david58

Got a new RD and cassette mounted on my BMC in preparation for the Mt Shasta Summit Century, since the fastest way to ratchet up the apparent fitness was to get the pie plate for the back.

But when I started riding it after having the cassette installed, noises appeared. Turned out the econo-wheels that came on the bike were coming apart at the joint, and singing tunes to me as I pedaled along.

I am a 54 year old, 210 pound recreational rider. I don't even think about being a weigh weenie since my weight situation is mostly related to the stored burgers and beers behind my belt buckle. But I am wanting a good, durable, reasonable wheelset without going broke, 'specially since I have two in college and one getting married in the spring. I am stealing the wheels off my wife's bike for the ride this weekend, but I will need to get something to allow her to get on the road again.

Any recommendations for a heavy, slow, non-racing, old dude? If I could afford the bling, I'd start with Chris King hubs, but then if I could afford them I wouldn't be asking about inexpensive wheels for a fat boy...

TrojanHorse

210 should be in the wheelhouse for most wheels... Boyd makes some (rouleur) for about 5 bills that look pretty solid.

You can also go to prowheelbuilder.com and spec out a set using DT Swiss 585 rims that should last you for a billion years. I think you could probably do that for 5-600 bucks there too.

What's your budget?

bigfred 

The stock standard clyde' answer: 32 or 36 hole shimano hubs(Tiagra, 105 or Ultegra depending on budget), laced 3x with 14ga or 14/15 double butted spokes and brass nipples to your choice of reasonably stout rim (Velocity DeepV, Synergy, A23, etc, or DT Swiss 585,465 or HED C2 Belgium, or Mavic Open Pro, or .....) Built by a "wheelsmith" of known expertise.

If all weather bearings are of more concern switch out the Shimano cup and cone hubs for any of the many sealed cartridge bearing hubs.

That's the boring and frequently repeated answer. At 210lbs you could also get by on any number of factory wheel systems.

jimc101

32 hole hubs with rims like Open Pros will be fine.

MikeyBoyAz

just about anything MAVIC will also suit you well enough.

david58

Budget is $0. I hadn't planned on this, so I have to save up for a while. I'd prefer to stay as inexpensive as possible, but I have to admit there will be some desire for a tiny bit o' bling. May not be able to afford no bling, though. Silly that in my budget condition I am probably going to hold out for black rims with anodized red hubs. Silly? Maybe stupid....

My LBS had Mavic Open Pro (?) on Tiagra hub for $129 for the rear. I almost jumped there, but he explained he could make a wheel for me that would not be a whole lot more using a welded rim. I think the welded rim is a good idea, as lack thereof is the basis for this failure. Even at "skinny" I will weigh 185, just not suited for super light or low spoke count wheels, so the fact that I ain't weight weenie will keep $$$ down a bit.

I'm guessing even the Tiagra hub will be superior to what came on the bike.

Web surfing I seem to see that Mavic has a wide variety of choices.

fun2none

I am a Clyde and ride Mavic Ksyrium Equipe and Elite on my road bikes. So far they are holding up well.

JustinNY

Soul s3.0 or build up some velocity a23s with 32h 105 hubs and dt Swiss spokes

jesspal

I ride Mavic Ksyrium SL and Fulcrum 3's and am much heavier.

achoo

Stay away from Open Pros. They used to be good, but Mavic has been moving away from that market and apparently the QC has been suffering - there are a decent number of posts about Open Pros cracking recently.

Besides, the DT Swiss rims are better than Mavic rims anyway. I have a set of wheels built with Mavic CXP33s (a better rim than Open Pros, btw...) and the quality of the Mavic rims is just not as good as the quality of the DT Swiss rims I have. The DT Swiss rims have a better/smoother rim joint, the brake surfaces seem to be machined to much tighter tolerances.

