The right wheels for me?

wow, almost 100 views and 3 votes, does no one have a strong opinion about these?

Hazmat said:

wow, almost 100 views and 3 votes, does no one have a strong opinion about these?

Coda hubs blow and you should have 36 spoke hubs

I suggest that you get a better wheelset, such as Shimano RH-550's. I was thinking about getting CX33's but decided it would not be worth it, I instead will get the Shimano Wheels I just mentioned.

If you insist on getting the CX33's, build them up with Ultegra Hubs and bladed spokes.

Hazmat said:

quick opinion poll here. Ima big boy at about a quarter short of 3 bucks. i was going to get some wheels built from onyx hubs DT spokes and Mavic CX33 rims, but I saw this sale and thought, hmm, I wonder if the would be appropriate for my weight. Ideally i will be around 260 by the time the bike is built, but the bottom line, at $100 off this seemed like a fair bargain.

thoughts, opinions, votes?

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Cyclist14 said:

I suggest that you get a better wheelset, such as Shimano RH-550's. I was thinking about getting CX33's but decided it would not be worth it, I instead will get the Shimano Wheels I just mentioned.

If you insist on getting the CX33's, build them up with Ultegra Hubs and bladed spokes.

shimano RH-550s blow. Should have spent your dinero on 33s or OPs.

boudreaux said:

Coda hubs blow and you should have 36 spoke hubs

so, somone "my size" ought to have 36 spokes?

Cyclist14 said:

If you insist on getting the CX33's, build them up with Ultegra Hubs and bladed spokes.

what wrong with that mavic rim? I was led to believe that it was good for "larger" riders, though it appears to be discontinued

Hazmat said:

so, somone "my size" ought to have 36 spokes?

Shimano 550's and the like aren't going to cut it. I'd recommend you go with 36 spokes, 14 gauge, probably MA-3 rims and Ultegra hubs. Get some strong wheels built and you can ride for thousands of miles trouble-free.

dhk said:

Shimano 550's and the like aren't going to cut it. I'd recommend you go with 36 spokes, 14 gauge, probably MA-3 rims and Ultegra hubs. Get some strong wheels built and you can ride for thousands of miles trouble-free.

Nothing wrong with cxp 33s either.

Well, Ima pass on those wheels. Joe Young does business about 40 minutes down the road from me, so I think I will just have him build them from the onyx hubs, cxp33 rims and 14/15 spokes he suggested initially. Considering what a snob I am when it comes to car parts, I guess I should know that you get what you pay for.

thx for the responses

I agree with some of the others here. I'd build-up a set of wheels using at least 32 spokes and maybe even 36. Why not go with 36? I'd go along with either the MA-3's or the CXP 33's with Ultegra hubs. Really OP rims would probably be fine too.

meehs said:

I agree with some of the others here. I'd build-up a set of wheels using at least 32 spokes and maybe even 36. Why not go with 36? I'd go along with either the MA-3's or the CXP 33's with Ultegra hubs. Really OP rims would probably be fine too.

I had been led to believe that the onyx hubs walked all over any shimano product... is that not the clear cut case? In the long run I won't notice the $$ diff, $75 here, $50 there....

Hazmat said:

I had been led to believe that the onyx hubs walked all over any shimano product... is that not the clear cut case? In the long run I won't notice the $$ diff, $75 here, $50 there....

I don't have any experience with the Onyx hubs. I've heard they're high quality hubs and I'm sure they'd be great if you don't mind spending the extra money. I've owned three different sets of wheels with Shimano Ultegra hubs and they're great hubs for the money. I really can't say how much better the Onyx hubs would be.

dhk said:

Shimano 550's and the like aren't going to cut it. I'd recommend you go with 36 spokes, 14 gauge, probably MA-3 rims and Ultegra hubs. Get some strong wheels built and you can ride for thousands of miles trouble-free.

Dani at the bike shop doesn´t think there´s enough difference between the 105 and ultegra hubs to justify the difference in price - same bearings as far as he can tell - just more hole options , if it´s 34 or 36 then save money and go for the 105´s .

yes Boudreaux they do all contain loose balls ( could have said that better ) just like you said - though my Mavic classics don´t , or so I´m told . 🙄 ( take nothing on trust )

The hubs aren't going to break first in this scenario anyway- I've used ultegras for years without any complaints. Make sure you get a sufficiently strong rim and plenty of spokes. The Velocity V-deep is my personal choice when it comes to rims that are built like tanks, and comes in 36 spokes (even 40 if you want bomb proof or ride tandems). Using DT Comp spokes you can have a wheelset for about $250 that should be fairly durable or go Super Comp for a little bit more and marginally lighter.

deep V huh? How much you weigh? thats my key thing, I was actually thinking of the aerohead because the rear features the offset design, which I have seen from reviews etc as making the wheel stronger because of lateral stress primarily, but stress overall.

