toadwart

I am looking to buy a or have built a set of 700c wheels for my touring bike. Just looking for recomendations for the rim and hubs. The bike does have disc brakes.

Barrettscv 

It will somewhat depend on tire size you select. Also, we need to know the total weight of you and your fully loaded rig.

A light rider with ultralight gear can use a good set of 32 spoke wheels with narrow 19mm rims. But a wider rim with 36 spokes is more common.

ezdoesit

I went with Mavic A-719 on 700x32 tires for my Fuji Touring bike and haven't look back or broken a spoke I love them.
I weigh 200 pounds and the bike is 28 pounds naked so I went with the 36 hole spokes, went with ultegra hubs
Hope this helps you out.
https://www.mavic.com/en/product/rims...lon/rims/A-719

slide23

And what is your budget?

Here's the build I have: Velocity Aerohead Touring Disc rims, 32h White Industries MI6 hubs, DT double-butted spokes (2.0/1.8/2.0), tensioned to ~140 kgm on the dish side. I abuse the holy hell out of these and they just keep going. I weigh ~185 pounds and my bike is 55 pounds with my daily gear. Jump off curbs, ride down stairs, and give them dirty looks on a regular basis.

twinsfan1976

I am considerably heavier, over 300lbs. I had mine built by Peter White, Velocity Chukker 40 hole rims, double butted spokes, and White Industries MI6 disc hubs. The disc hubs were for my other bike, but I am using them on an LHT as well, sans the brake rotor. I bought the Chukkers as they were strong enough for discs but also had the rim brake area that was not anodized. Love these wheels!

sstorkel

I went with Velocity Synergy Off-Center 700c rims front and rear, Shimano XT hubs (not my first choice, but I got a smokin' good deal on them), and 32 DT Swiss Competition double-butted spokes per wheel. My bike has a disc brake in the front and a canti in the rear. The off-center drilling of the Synergy rims leads to relatively even spoke tension on both sides of the wheel. I believe this will aid long-term durability, but have no proof. They've been great so far, though!

Carbonfiberboy 

Nice wheels, dude! What tires are you running and at what pressure? Down the stairs loaded?

slide23

Conti Ultra Gatorskin 25mm, 100psi front, 115 rear. To be fair, I am not bombing down the stairs, but I don't take them gently either. But yes, down the stairs in my full kit. I encounter stairs in my commute, but I
feel that jumping off some of the curbs is far more abusive.

rekmeyata

If you weigh 200 pounds on a 24 pound bike carrying 50 pounds in touring gear your stressing 36 spoke rims to their limits! You should be riding on touring or tandem bike wheels. Several come to mind including Velocity Dyad that comes in 40 and 48 holes; Mavic T217 and/or the A719 both come in 40 holes, and a T520 with 48 holes; Sun rims CR18 40 to 48 holes, and their Rhyno Lite in 40's. Personally you should be in great shape riding on 40's. 48 hole rims require expensive hubs like Phil Woods, but 40's you can find decent priced hubs. Ideally, if you can afford it, a loaded touring Clydesdale should be riding on 48's on the rear and 40 on the front. If your an average weight at around 180 pounds and plan to tour loaded then 40 spoke rims on the rear and 36 on the front are great.

andydreisch

Our C'dale tandem came equipped with A719's, 40 spokes on both wheels. We now run Specialized Infinity 35s front and rear. We're definitely in the Clydesdale range. I hover around 220 pounds (my stoker would demolish me if I told her weight!). We routinely do loaded touring. I expected to replace the rims/spokes/wheels at least once a year but here it is 3+ years and 5 tire changes later with many thousands of miles, most of which are under considerable loads, and those wheels are truer than true and rock solid. The spokes are tight and not one has broken. I'm amazed.

safariofthemind

IMO well made 36 spoke wheels can easily handle 300 pounds+ and there should be no reason to worry. I am 200 and regularly ride 32 spoke wheels and rarely have had any problems (as in, almost never). If you want an expert opinion call a skilled wheel smith such as Peter White or your local old geezer bike mechanic. https://peterwhitecycles.com/

My 2 cents worth is to make sure you keep your tires inflated at the correct pressure or you'll get pinch flats and possibly damage your rims. Better to have a little too much pressure than not enough. A tire pressure gauge is a useful thing to carry, and use. Also, spokes breaking is often due to incorrect tension, especially on machine built wheels. Learn what the sound of a correctly tensioned spoke when plucked is and make sure spokes "sound right"; if needed use a spoke wrench to adjust or take them to a shop. Scheduled service on your wheels is better than the pain in the rear of a broken spoke(s) on the road.

