clydesdale needs wheels

I'm a 220 pound rider whos new to the sport. I currently have the 05 Specialized Allez with Alx330 wheels. I've heard a heavier rider should have more spokes. My wheels have 20/24. I've already broken a spoke and now its worrying me i'll break more.

Anyway any recomendations on a good set of wheels to buy or build. I'm a DIY kinda guy, so building them would be interesting and worth it if it saves me $$$.

I am also a heavy rider. I previously only used wheels with 36 spokes. now I am riding on bikes with 32 and 20 spokes per wheel with no problem. I have only been using the 20 spoke wheels for 2 months (from ebay). Maybe after replacing the one broken spoke your wheel will be fine.

I did a search on your wheels and it seems a few other people have had the same problem

But if you want to build your own wheels then google sheldon brown and wheel building, this site will explain how to build a wheel.

I use to build all my own wheels but it seems that I can buy a built wheel from coloradocyclist for about the same price and I think that they do a better job than I do.

The reason that I build my own wheels is that I choose the components, number of holes, and number of cross and I think that it is fun. I also have no one to blame if it is a bad job.

If you build you own, have patience because tensioning the rims improperly can make a lot of rims that resemble a potato chip.

As for equipment, I believe in getting the best hubs possible to reduce rolling resistance. I have had good experience with mavic rims

good luck and have fun.

One thing you just have to accept as a clyde, nothing is going to last as long as it would a 60kg climber. Its also going to flex more. Doesn't mean you can't ride lite gear, just expect to have durability issues.

24/20 spokes is pretty mid range, but if it is only a lowish profile rim you are going to be working those spokes a lot, and I'm betting they aren't super top quality spokes either. You may have just had one weak spoke......but I'm betting you'll have more go in the not too distant future.

Don't have people tell you than because you are over xxx kg then you must have a certain number of spokes, but yes for similar usage us clydes need a few more. It is a combination of your weight, riding style, terrain, road surfaces, maintainance, and tolerance for replacing parts or breakage.

For your racing wheels for instance, 20/24 with a good rim might be perfectly ok, but since they won't last for ever you may not want them for your 30,000km a year training on country roads (you do train 30,00km a year right?? ).

That is where the beauty of custom built wheels come in. You don't have to take a set of wheels designed to suit a wide range of people and thier needs (so they can sell a lot of wheels) you will pick all of the parts (and colours) to suit you and your needs. AND servicing will be cheaper/easier.

There are thousands on threads on every forum about which rims and hubs and spokes and patterns are good, read them, then talk to a wheel builder, and enjoy the process!

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Precision Sports

Have you considered getting your LBS to build you up a set of tuff 36 spoke wheels? They should be able to do this for a reasonable price, no matter if you use campy or shimano.

Could they do it as cheap as Colorado Cyclist i wonder? They can make a rear wheel open pros or DT's 1.1 with ultegra hubs for under 200. This seems like a pretty good option but they would weight more than my Alx wheels. I thought the point was to reduce weight on the wheels not add weight tho...

Ask yourself how much weight you're talking about adding then ask what percentage of your total rider + bike + water + patch kit... weight you're talking about.

Even if all the weight were out at the rim (which it isn't when talking about additional spokes) the impact is negligible. Sure there's lots of fear about increased "rotating weight" or moment of inertia, but most is totally overblown, especially in the context of a 220 pound rider with an additional 20+ pounds of bike and kit. How much weight will those extra spokes add to the 240+ pounds you're starting with? What's that something like a 0.1% increase in total weight???

-Dave

yes, that is true, ideally you would want to reduce weight from rotating components. But your original post didn't mention that. I assumed that you wanted a product that would better handle your body weight.

Listen to Wyoming Dave. Moment of inertia of wheels matters oh so very little. In fact, this whole idea of reducing rotating mass on bikes has been pushed as a performance enhancer without virtually anyone being objective and doing the science and math. The science and math say the differences are comparable to the weight you'd lose with chronic flatus. Seriously.

Now, there's naught to say there's anything wrong with well built light weight wheels, but you have to keep some perspective. The first in that perspective should be how much load is being brought to bear on your wheels. You're 220 lbs. If you instead used wheels that had 28/32 spokes (just an example) instead of 20/24, and if we assumed each spoke weighed 7 g (heavy), you'd have an extra 112 g to deal with. That's a whopping 0.247 lbs, or 0.11% of your body weight.....as someone else mentioned. That'll make a difference I guarantee you won't see on any stopwatch. However, those 16 extra spokes can make a world of difference to the life of your wheels and all of the spokes. As a bonus, those extra spokes will make your wheels feel more secure when cornering at higher speeds. That's always nice.

You're a perfect candidate for a custom wheelbuilder. Colorado Cyclist is fine and do a competent job, but you don't have to limit yourself to them. Any competent LBS has someone that builds wheels. Moreover, bike forum members can provide no shortage of top notch wheel builders. Any of those wheelbuilders would be willing to talk with you or otherwise communicate re: your needs, what you want, and what the wheelbuilder thinks will best fit those needs and wants.

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Sex is horrid
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One by one

If they can build a decent wheel then I'm sure they'll be fine, I just prefer to buy things like wheels from my LBS.

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baker

Do you want tough reliable wheels that will stay true and give you many miles of riding pleasure. Quality 36 hole rim, laced 3 cross with good spokes to some decent hubs - Tried and true formula right there.
You can start to lighten it up some - talk to your bike shop.
You want tough and lightweight - you gets whats you pays for.

No such thing as a free lunch. The 'point' is have wheels designed for you and your needs. Making them light normally means making them less reliable. For the 'Clydesdale' here I would not recommend 1.1 or OpenPros, particularly at 32h. 4 spokes weigh 28 grams, that's an ounce. 36 h is pretty much the minimum I would use for a 220 pound rider.

To avoid a custom built set of wheels, I highly recommend ROL Volant wheels for heavier riders (like myself). You can read about them here: Volant - Bike Rims - ROL Wheels.