If you're not worried about weight, and want a wheel that lasts forever, DT Swiss RR 585 rims, Shimano 105 hubs, 14/15 double butted spokes, and brass nipples. At 210 lbs, 28/32 spokes front/back would be fine, but if you go off road or think you might want to load your bike with panniers for some reason in the future, 32/36 isn't that much heavier. The DT Swiss 585 is a heavy rim, but it's well made, strong, and will last forever.

coachboyd

The Rouleurs are $400, so you'd have to be paying with five $80 bills. . .and if you give me some $80 bills you will have to understand if I bring out that little pen to check the validity of them :-)

canam73

Welding the rim joint does not make it stronger. It can give you a smoother running brake track and possibly better balance rim. If the wheel has proper spoke tension you theoretically run it with an un-joined rim since it is in compression.

Bingo Blingo

I have had good experiences with Campagnolo Khamsin Wheelset ($180) They come in Shimano and Campagnolo versions. I weigh 30 pounds less than you - but these wheels are often described as bulletproof, so I doubt a few extra pounds would matter that much. You should also look at the Clydesdales Athenas Forum. This topic comes up often there.


https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=58142

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/Wheels-Factory-Road-Triathlon-Campagnolo-Khamsin-Black-Red-Clincher-Wheels-Pair/CAMPWHFR629

(Ribble is Campy-compatible only I believe - its extra long link may not work properly)

TnDiamondback

NEUVATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My M28 AERO3s have been perfect through 3 yrs, untold miles, much of it on East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia backroads, I go around 210lbs, roll fantastic, I paid $250.00 for the set.

Homebrew01

Open Pros have a bit of a reputation for cracking around the spoke nipples. My 32 hole did, and I weigh 175.

achoo

Nice wheels, especially for the price.

Not bulletproof, though. My rear M28 started blowing spokes at about 3000 miles.

No way a 20-spoke rear wheel is going to last as long as a well-made 32- or 36-spoke wheel.

garciawork

Sounds like 105/Ultegra hubs, DT spokes, and whatever rim you like best is the answer. I have heard that Velocity A23's accept a tubeless conversion quite well, which has me thinking about a powertap laced to one of those rather than the durability lacking Stan's rim.

I haven't built a wheel myself with Shimano road hubs, but the XTR set of MTB wheels I built was awesome. Smooth, durable, easy to build and true. Plus, I am a huge fan of cup and cone rather than cartridge, when properly set up, they are a joy!

achoo

Welded rim joints are also not likely to develop any annoying clicking sound after a few thousand miles.

If that long.

I have a Neuvation front that I use in crits that probably has less than 200 miles on it, and it already clicks. And no, I haven't crashed it.

achoo

IMO the only reason to select Ultegra hubs over 105 hubs is you like the color of the Ultegras enough to pay more for them.

The weight difference is probably smaller than the manufacturing tolerances. Heck, I'd bet if you looked at the Shimano technical docs the internal parts used for 105 and Ultegra hubs even have the same part numbers. (FWIW, 105 vs Ultegra pedals are the same - and last I looked those both DID use the same internal part numbers...)

canam73

A wheel that clicks after 200 miles has more wrong with it than a rim joint issue.

dtrain

Your deserve a little bling. Check your PM's for a possible 'local' option.

Silvercivic27

Mavic Ksyrium Elite or Shimano RS-Eighty.

knobd

I weigh around 230 and got the Pure Aero Red Shift from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse with Ultegra Hubs for around $320 and could not be happier.

MarkThailand

I weigh 200 lbs and am a fellow Clyde.

I have a custom-built wheels with HED. C2 rims, White Industries hubs, Sapim CX-Ray spokes laced double-crossed 28F and triple-crossed 32R, and brass nipples from prowheelbuilder.com. They weighed 1600 grams for the wheelset. The wide 23mm rim has been fantastic since they let my 23mm tires spread out to 25.5mm with 100 psi from and 110 psi rear and really smooth out the ride. I have already put on 2000 km over irregular roads without any issues - wheels true, no pinging, no flats - knock on wood.

Check out the wheelset option on the website - about $600 for the wheelset.

Mark

labrat

No bling and out of stock until 8/13/12 but a bill and a half gets a 36h wheelset with solid reveiws (no personal experience here): https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...72_-1___202356