NoReg

Read his rant, and catalog. Scary to hear he thinks my Aeroheat rims are for racing.

https://peterwhitecycles.com/wheels.asp

rekmeyata

And Peter White will tell you he doesn't recommend 36 spoked wheels on the rear for heavy touring, in fact his home page near the bottom calls 36 spoked wheels LIGHT touring wheels, for heavy touring he recommends at least 40 on the rear. If you want greater reliability on a tour you don't want a wheel that is built to just make it, you want one you'll know will make it. Why take the chance on a 36 spoke wheel when a 40 is better? It's little awkward being stuck in the middle of the Mojave desert with a rear wheel that came apart, or finding yourself replacing spokes along your journey when you could eliminate that headache and get a stronger wheel. Even if you weigh 125 pounds and will be carrying 70 pounds of stuff, so what if your riding on overbuilt wheels? How's that going to hurt you? All of my wheels on all my bikes are slightly overbuilt, but in that cause I rarely have to true them even the tiniest bit. You can ride on any wheel you want, but I would rather be safe then sorry.

kaliayev

Huh. Seems he has a number of wheelsets listed for loaded touring and they are mostly 36h.

reptilezs

alex adventurer rim is fine and cheap too. i had that rim, 36 spokes and a tiagra hub on the trans am. i weighed about 185 and was fully loaded. its all about the builder and the build quality, i cannot stress this enough.

rekmeyata

Huh, reread it, those are recommended for LIGHT touring not heavy touring. Here's his list (I eliminated if the rim was the same and all that was changed was the quality of the hub) :

Training, Light Touring and Randoneuring, 130mm rear (price per set)
Shimano Dura Ace hubs, Wheelsmith 14-16 butted spokes,
Mavic Open Sport silver rims, 32 hole front, 36 hole rear:

Shimano XTR M950 hubs, Mavic Open Sport silver rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith spokes, 32 spokes front and rear:

Loaded Touring
Phil Wood hub for 8 or 9 speed Shimano cassette, Mavic A719 silver rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith butted spokes, 36 spokes

Phil Wood hub for 8 or 9 speed Shimano cassette, Mavic A719 black rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith butted spokes, 40 spokes:

White Industries Racer X 36 spoke hubs, Velocity Dyad rims, Wheelsmith DB-14 spokes, 36 spokes front & rear:

White Industries Racer X 40 spoke hubs, Velocity Dyad rims, Wheelsmith DB-14 spokes, 40 spokes front & rear:

While there are 36 hole loaded touring wheels in that list he has also 40's, in fact 50% are 40's.

And according to Adventure Cyclist they have this to say about wheels: Wheels -- The primary source of breakdowns on a bicycle tour are wheel-related. Professionally hand-built wheels tend to be the most reliable. More spokes usually makes stronger wheels. I recommend a minimum of 36 spokes and a three-cross lacing pattern. Many new bikes come with high-tech, lightweight wheels that have fewer spokes, unconventional lacing patterns, and hard-to-find spokes or parts. These wheels favor weight savings, compromise durability, and are not ideal for loaded touring. Aluminum rims of 22 millimeters or wider offer strength, light weight, and a good surface for braking. They also accommodate wider tires (1-1/4 to 1-3/8 inch) that better absorb road shock and bumps.

Bob Beckman of Beckman Designs who makes probably the best touring bikes in the world designs his completed bikes intended for heavy touring with 40 in the front and 48 on the rear. https://robertbeckmandesigns.com/bikeframes.html

Like I said, your free to tour with 36 spokes rims, I don't care; but for me I'm going to use 40 on the front and 48 on the rear. Maybe my way is an overkill, but at least I know my chances of a wheel failure are less then it would be with less spokes. And remember, it's touring, you don't want to be stuck somewhere kicking a cactus wishing you had gotten stronger wheels.

reptilezs

you seem to like peter white a lot

kaliayev

There is a whole list of wheels for "Loaded Touring". It does not specify light or heavy duty. For someone who does not care you seem to go on and on in an attempt to make a point.

safariofthemind

For the record, this type of discussion crops up on this forum a lot. It's kind of like the gut reaction one gets to questions and comments about steel vs aluminum frames, the bias against carbon, ceramics, disc brakes, and many other deeply held beliefs. It's hard to convince some folks.

