Race wheels for larger rider?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Boyd Speerschne
Hello all,

This message is intended for the larger riders on out there,
but anyone is free to respond if they feel they have
something worth adding to the discussion.

Anyway, my older brother is doing his first crit soon and
wants to invest in a pair of race only wheels. He is
considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs. However, as he is a
"cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs), he thought it might
"behove" him (no pun intended) to look into other options,
ie. something slightly stronger albiet slightly heavier. So
what are his other options in this price range?

Thanks,

- Boyd S.

CXP-33 rims with 32 spokes front and 36 spokes rear, both built with DT Competition 14/15 3X spokes would be my first choice.
or same spoking pattern with Velocity Deep V would be my second choice.
However, finding a quality builder that will work with his needs is where I suggest he spend his effort.

i'm 210 & regularly ride a pair of 16-spoke shimanos. no
problems yet. also, the tensile strength of one single spoke
is ~ 3x the weight of your brother. i don't think there's
anything to worry about for race wheels.

Boyd Speerschneider said:

Hello all,

This message is intended for the larger riders on out
there, but anyone is free to respond if they feel they
have something worth adding to the discussion.

Anyway, my older brother is doing his first crit soon
and wants to invest in a pair of race only wheels. He
is considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs. However, as he is
a "cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs), he thought
it might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look into
other options, ie. something slightly stronger albiet
slightly heavier. So what are his other options in this
price range?

Thanks,

- Boyd S.

bspeersc-<< He is considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs.
However, as he is a "cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs),
he thought it might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look
into other options, ie. something slightly stronger albiet
slightly heavier. So what are his other options in this
price range? >><BR><BR>

Just about hand built is way below the price range of
ksyriums.

How about a Record/Chorus/Centaur hubset if he's a
Campagnolo kinda guy, 7700 or ultegra if shimano. Velocity
Fusions, Aeroheads or Deep Vs, with appropriate spoke number
for each rims(that is 4 more for a light rim, 4 less for the
heavier ones, Revs on the front, etc).

And in 3-4 years, after mavic stops supporting the ksyriums,
he can re-use the hubs for say 10-15 years.

Any of these will be in the $500 range.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

While I no longer race I still ride each day. For many years
I rode on 36 spoke rear wheels. I am 6'4 225 and in my race
days I was only
190. Even at 190 32 spoke rear wheels were a disaster.
Going to 36 spoke wheels helped but I still had to
work on the wheels every 2 or 3 weeks. When I made
the move to a new Campy 9 speed wheel with 36 spokes
and mavic open pro rim, it went out on the first hard
hit it took.

This past winter I buit up a new bike. In talking with
Lenard Zinn of Colorado (a very well known racer and bike
builder who is a 6'6) he recomended going with the mavic
ksyrium elite. After 1500 miles I have not touched them and
they are as true as when I got them. I like many have read
the endless posts about designer wheels. Many seem to say
that they are a waste of money but, from my first experience
with the ksyrium elite I am sold. I have never had any
trouble with any kind of front wheel, only the rear which I
am sure is due to the dish.

I can't speak about the ksyrium SSC Sl, it is a lighter
wheel. I don't think would I take the risk since they are
about 900 bucks a pair until I could talk with a 225 pound
rider to see what their recommendation is.

Best of luck, Sundog

On Wed, 26 May 2004 20:35:01 GMT, Boyd Speerschneider

bspeerscREMOVE_ME@ME_TOOyahoo.com said:

Hello all,

This message is intended for the larger riders on out
there, but anyone is free to respond if they feel they have
something worth adding to the discussion.

Anyway, my older brother is doing his first crit soon and
wants to invest in a pair of race only wheels. He is
considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs. However, as he is a
"cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs), he thought it
might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look into other
options, ie. something slightly stronger albiet slightly
heavier. So what are his other options in this price range?

Thanks,

- Boyd S.

"sundog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

While I no longer race I still ride each day. For many
years I rode on 36 spoke rear wheels. I am 6'4 225 and in
my race days I was only
190. Even at 190 32 spoke rear wheels were a disaster.
Going to 36 spoke wheels helped but I still had to
work on the wheels every 2 or 3 weeks. When I made
the move to a new Campy 9 speed wheel with 36 spokes
and mavic open pro rim, it went out on the first
hard hit it took.

This past winter I buit up a new bike. In talking with
Lenard Zinn of Colorado (a very well known racer and bike
builder who is a 6'6) he recomended going with the mavic
ksyrium elite. After 1500 miles I have not touched them
and they are as true as when I got them. I like many have
read the endless posts about designer wheels. Many seem to
say that they are a waste of money but, from my first
experience with the ksyrium elite I am sold. I have never
had any trouble with any kind of front wheel, only the
rear which I am sure is due to the dish.

I can't speak about the ksyrium SSC Sl, it is a lighter
wheel. I don't think would I take the risk since they are
about 900 bucks a pair until I could talk with a 225 pound
rider to see what their recommendation is.

Best of luck, Sundog

I am glad that some else has had the same results that I
have had. I posted a similar questions a while back. The
response was a LOUD get a good wheel builder to make you a
quality 36 spoke rear wheel...and to stay away from "wheels
in a box." I had three hand built wheels. They lasted 316
miles, 412 miles, and 453 miles. I will be glad to give the
three names of the LBS that built the wheels if you contact
me directly. A few months ago I switched to a Ksyrium Elite
rear wheel, at the recommendation of one of the LBS's, and
have over 1,500 miles without any problems. So for me,
"wheels in a box" have been a wonderful solution.

