Road Wheels & Road Wheel Recommendations?

Soon I will need to buy a new road front wheel. I want it to need as little attention as possible in the way of truing, and I want it to hold up to a daily commute that includes some fairly terrible road surfaces: potholes, cobbles etc, whilst loaded up with the weight of me (12 stone) plus two big locks and whatever else I need to carry; sometimes a laptop and some big books. Budget is around £50 max so it's obviously gonna be pretty basic.

Am I better off going for something like a Planet X A57, which has 32 spokes and is designed for cyclocross, or will a Shimano R500 be perfectly durable enough despite having only 20 spokes? Sheldon seems to think low-spoke count wheels are stupid, is he right?

I weigh in at at least 105 kg, and I haven't been able to untrue my R500's. Solid pair of wheels...

awesome, thanks

I asked this in another thread but this is probably a better place for it. And I'm impatient. :)

Say I have two wheels - one built with an Open Pro and the other an A23. If they're both running the same tyre, which is going to give me better clearance? Logic would make me think the A23 but I just wanted to make sure.

I asked this in another thread but this is probably a better place for it. And I'm impatient. :)

Say I have two wheels - one built with an Open Pro and the other an A23. If they're both running the same tyre, which is going to give me better clearance? Logic would make me think the A23 but I just wanted to make sure.

I would say both would give the same height for a given tyre. But that the A23 mounted tyre would be a touch wider.

At least thats my experiance with MTB tyres/rims.

Slight cross post from the any questions thread, but I thought it might be more useful here.

I'm looking for some cheap but decent road hubs for this.

Requirements are:

• 130mm spacing
  
• 36h
  
• 9-speed Shimano compatible
  
• silver
  
  

They will be on Mavic A319s – so a slightly tougher all rounder wheelset. Most probably overbuilt for their immediate use, but hey.

So Is there anything out there better in terms of price point than Decor hubs? Sub-£40 a pair seems pretty good.

I know Ambrosio for campag are a favourite. Also 105s would be nice, but possibly just a bit too much for the bike and any money saved would be good!

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

I need to get spokes so was looking at Cyclebasket and noticed Tiagra's a being quite cheap.... but my snobby side can't help but look down a bit on Tiagra's, while Decor at least has that "functional" feeling to it.

Cheers.

105
http://www.cnc-bike.de/product_info.php?cPath=25_105_215&products_id=8923

Novatech
http://www.cnc-bike.de/product_info.php?cPath=25_105_214&products_id=7933
http://www.cnc-bike.de/product_info.php?cPath=25_105_214&products_id=5921

^ cheers.

I haven't checked, but if the € is still down nows the time to buy.

105s would be smarter than decor and have a better resale value I guess(?)

Also some good prices on black spokes for reference.

Langague might cause me some issues tho :S

Also some good prices on black spokes for reference.

Langague might cause me some issues tho :S

I just wrote to him in English (Its a small shop). Spoke prices and the stock of Kinlin rims, where the things that caught my eye.

......I'll dig out the e-mails.

ED: Cant bloody find them..... :(

No worries....

.... errr, so is there anything else I should be picking up with them that is especially good value? *

*please say no

No worries....

.... errr, so is there anything else I should be picking up with them that is especially good value? *

*please say no

Some nice and cheap forks......CX, touring, road etc.

Hugo, what is the rear dropout width on your Dawes?

As Deore rear hubs are 135mm wide.

Wiggle are clearing Deore A319 rear wheels for £48 right now

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mwheel-shimano-deoremavic-a319-rear-road-bike-wheel/

Ah, bought just that wheel last week for £56.

It's a very good deal at £48 when you consider the rim retails for £30.

The wheel's quite well built using DT Swiss plain gauge spokes.

Good shout.

Rear spacing is 130mm I think, but I seem to remember the wheel being loose in there. So it might be one of those useful 132.5mm spacings.

Looking for a new front wheel. Got a rear RS80 for £100 in the spring, and need a front to go with it.

Would like something slightly deeper for the front
Any otp recommendations for £150-200?

Other option would be to re-use the hub, as it seems fine, in which case I'm looking at
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48166
DT Swiss RR 585.
Any other ideas?

Thanks!

surely you can grab a front rs80 off ebay or here? You can get a new one for £170. Why not have matching wheels?!

can't find a 2012 front for £170 that's in stock. Not seen any singles on ebay at all. Wishing I had bought a front in the spring when they seemed a bit cheaper.

Basically just wondering if there is anything else I should look out for instead

£186 : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=38244&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom

£176.50 http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/shimano-rs80-c24-carbon-clincher-wheel-front.html

£179 http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=8348

That's just from a very basic google

I think this might be better here than in any Q's:

Sapim CX ray spokes - worth the money over double butted? It is for 32h road disc wheels onto A23 rims.

Whats the price differential?

A fair bit. It is complicated slightly by the fact that I'm building up a Soma Double Cross DC but want to use campag so am going to have some wheels built with novatec road disc hubs. The info below is the quote from wheelsmith who are, I gather, a well thought of outfit. Their email:

Hi,

CX-Rays worth the extra if you can afford it. They do sharpen up the ride and are the lightest/strongest we have.

Velocity A23 clincher rims. 32/32h. Black.
Novatec 4in1 sealed bearing disc hubs. Black.
ACI F1 stainless double butted spokes.
ACI axial nipples.
Delivery
Total: £310.

Velocity A23 clincher rims. 32/32h. Black.
Novatec 4in1 sealed bearing disc hubs. Black.
Sapim CX-Ray spokes. Black
Sapim polyax nipples.
Delivery
Total: £422

what about sapim D light spokes? cheaper and only 4.8g each, CX-Rays are 4.4g.

http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/sapim-d-light-spokes/

CX rays are aero profiled which is where I would imagine the benefit is at. But a 32h spoke wheel isnt going to be particularly aero compared to the 24h/20h wheelsets you usually find those sorts of spokes on.

I personally wouldn't bother, double butted will get you a good solid wheel.

But hey, what do I know