Hey all, new to the forum here.

I found some decent wheels that I can have for a pretty good price, but I'm not sure if they'll work for me.

They're Velocity Deep V's laced to Miche primato hubs. My concern is that they only have 24 spokes, and the front wheel is radial.

I'm about 230 and ride fairly hard around Boston. I know nobody would recommend I go that low on spokes, and definitely not radials, but realistically would these things hold up for me?

They wouldn't break or anything, however, you better get good at truing wheels.

im 170 and i do all kinds of dumb stuff on my radial 28H front wheel and its fine. I would throw some decent sized tires on and ride em into the ground. I have 28c tires for refference.

Realistically, it is impossible to predict. I have seen people who ride entirely country roads who can't seem to keep a wheel true, and other who abuse the s*** out of their bikes w/o issues.

If I had to guess based off the stats you give, I would guess you are heading for trouble. I am sure there are people who will give anecdotal evidence that you are fine, but I am skeptial, particularly given the "ride hard" comment.

170 lbs to 230lb is a 35% increase, and 28 to 24 is a 15% drop in number of spokes to carry the load. This is going to be a pretty big jump in the load on spokes. Again, I am sure there will be anecdotal evidence you will be fine, and you very well could be, but I have my doubts. The suggestion for bigger tires is a good one.

Two points that need clarifying:
1. How good a deal are you getting? If it is really good, who cares - give it a shot. They are just going to go out of true easily. They are not going to kill you.
2. How "hard" do you ride? Potholes? Jump curbs? Treat your track bike like a BMX bike?

And it's one I will take. Is 28c big enough, or should I go really big?

I'm getting them for $150 and its from a friend who could use the money right now. So I'm saving $100 vs buying wheels with a higher spoke count off ebay or $200 vs LBS and I get to throw some money to a friend.

Nothing crazy. Potholes and curb jumping, yes. Basic commuting in Boston, only slightly aggressive.

I would not go under 28 and you may want to go with 32 or 35 as far as tire size.

One thing you could do is trade the wheels to somebody for something with a higher spoke count

That's a good price. I say do it. Just really try to avoid potholes (sometimes easier said than done) and cut down on the curb jumping and/or learn how to take curbs w/o huge impact on the wheels. 28c is fine. Any bigger would suck.

If you notice problems with the wheels going out of true, sell them off and start looking for something with more spokes. It isn't that big of a deal.

OP, i weigh 140 and could use a new wheelset— i have two 32H wheelsets that you could take your pick from, and i'd throw you some cash as well. PM me if you like.

My friend is pretty jazzed that they're going to someone he knows. He probably could get more for them on Ebay, but wants to get them to me, so I probably shouldn't flip them unless I give them a shot an find out they won't work for me.

Definitely appreciate the offer though.

fair enough— i'd be the same way. drop a line if they don't work out for some reason.

you might also check out the clydesdales forum... not that you are huge by any means, but they know about riding hard on wheels...

i would think you will be fine, deep v's are pretty much bombproof, regardless of spokecount

It's usually the hub you're worried about when you go down in spoke count, not the rim.

If the wheel is built well, you're probably fine, but if one spoke breaks then it'll go way more out of true than it would with more spokes. It'll just make it a lot more of a PITA to get around if you do have breakage.