Touring tire, wheel ,, question

Sir Thomas of Cannondale

I own a Cannondale touring bicycle. Nice bike, in my opinion.

I wonder though; if I were to go on a very long tour, would the wheels that
came with my T800 [?] .. hold up.

With this in mind,,, if you were setting up your bicycle for a long tour,
what criteria would you set
for the rear wheel, front wheel. Such as spokes, rims, etc.

jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org

Thomas who? writes:

> I own a Cannondale touring bicycle. Nice bike, in my opinion.

> I wonder though; if I were to go on a very long tour, would the
> wheels that came with my T800 [?] .. hold up.

> If you were setting up your bicycle for a long tour, what criteria
> would you set for the rear wheel, front wheel. Such as spokes,
> rims, etc.

I would put in many local rides of similar distance before assuming I
was physically fit for "a long tour". Durint that time I would
discover the strengths and weaknesses of my equipment. Don't
undertake such a trip as a jack-in-the-box.

Jobst Brandt

Bob Clemons

Sir Thomas of Cannondale wrote:

>I own a Cannondale touring bicycle. Nice bike, in my opinion.
>
>I wonder though; if I were to go on a very long tour, would the wheels that
>came with my T800 [?] .. hold up.
>
>With this in mind,,, if you were setting up your bicycle for a long tour,
>what criteria would you set
>for the rear wheel, front wheel. Such as spokes, rims, etc.
>
>
I chose not to trust the stock wheels on my T800 since I regularly break
spokes on my road bikes. I had a pair of wheels built on 36-spoke Mavic
T520 rims with (I think) 14 gauge spokes. In my last 5000 miles of
touring I have broken only one spoke.

-bob

mevermeulen@gmail.com

> I own a Cannondale touring bicycle. Nice bike, in my opinion.

I agree. I've toured some miles on a Cannondale T1000 and then a
Cannondale T400. It is my preferred bike, though on my current tour
(first Amsterdam to Vladivostok and currently cycling in China) I got
a Trek 520 since I wanted a steel frame bike.

> I wonder though; if I were to go on a very long tour, would the wheels that
> came with my T800 [?] .. hold up.
>
> With this in mind,,, if you were setting up your bicycle for a long tour,
> what criteria would you set for the rear wheel, front wheel. Such as spokes,
> rims, etc.

It depends on a variety of factors. Advice Jobst made above about
doing similar shorter rides is good. I am moderately heavy and carry
some gear when touring. On a ride across Canada, I broke three rims.
After that I switched to using a tandem wheel with 48 spokes in the
rear. That has largely held up in subsequent tours, though at some
point I'll wear through the rims (e.g. riding across Eurasia, I
replaced a cracked rim when I reached Lake Baikal).

I think it also depends some where your "long tour" is located. If
mostly in North America, Western Europe or Oceania, it may be
inconvenient in some places but you can get replacement rims as
necessary. If more in the developing world, the costs/time/customs
hassles go up, but you can also get them.

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

Mike Jacoubowsky

"Bob Clemons" <clemons@cablespeed.com> wrote in message
news:1padnVXA3rcUR7ranZ2dnUVZ_jidnZ2d@cablespeedmd.com...
> Sir Thomas of Cannondale wrote:
>
>>I own a Cannondale touring bicycle. Nice bike, in my opinion.
>>
>>I wonder though; if I were to go on a very long tour, would the wheels
>>that came with my T800 [?] .. hold up.
>>
>>With this in mind,,, if you were setting up your bicycle for a long
>>tour, what criteria would you set
>>for the rear wheel, front wheel. Such as spokes, rims, etc.
>>
> I chose not to trust the stock wheels on my T800 since I regularly break
> spokes on my road bikes. I had a pair of wheels built on 36-spoke Mavic
> T520 rims with (I think) 14 gauge spokes. In my last 5000 miles of touring
> I have broken only one spoke.
>
> -bob

What caused the failure? Was this heavily-loaded touring? I've broken two
spokes in something over 200k miles, although little of that qualified as
loaded touring. But we sell a number of bikes to customers, including many
who do a lot of fully-loaded, carry-the-kitchen-sink sort of rides, and
rarely get reports of spoke failures related to the load. The spoke failures
we see are mostly related to improperly-built wheels or poor choice of
components.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com



