Rear wheel recommendation

[obxbes]

Need a new rear road bike wheel. Have cracked 2 kysrium elite in the past 5 years. weigh 190 and ride about 4000-5000 miles per year on suburban roads. Would like to spend less than $400.

 

[Froze]

I would probably consider a Shimano Ultegra wheel, these wheels are built very strong and are designed to hold up to rough roads with an average weight rider. I have the 105 version of this wheel (R500) and I ride on rough city streets, but while I only weigh 170 I have yet after 6,800 miles to true them.

 

[dhk2]

If you want durability, I'd go with a 32 spoke Ultegra hub, 14/15/14 butted spokes, and Mavic OP rim. Built by a good LBS wheelbuilder, you'll have a wheel that ought to hold up 20-30K miles without any problems. You could get a heavier rim too, but I think that may be overkill.

 

[Froze]

If you want durability, I'd go with a 32 spoke Ultegra hub, 14/15/14 butted spokes, and Mavic OP rim. Built by a good LBS wheelbuilder, you'll have a wheel that ought to hold up 20-30K miles without any problems. You could get a heavier rim too, but I think that may be overkill.

That Mavic OP is a very good rim, but it is a box rim and is more for vintage and touring bikes which is why it is very durable. The Shimano R500 rims are more aero shaped and have less spokes which makes it even more aero than a Mavic OP. Only issue you might have with a rim using less spokes is if one of the spokes breaks it could taco the wheel which means you could be walking, but that is usually more of a concern with ultralight wheels that aren't really designed to take everyday riding on rough streets like the Mavic OP and the Shimano R500 can.

 

[jahroberts]

Sorry for sort of hijacking this thread

but thanks to those two users above, good suggestions! I really needed to know stuff like this, just trying to start off myself so I guess everything is a good suggestion imo.

Thanks a bunch

 

[dhk2]

That Mavic OP is a very good rim, but it is a box rim and is more for vintage and touring bikes which is why it is very durable. The Shimano R500 rims are more aero shaped and have less spokes which makes it even more aero than a Mavic OP. Only issue you might have with a rim using less spokes is if one of the spokes breaks it could taco the wheel which means you could be walking, but that is usually more of a concern with ultralight wheels that aren't really designed to take everyday riding on rough streets like the Mavic OP and the Shimano R500 can.

All true, but my suggestion was based on thinking the OP wanted a more durable wheel than the Kysrium Elites. If I was racing TT's, yes, I'd worry about saving a couple of watts @ 25 mph. I'd also run thin race tires, and use latex tubes, skinsuit and aero helmet which will all save more than an "aero" rear wheel.

But I don't race, and if I gain say 0.2 mph on a 40 mph downhill descent, it means nothing at all....dropping into a full aero tuck position will get me a lot more speed, and I rarely do that unless I just want to catch and pass my buddy on a long descent.

I doubt that aero rims and less spokes really do much anyway, particularly on the rear wheel where they are already somewhat out of the clean airstream. 20 spokes vs 32 spokes.....who knows which has less drag in a wind tunnel. After all, we know that a "solid" disc wheel is the fastest wheel of all.