Hey,
I'm your size (plus 6'5" and have biked for 40 years. It amazes small folk when we come to down hills and I warn them they will out coast me down the hill because I push so much wind. I have never been fast even in my 20's, but the racers I rode with on training rides were all amazed at my strength. It takes a lot of power to move a large frame. There have been tall folks in the TDF, but they are much lighter.

I have broken and/or worn out EVERY part on a bike except a fork. For some reason I have never broken one. I mean frames (steel, carbon and aluminum - I have broken two Cannondales and currently have a warranty replacement in my stable today), axles on wheels and pedals, every bearing bearing on a bike (including a Dura Ace rear wheel bearing I just wore out in 5000 miles, stems, bars, seats and seat posts, brake calipers and shifters - EVERYTHING. My most frequent victim for yeas was spokes and rims. Well into my 30's I always rode with extra spokes on every ride. I still ride with a complete spare tire, tube, tube patch kit and tire patch kit (in yester years I carried pieces of a sew-up tire to make tire patch. I have made and used a tire patch twice and numerous tires. I have rubbed rims down to past worn out by hard braking is less than a year. Imagine my glee when dual pivot breaks were born. I could wait till the bottom of long hills to break instead of braking all the way down because there was a stop sign at the bottom. BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU THE SMALL FOLK DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE OUR SIZE AND WHAT IT DOES TO THE EQUIPMENT. Even how a bike handles is different for us. Most manufacturers cannot make a bike that safely handles for us let alone that will last.

This modern stuff is much more durable. I can no longer bend or break an alloy seat post - a few years back I broke a carbon seat post - a frame edge at the top of the tube cut it after 3 months and it was gone.

Amazingly enough I have a wheel that I am still using after about 10,000 miles. It is an Ultegra rear hub with a Mavic Open Pro Ceramic hub. The hub is OK for durability, but I have gotten an unusual number of miles out of it for me. The rim just lasts and lasts. Sadly they are no longer made and the last couple of years the quality was poor.

A shop I have used for 15 years and knows my woes well has recommended the following to me: Mavic CX33 rim, DT Alpine III triple butted spokes and Phil Wood hubs. Their wheel builder has not yet had one of these rims fail for him. He knows I have used the Open Pro Ceramic and he likes these better for me. Get your wallet out though. I have a brother with a 30 year old Phil Wood hub. As a second choice his recommendation for me is DT350 hub, DT 14ga SS spokes and CX33 rims. I have one in the que waiting to be used.
Your front wheel does not need to be NEARLY as stout. Your do need to avoid the low spoke count, high tension wheels so popular today. I have one on my front that has lasted 4 years, so you can try one if it is one of the heavier ones.

Couple more helps: I have had zillions of flats from spoke holes and pinch flats from rim tape and tire edges. We need more tire pressure than the small folk just to keep the rim off the ground. On my Open Pro rims I custom fit and cut wood doweling into each spoke hole for all my wheels - not one pinch flat for years. You have to pick the rim take and rim and tire to match to get to work. I forgot to mention that I have had many tires simply "pull apart" while I am riding them. Amazing even to me. There are some tough tires out there now to choose from. Tire size: with the right tire, rim, tape, tube combo you can get away with riding a 25C (pressure needs to be at least 125 psi depending on the tire) rear and 23C front. 28C rear works in the rear and the pressure is less critical. Some bike portable pumps have difficulty getting very much over 100 psi when you are fixing a flat in the heat at the side of the road.

The above will get you a bullet proof wheel that will feel competitive compared to a full out touring hog. It is well worth the ride quality to try and get some performance. I have seen guys with performance wheels coast down hills faster than other guys on budget wheels can pedal and try and keep up. DO NOT go light - you could crash and burn big time.

Its a long note, but it took even longer to live though it to get to the information. Yes, I am probably as old as your grandpa. By the way , the only guys who are faster than me and my giant bike and wheels are small folk, and racers or former racers. It feels good.

S.

This thread is pretty old, so don't expect a response from the guy. :-) Don't worry; it happens all the time: people find forum topics that interest them on Google, then obviously join the forum to comment without checking the date. HA. Who cares? :-)

Anyway......in case you don't know, you can buy plastic rim hole plugs, so you don't have to make your own. Also, I seem to be alone on this, but I don't think CXP33s are as bomb proof as their reputation suggests they are. I cracked 2 of them along time ago (I was about 190lb at the time), and they've been the only rims I've busted in 25 years. They coulda been duds, or a bad build, or whatever.

Nice to see old threads sometimes - nice in this case because here we have some postings by our fondly remembered boudreaux. We old timers remember his acerbic style and broad range of knowledge. What I had forgotten was how he could pack so much scorn and wisdom into so few words. Alienator - you're doing well, but in this, continue to learn from the master.