Quoted message said:

"sundog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

While I no longer race I still ride each day. For many
years I rode on 36 spoke rear wheels. I am 6'4 225 and in
my race days I was only 190. Even at 190 32 spoke rear
wheels were a disaster. Going to 36 spoke wheels helped
but I still had to work on the wheels every 2 or 3 weeks.
When I made the move to a new Campy 9 speed wheel with 36
spokes and mavic open pro rim, it went out on the first
hard hit it took.

Huh. I am about your size, racing weight without much fat
was about 195 and currently am about 215, with more fat than
I want. As I get older, it doesn't come off as easily as it
did! I raced on 32 spoke wheels for 10 years and rarely if
ever had trouble with them being unreliable- as in going out
of true from just riding or from hitting bumps. Never had
much trouble with spoke breakage except in one wheel built
with Asahi spokes.

Basically, I have to think that your wheels have had some
problems with build quality. 36 hole Campy 9 speed with an
Open Pro rim ought to be strong and durable, at least until
it cracks (see the many threads on anodized rims. This ought
to start another one now). Either your spokes have a lot of
residual twist in them from tensioning or they are quite
undertensioned overall, is my hunch.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

This past winter I buit up a new bike. In talking with
Lenard Zinn of Colorado (a very well known racer and bike
builder who is a 6'6) he recomended going with the mavic
ksyrium elite. After 1500 miles I have not touched them
and they are as true as when I got them. I like many have
read the endless posts about designer wheels. Many seem
to say that they are a waste of money but, from my first
experience with the ksyrium elite I am sold. I have never
had any trouble with any kind of front wheel, only the
rear which I am sure is due to the dish.

Dish is a contributor as it makes for a weaker wheel, and
unfortunately it is also the wheel that carries more than
half of the load (somewhere around 55-60% in most cases).
However, many heavy riders have used highly dished wheels
with good results provided the wheels are properly built:
evenly tensioned, highly tensioned, stress relieved and
built with proper spoke wrench use so that the spokes are
not twisted.

Quoted message said:

I am glad that some else has had the same results that I
have had. I posted a similar questions a while back. The
response was a LOUD get a good wheel builder to make you a
quality 36 spoke rear wheel...and to stay away from
"wheels in a box." I had three hand built wheels. They
lasted 316 miles, 412 miles, and 453 miles. I will be glad
to give the three names of the LBS that built the wheels
if you contact me directly.

Hmm, people who live in your area should be warned about
the inept wheel building this LBS is providing. Good grief,
barring accidents or unusual braking wear on the sidewalls,
a rear wheel ought to last at least 10,000 miles and more
like 50,000 miles before anything needs to be replaced
(except maybe bearings). I hope you got your money back!
Shucks, my 32 spoke Campy 9sp with MA2s have been in
service for at least 10,000 miles and are showing no
problems at all.

"Tim McNamara" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

"sundog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am glad that some else has had the same results that
I have had.

I posted a similar questions a while back. The response
was a LOUD get a good wheel builder to make you a
quality 36 spoke rear wheel...and to stay away from
"wheels in a box." I had three hand built wheels. They
lasted 316 miles, 412 miles, and 453 miles. I will be
glad to give the three names of the LBS that built the
wheels if you contact me directly.

Hmm, people who live in your area should be warned about
the inept wheel building this LBS is providing. Good
grief, barring accidents or unusual braking wear on the
sidewalls, a rear wheel ought to last at least 10,000
miles and more like 50,000 miles before anything needs to
be replaced (except maybe bearings). I hope you got your
money back! Shucks, my 32 spoke Campy 9sp with MA2s have
been in service for at least 10,000 miles and are showing
no problems at all.

I had the three wheels built at three different places. One
in Portsmouth NH, one in Bellevue WA and the last in Redmond
WA. All had 14g double butted spokes. All had Ultegra 36
hole hubs. One Open pro rim, one CPX33 rim, and one MA rim.

wrote:

snip

Quoted message said:

I had the three wheels built at three different places.
One in Portsmouth NH, one in Bellevue WA and the last in
Redmond WA. All had 14g double butted spokes. All had
Ultegra 36 hole hubs. One Open pro rim, one CPX33 rim, and
one MA rim.

I don¹t know about the wheels built in New Hampshire, but
the ones built in Washington are obviously built by
Microsoft and are subject to frequent crashes and
failures......🙂

HAND Ride Safe Look out for that truck! What truck?

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution

What about the Zipp 404 Clydesdale?

You are right, my wheels do last 10000 miles or more but,
they do not stay true. The mavic open pro rim is the best I
have been on. When my 36 spoke wheels are new they spin true
but within 500 miles they start to go out. The are ridable
but I have to true them up often and the never run like they
did after they are built. I have not touched my ksyrium
elite wheels even once. The are perfectly true at 1200
miles. In 30 years of riding I have never had a rear wheel
hold up like this. If others get this kind of performance
from a regular 36 or 32 spoke wheel great but I have had no
such luck.