Touring wheel set
 

I was all set to order a set of touring wheels for my commuter bike, but the place I was planning to order from is out of stock in the rims I was going to use. After evaluating various rim options, I had decided on Velocity Dyads as my best option in terms of price, weight and durability. The rims would be laced to 36H Ultegra hubs with double butted spokes, brass nips.

My requirements for a rim are that they are available in silver, 36 hole, and able to handle tires up to 32 mm wide (the max my frame will allow). Although various rims meet those requirements, the Dyads are lighter than other options yet considered one of the strongest rims available. I'm wondering if I should just wait until the Dyads are available or reconsider my other options:

- Salsa Delgados (questions about durability compared to other options)
- Mavic A719s (one of the most durable but also the heaviest and expensive)
- Mavic CXP-33s (probably strong enough but questionable for handling 32 mm tires)
- Velocity Synergys (availability limited and silver rims do not have machined sidewalls)
- DT Swiss 7.1s (availability limited, particularly in silver, and expensive)

Are there other rims I should be considering? I can wait for the Dyads to get back in stock, but the wheelset was supposed to be my birthday present, and it is unlikely they would be available by then. I don't mind waiting if Dyads are clearly the best choice, but was wondering if I was overlooking any other options.

I can only speak for the Dyad's... Great choice from personal experience. If not in a hurry why not wait?

I'm not a big fan of eyelets. More based on my experience with Open pro's and rattling than anything. Maybe the Mavic A719's don't have this problem?

That is part of my reason for choosing the Dyads, because they don't have eyelets. I also have had problems with eyelets breaking on Open Pros, and the Dyads are much lighter than the Mavic A719s and DT Swiss 7.1s.

I think your answering your own question.. I vote for you to just be patient and wait it out.

For that bike, I would really look for the synergys. The OC rear rim is very nice, and the NMSW's dont matter at all. I think the synergys are some of the best rims for nearly all purposes, unless you are going to use a very large tire, or a very heavy load.

Another vote for the Velocity Synergy. I used 32H Synergy OC rims for my touring wheelset, along with Shimano XTR hubs, DT Swiss Competition double-butted spokes, and brass nipples. Wheels seem pretty bomb-proof, though I only have a couple thousand miles on them. I've used 700x32 and 700x35 tires without problem. Supposedly they'll accept tires as small as 700x25, though I personally haven't tried it.

Suggest the OP contact Velocity directly if he's having trouble obtaining rims. There are also two eBay auctions running that feature the Dyad rims he needs...

I just had those exact wheels built and mounted on my bike. I had mine built at Universal Cycles, Portland, OR. They are a great bunch of folks to work with. They also had a good deal on the older Ultegra hubs. I just checked and they are also out of the Dyad, 36 hole, silver, but still have the hubs. Check out their interactive custom wheel builder feature. I have only ridden them two times. but they seem like a nice setup. I'm running them with 32mm Schwalbe Marathons, which are quite a bit heavier then the 28mm Ultra Gatorskins on my other wheels. It was hard to give then a real fair evaluation, but I did notice the extra weight. I also put the Marathons on my wife's touring bike, and she could also feel the difference. After a lot of research and comparisons, I chose the Dyads for all the reasons you mentioned, and I don't think that I'll regret it. The bike is a Bianchi Volpe set up for touring.

http://www.universalcycles.com/

PS. When I ordered mine, about 4 weeks ago, I wanted black and they were out of them at that time so I settled on the silver.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...tos/Dyad-2.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...dBianchi-1.jpg

Well, I talked to my regular mechanic, and he will build me a set of Ultegra/Dyads for about $40 more than Universal, so the price would be very close considering I won't have to pay shipping. He can get the silver rims, so I am good to go. I have heard conflicting information on whether the lack of machined rims on the Synergys would be an issue, so I went with my mechanic's advice. He thought I should get the Dyads since they are machined. His reasoning is that 99% of the quality bike rims these days have machined rims for bikes with caliper or canti brakes, so they must do it for a reason. I tend to agree. The Dyads are also lighter than the Synergys but considered stronger.

I am going to put Continental GP 4 Season 28s on the rims. I am trying to keep the wheels as light as possible since it is very hilly where I ride.

Conti tires tend to run a bit small. Which means the real size is likely to be 26c. I would suggest looking at a slightly larger
tire. 32c is a good size.

Don't forget Universal's coupon codes, vip10 for orders over $100 (10% off), and vip15 for orders over $300 (15% off)... makes a big difference.

I don't think will be the case because Dyads are much wider than most road rims -- eg. 24 mm compared to about 19.5 for Open Pro rims. We'll see once I get the tires mounted.

Universal's coupon codes cannot be used for discounts on custom wheel builds, according to their web site. However, their prices for wheel builds are about the lowest I have seen.

Their prices are decent, but you can do better (sometimes much better) elsewhere...

Like where? Name names. I got about 10 quotes on a set of Ultegra/Dyad wheels from various sources, and Universal was the lowest -- in some cases by $200 or more.

I recently purchased a set of PowerTap-equipped wheels for my road bike from BF user Psimet2001 via psimet.com. His price on a PT rear wheel was better than what most vendors were charging for the PowerTap hub alone. For the price that Universal and WheelBuilder.com wanted for a rear wheel, Psimet sold me a complete wheelset using the same components.

Word of warning: he's a one-man shop, so the lead time for ordering and receiving wheels will likely be longer than it is with Universal. For me, the price and build quality made the wait worthwhile...

Very true. I run Dyads and have always wondered, if these tires which claim to be 28's measure 28 exactly on these wide ass rims, what the heck do they measure on a 19mm rim? and what size do they use to rate them?...three different models from two different makers...(the answer, provided by the wheels on my new bike(Alex r500), is 26mm.)

Originally Posted by late
Tarheel
Late is correct in that the Conti's seem to run smaller. It even varies between models of Continental tires. The 28 mm Ultra 3000's are noticably smaller than the 28mm Gatorskins. However, I think 28 mm Contis will be OK, especially if you go for one of the commuting/ touring models which seem to be sized more realistically. While I haven't tried them on the Dyad's, My wife ran 28 mm Conti Ultra Gatorskins on her Mavic 119 rims. Supposedly, they are also 24 mm wide. A lot of fully loaded and commuting miles @ 100 psi with not pinch flats, or real issues. I would still be running the Gatorskins if I could find them in 32mm. They are light and tough. If I have a little time this weekend, I could try mounting a 28mm Gatorskin on the Dyad wheel just to see what it looks like.

tires
 

BTW, I have been commuting on Conti GP 4000s in 25 mm with no problems with flats and excellent wear. My Conti 25s do running narrow, about 24 mm wide, but my rims are Open Pros, which are only 19.5 mm wide. I suspect that on a wider rim, they would measure close to their nominal size. Anyway, the Conti 28s should be noticeably wider than what I have been riding on. I ride this bike commuting 99% of the time. If I do some loaded touring, I will probably put some larger tires on for the trip.

I am well aware of how much tires vary from their advertised sizes. Michelins used to run large, but apparently the newer models run small. I've got some Michelin Pro2Races in 700 x 25 that actually measure 27-28 mm wide on my Open Pro rims. Very nice tires and it's a shame Michelin quit making them the same way.