If you go to mountain bike or bikepacking forums you'll see they have a different perspective and they sure beat their wheels and rigs a lot more than most touring folks. Broken spokes happen. Not often, but they do. When it does happen, it is not a tragedy. One deals with it. Of course YMMV and your rig should match your mission. However, some in our community will cling to their long held beliefs to a fault. I'd actually talk with a number of tourers and take opinions here with a big dash of salt.

My own experience comes from running 700c wheels on a Surly Cross Check with fat tires. I don't jump curbs or do anything stupid and even loaded it has done well with a modest wheel set.

safariofthemind

I was actually surprised to read that. I guess I should be more careful with who I link to. After all, he is in the wheel selling business

Carbonfiberboy 

We run 36 spoke Velocity Deep V 19mm rims on the back of our tandem. 310 lb. team weight, 36 lb. bike, 40 lbs. in rear panniers when touring. Aerohead 36H front rim. Those rims have been excellent with almost no tuning for 1000s of miles, including touring on potholed mixed dirt, gravel, and pavement. We run 28c tires at 120 lbs. when touring, 25c at 120 when sport riding. A tandem is more evenly weighted fore and aft than a single.

We do have CK hubs, I built the wheels myself, and standard modern rear tandem spacing is 145, so one must consider the wheel as a system and not just a collection of parts.

rekmeyata

Not sure what your seeing, I bolded the information so you could readily tell that one group of wheels was recommended for Training, Light Touring and Randoneuring, and the other was Loaded touring. It's not my fault the web site doesn't say light or heavy duty just as it's not my fault you don't understand the difference between light touring and touring. For someone who doesn't care you sure seem to enjoy trying to stir up trouble.

kaliayev

Straight from Peter Whites web site:

Loaded Touring, 135mm rear, 700c
(price per set)
Most modern touring bikes have 135mm between the rear dropouts. This is the same as for most modern mountain bikes. So most touring bikes use hubs that fit most mountain bikes. We stock several hubs suitable for loaded touring. The Phil Wood and White Industries hubs have cartridge sealed bearings, which hardly ever need service. And if they do need service, they can easily be replaced. Phil Wood makes the toughest rear hub. If you weigh 300lbs and will be carrying another 75lbs of gear, I recommend the Phil Wood. If your needs aren't quite so severe, but you still want a hub that will last a lifetime with minimal service, get the White Industries. The Shimano XTR is another hub that will probably last a lifetime. Just keep the grease in the bearings clean and the bearings well adjusted. Bearing adjustment is probably the most critical issue with a Shimano hub. With the cartridge bearings in the Phil Wood and White Industries, a damaged bearing is an annoyance, until you replace it. But the Shimano hubs can permanently damaged by improper bearing adjustment. If kept clean and well adjusted, Shimano hubs like the XTR will outlast just about any rider.
Phil Wood hub for 8 or 9 speed Shimano cassette, Mavic A719 silver rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith butted spokes, 36 spokes: Add $10 for black rims $ 871.50
Phil Wood hub for 8 or 9 speed Shimano cassette, Mavic A719 black rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith butted spokes, 40 spokes: $ 899.90
White Industries Racer X 36 spoke hubs, Velocity Dyad rims, Wheelsmith DB-14 spokes, 36 spokes front & rear: $ 671.60
White Industries Racer X 40 spoke hubs, Velocity Dyad rims, Wheelsmith DB-14 spokes, 40 spokes front & rear: $ 690.00
Shimano XTR M950 hubs, Mavic A719 silver rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith spokes, 36 spokes: Add $10 for black rims $ 592.50
Shimano XT M760 hubs, Mavic A719 silver rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith spokes, 36 spokes $ 404.49
Shimano LX M580 hubs, Mavic A719 silver rims, 14-16 Wheelsmith spokes, 36 spokes $ 385.48
Many other rims available. Call 603 478 0900 for a quote.

Most of the wheelsets are 36h. Not stirring up trouble, just don't care to be called out by someone dealing out crap.

rekmeyata

Yes you are stirring up trouble. I gave web sites from other sources recommending higher spoke count wheels and I even highlighted AGAIN the difference. But your too ignorant to read so my conversation ends when I'm dealing with crack heads.

vik 

I run 32h LX hubs with Mavic CXP 33 700c rims on my LHT haven't had any issues over the years. I use rim brakes, but you can get disc hubs and it shouldn't make much difference.

I weigh 175lbs and carry 30-40lbs of gear.