limits, always go for the "stallion", "side of beef", "clydesdale", etc builds with higher spoke count, mostly for the rear. Not only will they last longer, but they will be stiffer which is good if you have any power behind that mass.

Currently, Zipp's offerings don't come in various spoke counts but you CAN get higher spoke count wheels from their sole authorized custom wheel builder (www.wheelbuilder.com) where, for example, you can get a Zipp 404 FC rear wheel with 24 spokes instead of 20. That also gives you the opportunity to go with different hubs or color combinations.

pallen

I wouldn't expect anything catastrophic from only being 15lbs over the published limit. There's usually a factor of safety in those calculations. Just be aware that you are on the upper edge of what the wheels were built to handle. I would consider something beefier and rated higher just because that is a lot of money to me and I would want to have more confidence for that kind of money. If you have the money to blow and want the lightest wheels, maybe its worth it to you to have to replace some spokes, and possibly rims a bit sooner than most would.

Psimet2001 

....this is misleading...they are not their "sole authorized custom wheel builder". Zipp cut all sales of rims as components after the SRAM acquisition. Someone internally still allowed Wheelbuilder to sign a $50k + annual commitment contract allowing them to still have access to component parts. Many builders (funny enough - not me) have complained about it. I was told that there was a lot of pressure internally at SRAM to NOT renew that agreement.

...again...this is what I was told by a SRAM exec and my rep while at Interbike....but in the end....everyone has their price. Hard to say no when the contract is so large in comparison to a normal Zipp dealer account.

If they continue it though they will most likely have to open it back up again to other builders.

The main reason they may not though...brand management within the SRAM family is a core competency. The general consensus is that the Zipp spec hubs are fairly poor in design compared to almost any other hub out there. The last thing they need is a flood of "non-zipp" hubbed wheels being the next big thing. Especially when there is enough of a margin built in to larger accounts like that to allow for use of actual high quality hubs and come in at the same pricing and still make a livable margin.

......but calling them their "sole authorized custom wheel builder" is misleading. It reeks of there being some sort of evaluation process leading to them being selected above all others. In reality it was a simple backroom distribution deal that made them the only wheel builder that was allowed to retain access to rims. Same thing happens in lots of industries and usually results in the dealer network pressuring the OEM to cancel it.

Seriously - think about all of the other online dealers of Zipp wheels that also build and sell custom wheels that aren't allowed to buy rim components would feel if they were viewed as a "non-authorized wheelbuilder" It would quickly become a "fix it or you can shove your wheels. I'll go sell "x" wheels instead.

ColinL

I'm not sure what you were going for, but this comes off as sour grapes and it's very unflattering for you, in my opinion.

To me, a laymen cyclist not in the business, I interpret the phrase in "quotes" as such:

No shops are able to buy new Zipp rims in non-standard holes except for Wheelbuilder.com.



Is that statement accurate? If so, again, there is no point in debating grammar or semantics. Wheelbuilder is the only way, in 2012 and not 5 years ago, to get those Zipp rims separately.

grwoolf

I can understand a small builder's position that it's not fair that they can't offer a custom wheel with a zipp hoop, but can also appreciate zipp wanting to carefully control that.

Wheelbuilder does a heck of a job on builds and customer service (from my perspective), sells a ton of zipp stuff, and has earned the right for that exclusive contract. If there was another company with the reputation and volume committments that wheelbuilder made, I'm sure SRAM/zipp would be all over it. As a small guy, it's tough, but that's business.

Psimet2001 

That's nice -I build with ENVE as a premium build.

Don't know how it comes off as sour grapes - its companies like prowheelbuilder, competitive cyclist, etc that lose out. I never really sold too many Zipp rims.

Maybe you guys don't understand the history of it all - Zipp used to support wheel builders of all sorts. Any shop or builder was able to buy component parts - rims hubs, etc.

In addition any shop in the country was able to buy via QBP.

After the acquisition they shut down access to anything other than prebuilt wheels to everyone. Regardless of status. This was relayed to me 2 interbikes ago as I asked about access to rims direct instead of through QBP. I was told, "We have decided not to support wheel builders, and have decided to bring all activities that would need component parts in house. "

Then the next year while at interbike I was talking to my rep about my Quarq account. We discussed Zipp because he wanted to open up bars stems, and wheels to me and tack it on to my quarq needs. I said, "would this include access to rims?" he said, "nope. We were told that no one was allowed to have rims. Then I got yelled at by one of my customers who is also a wheelbuilder because he said that wheelbuilder was still selling them online. After a lot of digging I found out that the area rep had renewed their standing $50k annual contract. I brought it up to my boss,but as of now no one seems willing to shut it down. Eventually they will have to either shut it down or open it all back up again."

Having spent the majority of my life in industrial distribution and sales - its a common type of thing. Sales guy hits his goals, money comes in...as long as other distributors that were denied that we're denied that don't find out and/or don't complain then no worries. Unfortunately this is eventually open market retail.

Now if you guys want to interpret that as MY sour grapes - have fun. The only issue I had was with stating that wheelbuilder was somehow the "sole authorized wheelbuilder" of Zipp. Zipp is the sole authorized wheelbuilder of Zipp. Wheelbuilder landed component parts.