Spoke-breaker with questions on wheels



neilkod

New Member
Sep 8, 2003
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I'm new to the forum (quasi-regular in the training forum) so hi!

I'm a bigger rider, about 240 lbs, on a specialized allez elite with the infamous Alex ALX-330 wheels. I ride about 150 or so miles a week. I'm entering my second year on the road bike, and this is my first season racing/club riding.

Over the last 12 months, I have had more broken spokes than flat tires. For what its worth, I'm more of a 52x14 80 rpm masher. Each time I bring my wheel in to be repaired, regardless of store, they always suggest I upgrade my wheels. A store which I have a lot of trust in pointed me to Ksyrium Elites.

I've 'wheel advice' from enough different shops/repair guys to start seriously thinking about it.

Am I less likely to break spokes with a 'nicer' wheel? Is it my riding style? I'm sure the weight is a factor, that's something that's getting worked on (i'm down from 260).

In short, what justifications are there for upgrading wheels? Will I notice the benefits in my riding, or is it more of a reliability thing?
 
neilkod said:
I'm new to the forum (quasi-regular in the training forum) so hi!

I'm a bigger rider, about 240 lbs, on a specialized allez elite with the infamous Alex ALX-330 wheels. I ride about 150 or so miles a week. I'm entering my second year on the road bike, and this is my first season racing/club riding.

Over the last 12 months, I have had more broken spokes than flat tires. For what its worth, I'm more of a 52x14 80 rpm masher. Each time I bring my wheel in to be repaired, regardless of store, they always suggest I upgrade my wheels. A store which I have a lot of trust in pointed me to Ksyrium Elites.

I've 'wheel advice' from enough different shops/repair guys to start seriously thinking about it.

Am I less likely to break spokes with a 'nicer' wheel? Is it my riding style? I'm sure the weight is a factor, that's something that's getting worked on (i'm down from 260).

In short, what justifications are there for upgrading wheels? Will I notice the benefits in my riding, or is it more of a reliability thing?

Your weight is a good part of the issue.
I can't blame the "trusted shop" for wanting to sell you something. Ksyrium Elites are not rated for 240 pound riders, but they may be an improvement over what you have. None of the standard Mavic road rims are rated for a rider your weight. A719 Mavic rims are rated to handle your weight but they are not appropriate for narrow tires and the rims weigh in at 560 grams.
While you are dealing with your weight, you may be best skipping light weight and botique style wheels. Velocity Deep V 700C rims will handle your weight when done with quality build, and quality hubs and spokes.
If you push forward with the Ksyrium Elites, ask about warranty service, time in shop, availabilty of the special parts and tools needed to service the wheels. See if the shop has the few, but specific Mavic tools like:
1 hub wrench M40123
Bearing pullers M40119 and M40373
1 hollow screw wrench M40630
A wrench for flat spoke maintenance M40567
and the Mavic Elite specific replacement spokes and nipples.
Reliability is important. Your performance on a wheel with one broken spoke out of 20 will drop you out of any race and likely put you on your cell phone on any training rides.
Standard Shimano hubs like Ultegra or DURA ACE don't require any special tools or special parts. Standard spokes, even if you are replacing bladed (Sapim C-xray like Tour de France winners for the last 5 years), can be sutituted with an available non-bladed spoke and put your wheel back in service in short order. Standard rims can also be replaced should you have the need.
 
Yeah, I heard that about spokes breaking. I have an allez sport ('05) that used to have the alexrims AT400's. I broke more than 8 spokes on the front and back (although mostly the back) in just about 8 months. I took the wheels back to my dealer because of this and they were generous enough to come through on a 1 year parts warranty, from Specialized I'm assuming, and now I'm on the ALX290's. They're running great, so far, but what's the deal with these spokes, huh? I've had tons of mountain bikes and never had a spoke break once, through tons of miles and really hairy stuff. Who knows? I'm hoping it's not just Alexrims as a company that's giving guys like us a real screwjob. But who knows.
I've noticed that my speed has increased with the new wheels, and since I weigh 160 or so, I don't know how much of an issue weight is... even though you have the nicer wheelset.
If I were you I'd go out and get the ksyriums. I can't afford jack **** for a few years since I'm in the poorhouse.


neilkod said:
I'm new to the forum (quasi-regular in the training forum) so hi!

I'm a bigger rider, about 240 lbs, on a specialized allez elite with the infamous Alex ALX-330 wheels. I ride about 150 or so miles a week. I'm entering my second year on the road bike, and this is my first season racing/club riding.

Over the last 12 months, I have had more broken spokes than flat tires. For what its worth, I'm more of a 52x14 80 rpm masher. Each time I bring my wheel in to be repaired, regardless of store, they always suggest I upgrade my wheels. A store which I have a lot of trust in pointed me to Ksyrium Elites.

I've 'wheel advice' from enough different shops/repair guys to start seriously thinking about it.

