Rims

TeamPlayers said:

I accidentally put this thread in the wrong forum http://www.cyclingforums.com/t270544-rims.html wondering if I could get some advice.
Thanks

What size tires will you run?
Any other specifics like weight, eyelets/sockets desired/not/color, spoke holes, shape, etc.?
What brands are available to you?

this is his question. It'll get buried in the Road Racing forum 🙂

TeamPlayers said:

Got a question in reguards to rims.
Im 210lbs and I keep warping my rims.: I have to take my bike in all the time to get the rims trued. Any suggestions on a decent rims that wont break the bank?

A couple of years ago I was around 200lbs, and I had similar problems with my rear Mavic Open Pro, so I put a 30mm deep wheel on the back -- nothing light or fancy, just a 32 spoke, Mavic CXP30. I find these to be totally bomb-proof, and, more importantly, very stiff.

There are a few 30mm rims available in 32 hole that are very reasonably priced -- these are just a few:

Rigida DP18 http://www.rigida.com/img/produits/race/dp18.gif
Velocity Deep V http://velocityusa.com/rims/road-rims.php
FIR SRG 30 http://www.fircerchi.com/Dati/prodotti/srg%2030.html
Sun Swift http://www.sun-ringle.com/prods/roadrims.html

Most of these are also available in 36 hole, and one of the Velocity rims comes in a 40, although I don't think 40 spokes is necessary

There are other rims out there, but I wouldn't recommend anything light & fancy with a low spoke count -- it's just not worth it.

Having said all this, 210lbs isn't that heavy for most bike wheels, and maybe yours just need a 'proper' tune-up, or some Pro Lock nipples.

I doubt your weight is hurting the wheels, I've built 32/36-spoke wheels for 300lb+ people that've held up for years. I also train on my 12/16-spoke time-trial wheels to see the limits of their durability (so I won't have any unexpected surprises in a race). So far they've held up for over 2 years to training rides with bumpy roads, full-speed downhills, maximum-braking, etc.

I suspect your wheel needs to be rebuilt with new nipples, not just re-trued. Continual truing will wear out the nipples. Contary to "common sense" ideas floating around out there, the hub doesn't "hang" from the top spokes, it hangs from all of them. Basically a wheel is an outside-in suspension bridge with all of the spokes taking the load evenly. There two sources of load on the spokes, the preload tension on the rims and the extra load from the weigh of the rider.

As a section rotates into contact with the road, the weight on the hub actually deforms the round shape and flatten the rim at the bottom. The 4-6 spokes at the bottom relax their tension and this loss of tension from the weight of the rider is evenly distributed between the other spokes.

With more weight, the concern is the 4-6 spokes at the bottom. With extra load, the tension on these spokes is relieved even more. The problem is that the spokes may lose ALL their tension, thus are completely lose. When this happens, the nipples are no longer under tension and they can rattle and loosen, throwing off your trueness. The large variation between the on/off tension also causes greater fatique on the spokes as well. Better to have them oscillate between high-tension being relieved to medium-tension under load rather going back and forth between medium-tension to zero tension.

So at a minimum, have your spokes checked for proper tension, having them at the upper limits will create the strongest wheel. Also using double-butted spokes will help tremendously as the extra elasticity will allow for greater variations in stretch at the bottom without losing all tension. But having the wheel rebuilt by a pro wheel-builder is the ultimate solution. Make sure they use a threadlocker on the nipples as well.

Tires Attack

WOW thanks for all the advice. I dont know too much about what you guys are saying, I will do my research and look into it. I thought you just go in and buy new rims. Whats a good price for my rims to get rebuilt?

I've found that a combination of weight and riding style/conditions can affect the wheel and its durability quite a bit. I know that I am very hard on rear wheels compared to other riders my size, and sometimes even heavier riders. I've gone through several wheelbuilders, as well as stock wheels trying to find a low profile, 32 spoke wheel that I can't damage. Problem is, every one of them I've tried I have to true after almost every ride. Now, I'm not saying a rebuild won't help, but I am saying that the build is not always to blame. Anyways....

I'd suggest a deep section rim (at least 30mm, and don't pick the lightest ones either), with 32 or more spokes, and just about any quality hubs (once again not the lightest ones). These wheels should hold up pretty well for you, as they do for me (I weigh about 230, and have found that Velocity Deep V rims with 32 spokes tend to last the longest for me).

i like my rims😄