tough road wheelset

im a large guy, about 250 or so and ive had the best luck with velomax circuits. they use straight pull spokes that are threaded at both ends so there is no head or j bend to weaken them. they're only 1650 grams and they are cheap for what you get. mine are about 2 yrs old and havent broken any spokes. they are pretty tough, hit potholes and esecially train tracks that we bomb over at 23+. no problems with the fronts coming out of true or breaking drive side spokes like i used to. ive tried spinergy sr3's, alex 320's that came on the bike and even had a 32 spoke open pro built twice on a dt swiss hub which was the worst, broke 4 spokes on seperate rides. the reason it was the worst i think has to do with the shorter profile of the rim which is not as laterally strong as a v shaped rim, so when 1 spoke broke the rim wouldn't even go through the seat stays. (20 miles away from the finish of the ride no less). i know there are thousands of people who swear by open pro's and im not knocking their product, they just didn't work for me.

velomax was purchased by easton so im not sure what pricing or availibility is like, but since i got mine, a ton of manufacturers are specing them on their bikes. check out their website, they have some lighter and more expensive wheels, (my wife rides the 1419 gram ascent II's) but the circuits are what a lot of big diesels in my area are riding with, i would give them a shot, im pretty certain you wont be sorry.

partsdan said:

im a large guy, about 250 or so and ive had the best luck with velomax circuits. they use straight pull spokes that are threaded at both ends so there is no head or j bend to weaken them. they're only 1650 grams and they are cheap for what you get. mine are about 2 yrs old and havent broken any spokes. they are pretty tough, hit potholes and esecially train tracks that we bomb over at 23+. no problems with the fronts coming out of true or breaking drive side spokes like i used to. ive tried spinergy sr3's, alex 320's that came on the bike and even had a 32 spoke open pro built twice on a dt swiss hub which was the worst, broke 4 spokes on seperate rides. the reason it was the worst i think has to do with the shorter profile of the rim which is not as laterally strong as a v shaped rim, so when 1 spoke broke the rim wouldn't even go through the seat stays. (20 miles away from the finish of the ride no less). i know there are thousands of people who swear by open pro's and im not knocking their product, they just didn't work for me.

velomax was purchased by easton so im not sure what pricing or availibility is like, but since i got mine, a ton of manufacturers are specing them on their bikes. check out their website, they have some lighter and more expensive wheels, (my wife rides the 1419 gram ascent II's) but the circuits are what a lot of big diesels in my area are riding with, i would give them a shot, im pretty certain you wont be sorry.

Agree the Circuits seem to be strong wheels. I've got 5400 miles on mine now with no truing needed (175 lbs here). Hit a bad pothole last summer that pinch flatted the front but didn't affect the true at all.

Surprised you didn't do better on the 32 spoke OPs. I wonder if there wasn't a build problem with those wheels...seems a well-built pair should hold up fine for you also.

I weigh in at about 215 and I've had great luck with my Mavic Ksyrium SL's. I live in Maine where the forst heaves DETROY the roads and I rarely true them. The shop I work at sells about 5 or so each year to bigger guys....None have come back needed any type or work other than the occasional truing..