Am I less likely to break spokes with a 'nicer' wheel? Is it my riding style? I'm sure the weight is a factor, that's something that's getting worked on (i'm down from 260).

In short, what justifications are there for upgrading wheels? Will I notice the benefits in my riding, or is it more of a reliability thing?
 
Take daveornee's advice, and stay away from the Ksyriums until your weight comes down. I'm in the same boat as you, neilkod--a heavier ride (around 240 myself) who was trying to find sturdy wheels for the last three years or so. I started out with the stock wheels that came with my Giant TCR--Mavic Cxp21 with 32 3x lacing. After about a year or so, I had a couple of spokes break on the back, so I had a stronger wheel built for it--a Velocity Deep V rim with 32 spokes, 3x. Then I upgraded all the components on the Giant to Dura Ace, and had a set of Mavic Open Pro's/DA hubs/32 4x spokes built, and these worked well for a while, as a light weight, non-training set. Now, I've got another bike altogether, and am once again riding Velocity Deep V's with 32 3x spokes. Very tough wheels...Thats what I'd suggest for you too.
 
martin_j001 said:
Take daveornee's advice, and stay away from the Ksyriums until your weight comes down.

At what weight do the ksyriums make sense? Also, are there any other recommendations?
 
In my experience it is not so much a weight issue but rather the quality of the wheel build. Breaking spokes is caused by fatiguing the metal sort of like bending a wire back and forth till it breaks. Imagine the wheel turning and how often this can happen. A properly built wheel this is less of a factor since the load is balanced and little fatigue occurs. I was once told the same thing by a bike shop in fact they blamed my ride style as well. I needed to buy something and ride better. When I asked why a lighter and typically frailer wheelset I had with over 6000 miles without a spoke break and the set they sold me broke spokes in less than 800 they seemed at a loss for an answer. So I took that rear wheel rebuilt it myself following directions in a book I purchased and used quality spokes and can say no breakage with almost 3000 miles. I will add I am 6'4" and my spring time weight is 220 pounds I use this wheel on a commuter bike and it is typically loaded with shopping bags and the like. Yesterday I road it down an unpaved road so I am not so gentel with it. If it is built corrrectly it will stand otherwise it is doomed to fail as you are learning.
 
neilkod said:
At what weight do the ksyriums make sense? Also, are there any other recommendations?
Mavic recommends that the total weight of the rider and his/her equipment (not including the bike) does not exceed 100 kg.
At around 210 pounds you are at the limits unless you don't carry any water, tube, pump, etc.
Velocity Deep V rims built on standard Shimano 105, Ultegra, or DURA ACE hubs with Sapim/DT/Wheelsmith 14/15 spokes by a quality wheel builder is my suggestion for riders your weight.
 
neilkod said:
At what weight do the ksyriums make sense? Also, are there any other recommendations?

Again, like dave said, many component manufacturers have weight limits to their products. As gubaguba mentioned too, wheel build is a very important factor too. As heavier riders, we are better off paying a little extra for handbuilt wheels by guys who know what they are doing, and have been building wheels for a while. Personally, I don't care how nice a set of wheels are--I want to have 100% confidence that my wheels aren't going anywhere but around in perfect circles right underneath my bike where they are firmly clamped before I get on it to ride. If I have to worry about my components at all, I'm not enjoying my ride as much as I could be.
 
I'm 6'3" 250lbs and I break 1 -2 spokes in the rear wheel per year on Alex DA22 rims with Ritchey hubs. I just upgraded to Mavic Cosmos Wheels. The have a reduced spoke count (28 rear) which scares me a bit, but they are supposed to be really strong wheels, although not as high end as te Kyseriums you were speaking of. I've only got about 180 miles on them so far, so I can't speak from experience yet, but they feel pretty good so far.
 
neilkod said:
I'm new to the forum (quasi-regular in the training forum) so hi!

I'm a bigger rider, about 240 lbs, on a specialized allez elite with the infamous Alex ALX-330 wheels. I ride about 150 or so miles a week. I'm entering my second year on the road bike, and this is my first season racing/club riding.

Over the last 12 months, I have had more broken spokes than flat tires. For what its worth, I'm more of a 52x14 80 rpm masher. Each time I bring my wheel in to be repaired, regardless of store, they always suggest I upgrade my wheels. A store which I have a lot of trust in pointed me to Ksyrium Elites.

I've 'wheel advice' from enough different shops/repair guys to start seriously thinking about it.

Am I less likely to break spokes with a 'nicer' wheel? Is it my riding style? I'm sure the weight is a factor, that's something that's getting worked on (i'm down from 260).

In short, what justifications are there for upgrading wheels? Will I notice the benefits in my riding, or is it more of a reliability thing?
I would suggest you learn to replace your own. You will benefit over time and money. I learned the hard way, now I do my own.