question on wheels

TrekCyclerChic said:

Ok, so I am going on a long ride this summer, (Alaska to Florida) and I have a question about wheels. For the last third I will be using panniers on my bike. I have a Trek 1500 with stock Bontrager Select 24 spoke wheels. trekbikes.com1500.jspOpen ↗
I am wondering if the additional weight will cause any problems with my wheels. I plan to have no more than 40 lbs in them (mostly clothes, sleeping bag, and tent, so I doubt it will be even that much) and I weight about 150 lbs. I am not sure if I should look into new, stronger wheels, of if I will be ok with what I have.

Thanks
Diana

I'd get some well built wheels with 32 or 36 spokes. Break a spoke on the bontragers, and you'll likely be sidelined till you get it fixed.

TrekCyclerChic said:

Ok, so I am going on a long ride this summer, (Alaska to Florida) and I have a question about wheels. For the last third I will be using panniers on my bike. I have a Trek 1500 with stock Bontrager Select 24 spoke wheels. trekbikes.com1500.jspOpen ↗
I am wondering if the additional weight will cause any problems with my wheels. I plan to have no more than 40 lbs in them (mostly clothes, sleeping bag, and tent, so I doubt it will be even that much) and I weight about 150 lbs. I am not sure if I should look into new, stronger wheels, of if I will be ok with what I have.

Thanks
Diana

I suggest some stronger wheels with 36 spokes.
If you can fit 28 mm wide tires, I suggest Velocity Dyad rims.
If you can only fit 25 mm wide tires, I would use a Deep V rim from Velocity.
Wider tires help in a lot of ways.
Mke sure you have the wheels built by a quality builder.

TrekCyclerChic said:

Ok, so I am going on a long ride this summer, (Alaska to Florida) and I have a question about wheels. For the last third I will be using panniers on my bike. I have a Trek 1500 with stock Bontrager Select 24 spoke wheels. trekbikes.com1500.jspOpen ↗
I am wondering if the additional weight will cause any problems with my wheels. I plan to have no more than 40 lbs in them (mostly clothes, sleeping bag, and tent, so I doubt it will be even that much) and I weight about 150 lbs. I am not sure if I should look into new, stronger wheels, of if I will be ok with what I have.

Thanks
Diana

If you are buying get 36 spokes. Otherwise 32 but learn how to replace a spoke yourself. Get Kevlar spokes - replacementhttp://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fiberfix.htm. Sheldon Brown's site sells a device for taking off rear cassette when on the road. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tools/cassette.html caled hypercracker These two cost you about 35 USD last a life time.
Brian