ModeratedUser

Hello all,

I'm trying to figure out what to look for and settle on as far as a touring set of wheels. The bike I have will be used for off road too. Both on tours and just riding. It's a CX/lite-touring bike. This will be my second set of wheels. I have a set that is going to be considered road wheels eventually.

I'm thinking I should at a minimum have 32 spokes front and back. But it seems that it's pretty easy to run across sets that are 28/32 and even 24/28. I'm about 270# and I do travel light. Still that puts me a bit over 300# on my best days!

Any suggestions on what would be a good setup? I wish I was rolling in cash, but I do have to watch my expenses. I do troll CL and ebay for deals. So right now I found some Mavic Cosmos, but I'm thinking it's a bit too light. Even tho the reviews aren't really that bad.

imi

deleted

GP 

One thing I try to avoid is screwing with equipment. Wheels are something you buy and (hopefully) forget about. You don't save a lot of weight by using less spokes. I'd look at 36h rims, a good quality hub like Shimano, doublebutted spokes and brass nipples. My wheels are Velocity Dyad 36h, 1 Dura Ace hub and 1 Ultegra hub, Wheelsmith double butted spokes and brass nipples.

mstateglfr 

36h rim.
Rim suggestions- Velocity deep V, Velocity Dyad, Sun CR18(lowest cost, but they have worked well for me), Mavic A719.
Deore or better hubs if the rear spacing is 135mm. 105 or better hubs if the rear spaciing is 130mm.
Butted spokes. Wheelsmith butted spokes seem to cost less than other 2 brands, but my experience is admittedly limited.
Brass nips.


This all depends on your budget though. You could get some Dyad rims with 105 hubs and butted spokes for $250ish thru universal cycles' custom wheel builder site.
If you want to spend more, there are cartridge hubs which wont need servicing and cost a good bit more.

ModeratedUser

I did see someone that has 2 Mavic Open Pro Road Rim S6000 36 spoke rims that need to be built up. Are these rims considered quality rims? Granted if it's not built correctly even quality stuff can be trash pretty quick. One think about going this route is that you can pick and choose what you want.

LeeG

What size tires?

If you're really pinching pennies almost any 36 spoke front wheel will work as long as a wheel builder has gone over it. Spend the money on the rear wheel since it's the one that takes the biggest hits. As nice as butted spokes are they aren't as important as the build. Quality Products/Handspun makes good wheels.

Bikeman Quality Wheels Pavement Rim Brake Rear Wheel 700c 36h Shimano LX / Mavic A319 / DT Champion All Silv price seems to have crept up on this model but it's a fine choice.

Again if you're pinching pennies spend the money on the rear wheel.

ModeratedUser

I don't want to go with anything less than a 32mm width.

Bicycle365

400# multiple x-country rides , no failures or issues.
Velocity Chukker 40h
Phil(rear)SON28(front)
Schwalbe Marathon+ 700x32

LeeG

How much did that cost?

LeeG

If 35 mm tire is your preferred choice a wide RhinoLite or VeloOrange Escapade would make a fine rim. IMHO spending $400 on a fancy hub is fun but a $50 Shimano hub will work fine.

https://harriscyclery.net

looks like a custom rear wheel made w Deore hub, 36 spoke RhinoLite rim, spokes and labor would make a kickass rear wheel for $160

Bicycle365

Agreed on both points.

*cough* A bit.... *cough*
Peter White Cycles, Hillsborough , NH

chrisx

The lads were talking about how they made their bikes a little lighter. One guy saved a pound by ... .. The other guy made his bike 3 pounds lighter buy ........
From back in the corner by the wheel truing stand, a big guy spoke up. ¨I made my bike 30 pounds lighter.¨ Everyone stoped and turned, 3 guys came in from the front room.
Someone asked, ¨how did you do that?¨
The big guy said, ¨I started riding it every day. I went from 360 to 330 pounds.¨
He had tandem wheels. 46 on the back 42 on the front.
forget about 28 ' 32 big guy. You need more spokes.

B. Carfree

Like the OP, my tandem team is about 300 pounds and we ride a lot of off-road and tour a bit. 26-inch wheels, Phil rear, SON front, 36-hole Alex rims sub with Compass Rat Trap Pass 54 mm tires. I couldn't be happier with a set of wheels.

LeeG

Those rims are good enough training wheels for a heavy racer, totally inadequate for 270lb rider. A couple issues, you want a rim width appropriate for tire width and you want enough metal in the bead to resist deformation when inadequate tire pressure meets pothole as well as braking surface ablation. IMHO a heavy cheap rim is a better deal than a light expensive rim.

