Mavic A719? Triple Butted? Shimano 105? Deore LX or XT?

Hi all,
An excellent forum.
Can anyone help me out?

I have a diamondback frame (Lakeside - 26.1) and its setup for use as a commuter bike - though I also love to get out into Yorkshire (UK) a lot in Spring and summer and even do a bit of loaded touring round England once or twice a year.

Problem: rear spokes snap far too often. I have poor wheels (Alex VP-20F rims and Shimano AceraX rear hub), and I weigh about 190 Ib's but they sometimes snap even when the bike is unloaded. After a while I got them hand built - I asked for double-butted spokes and they rebuilt them with standard (I was annoyed. They blamed my weight, riding style and said that double-butted spokes don't help in their experience).

It still happens occasionally.

I've decided to but a new back wheel and I thought:

Mavic A719 rim (36 spoke) with double??/triple?? butted rims. Handbuilt. Not same wheelbuider.
Is this a good choice (this is the limit of my budget however)

Given my needs, what HUB though?
Shimano 105? A mountain bike hub (LX, XT?) What are the relative advantages.
Your advice will be really appreciated.
Thanks v. much

 

Lies; all lies. Though your wheel may not be of top quality what you hear from the bike shop is nonsence. Broken spokes is an indication of a poor wheel build. Spokes don't break due to a single certain stress. They break because they are stressed repeatedly and the relaxed as the wheel turns. Just like bending a wire back and forth until it breaks. This is less likely to happen if the wheel is built correctly. I heard the "it must be your riding style line" too. I then asked "well I have an even lighter wheelset and it has over 5000 miles on it with no broken spokes how come?" It has been my experience I'm more likely to get a flat spot on the rim riding a loaded bike hard than break a spoke. Than its my style!!! Anyway I have been using some 105's for exactly what you describe and have had no trouble. It won't hurt you to look for a higher spoke count as well 32 or 36. Get the wheel from someone who stands behind their product.