"Bob Clemons" <clemons@cablespeed.com> wrote in message
news:1padnVXA3rcUR7ranZ2dnUVZ_jidnZ2d@cablespeedmd.com...
> Sir Thomas of Cannondale wrote:
>
>>I own a Cannondale touring bicycle. Nice bike, in my opinion.
>>
>>I wonder though; if I were to go on a very long tour, would the wheels
>>that came with my T800 [?] .. hold up.
>>
>>With this in mind,,, if you were setting up your bicycle for a long
>>tour, what criteria would you set
>>for the rear wheel, front wheel. Such as spokes, rims, etc.
>>
> I chose not to trust the stock wheels on my T800 since I regularly break
> spokes on my road bikes. I had a pair of wheels built on 36-spoke Mavic
> T520 rims with (I think) 14 gauge spokes. In my last 5000 miles of touring
> I have broken only one spoke.
>
> -bob

Bob Clemons

>>I chose not to trust the stock wheels on my T800 since I regularly break
>>spokes on my road bikes. I had a pair of wheels built on 36-spoke Mavic
>>T520 rims with (I think) 14 gauge spokes. In my last 5000 miles of touring
>>I have broken only one spoke.
>>
>>
>What caused the failure? Was this heavily-loaded touring? I've broken two
>spokes in something over 200k miles, although little of that qualified as
>loaded touring. But we sell a number of bikes to customers, including many
>who do a lot of fully-loaded, carry-the-kitchen-sink sort of rides, and
>rarely get reports of spoke failures related to the load. The spoke failures
>we see are mostly related to improperly-built wheels or poor choice of
>components.
>
>
>
My one touring spoke failure was probably not due to load. I was
traveling without camping
gear (though I did weight 240lbs at the time). I break several spokes a
year in regular road riding.
I like to think its because of the tremendous power of my godzilla-like
thighs. But it could
be bad wheels or parts. The point is, I break many fewer spokes per mile
while touring with a
moderate load than I do in "normal" riding with no load.

-bob

Garry Lee

I've had spoke breakages touring but learnt how to prevent it.

First.

Read Jobst Brandt's Book, the bicycle wheel.
I'm big a heavy, about 200lb and tour with 30lb average.

Get a proper strong rim and proper spokes strong spokes. I build all
my back wheels myself and have done so for 20 years. More spokes are
better than fewer. I tour with 36 on 700c or at least 32 on MTB

Learn how to stress relieve spokes. I find the best way is either on
individual spokes with your heel, or using the wooden handle of a
large screwdriver and twisting each spoke over its neighbour. Jobst
recommends using gloved hands and even though I have large very strong
hands, I've had failures with this. Not with other techniques.

Garry Lee

I've had spoke breakages touring but learnt how to prevent it.

First.

Read Jobst Brandt's Book, the bicycle wheel.
I'm big a heavy, about 200lb and tour with 30lb average.

Get a proper strong rim and proper spokes strong spokes. I build all
my back wheels myself and have done so for 20 years. More spokes are
better than fewer. I tour with 36 on 700c or at least 32 on MTB

Learn how to stress relieve spokes. I find the best way is either on
individual spokes with your heel, or using the wooden handle of a
large screwdriver and twisting each spoke over its neighbour. Jobst
recommends using gloved hands and even though I have large very strong
hands, I've had failures with this. Not with other techniques.

Tim McNamara

Garry Lee wrote:
> I've had spoke breakages touring but learnt how to prevent it.
>
> First.
>
> Read Jobst Brandt's Book, the bicycle wheel. I'm big a heavy, about
> 200lb and tour with 30lb average.
>
> Get a proper strong rim and proper spokes strong spokes. I build all
> my back wheels myself and have done so for 20 years. More spokes are
> better than fewer. I tour with 36 on 700c or at least 32 on MTB
>
> Learn how to stress relieve spokes. I find the best way is either on
> individual spokes with your heel, or using the wooden handle of a
> large screwdriver and twisting each spoke over its neighbour. Jobst
> recommends using gloved hands and even though I have large very
> strong hands, I've had failures with this. Not with other techniques.

Careful! "jim beam" will be calling you an "idiot" or a "retard" or
something. On the other hand, you're right- learning to build a wheel
correctly will just about eliminate spoke breakages.