Carbonfiberboy 

My wife and I do loaded tours on our tandem. We weigh, all up, about 370#. For paved roads, we prefer 36H Kinlin XC 279 rims, double butted 14-15 spokes, and whatever hubs you can afford. We have Chris King. We run 28mm tires at 120 lbs in the rear, 110 lbs. front. We've had good experiences with Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech tires for touring at this weight. We use rim brakes, but going into unknown terrain with unknown gradients, we mount a wheel with a drum brake. For a single bike that heavy, at least a big rear disc would be a good idea if steep descents might be encountered.

bradtx

User1, I've settled on a 36 hole Chukker / Deore hub combo for a new wheel set. Currently I have CR18 rims and Alivio hubs on the touring bike, but they're slotted to move onto my 'going to need a wheel set and tires soon' secondary touring bike. The CR18s are an older design while the Chukkers seem to have appeared on the touring radar fairly recently.

Mavic 319 and 719 rims are also proven performers, but whatever rim you choose, choose 36 hole. The Alivio hubs have performed flawlessly for three years now so I would expect upper tier hubs to be even better, at the least more attractive. If running 130 mm rear spacing, I'd spec no lower than Tiagra.

Brad

djb

as someone who weighs 140, I have no suggestions other than to say that you will get reliable answers from the clyde section by folks with the same weight as you, not to say the tandem experience here isnt valid, but you'll likely get more answers over there.
good luck with getting the right wheelset for your weight. I agree with the "pay more up front" comments and not have to deal with wheel issues and more expenses, not to mention the hassle.

Squeezebox

It seems that what is considered "normal" for cyclists in the 150-180 lb range. Sound good to me for you to listen to the tandem folks. Is your frame strong enough? Co-motion makes a tandem grade single. but it is expensive!!

imi

Even if I'm a bit heftier than djb at 150 lbs and carry about 30 lbs of gear, I go for handbuilt, trued and tensioned 36H, Mavic A-719s with double butted DT-Swiss spokes, to hopefully avoid wheel problems on the road.
Overkill? Maybe, but pretty bombproof and gives me a bit more peace of mind.

mstateglfr 

Those are fine rims as I see them used a lot for mid-level replacement wheels on road bikes.
I am 230# and wouldnt use them for a loaded tourer build, but only because there are alternatives which are the same price or nominally more expensive which are also made for wider tires and heavier weighted riding.

Tourist in MSN

300 pounds total weight on the wheels, I would use 36 spokes rear, if not more. If you have a choice, a frame with 135 mm dropout spacing.

Front, if you want to save some spokes, go ahead. Decades ago a lot of utility bike were sold with 40 spokes on the rear and 32 on front. You do not need to have the same on front as rear.

fietsbob

I built a reliable set of wheels in the mid 80s 40 spoke front , 48 spoke rear ..

back in the 50s S-A made 40 hole 3 speed hubs and paired with a 32 spoke front..

another cheap approach a mid priced 36 spole wheel-set Shimano freehub

if you damage the rim , no biggie, just buy another wheel set of the same in whatever bike shop you get to .
and As its a common repair part shop should have one to sell you..

you at 270+ how much gear aboard?

ModeratedUser

I would be traveling light. It would be less than 30# of gear. I'm just looking at doing some 2-3 day trips right now. Eventually do a trip down Baja one of these days.

A couple of answers that kinda was asked; my spacing is 130mm, I'd go with wider tires than 32mm if I end up with a wider rim that would support it.

Really I'm trying to get a feel for what wheels to look for in my shopping around. Info like the Mavic 319 and 719 rims is really good info that would be useful. 36 spokes would be considered, but if I run across a nice set of 32s, I'd consider it. I have a good shop I go to for truing and they are trusted.

I am looking at reducing my weight. I do have to get down to 250# minimum. My goal is really 200#. I am 6'3".

fietsbob

If you put a Lot of weight on the rear wheel, Put more stuff weight wise on the front wheel in Low Rider Pannier racks.

mstateglfr 

As a fellow bigger guy and having gone thru a couple of wheel builds over the last couple years, its really best to determine budget and then base components off that. You can get excellent working road hubs for $40 and excellent working road hubs for $500. You can get solid rims for $30 and solid rims for $90.


You can get a fully handbuilt set of wheels with Mavic 319 rims and 36h Tiagra hubs for $250 which would certainly carry you well down to Baja and back. Or move up to 105, Ultegra, or a great cartridge bearing hub and some 719 rims for more money and benefits.