Wheels for touring on Trek 1.7

bjmerry

I don't know much about wheels suitable for touring and am looking for some advice. My lbs told me that the standard race wheels on my 1.7 would be ok for touring provided I would not be carrying a lot of weight. I personally am I bit unsure of their durability.

Can anyone suggest a set of wheels more suitable for touring than my standard race wheels?

I still want them to be light weight and not overly expensive. Max around £150.

Cheers.

mtbhenry888

The trek cannot take tyres larger than maybe 25 to 28c and the stronger the wheel the thicker the rim, most 'touring' wheels take minium of a 32c tyre, maybe a 28 but i would be surprised if you would get 28c tyres and proper touring wheels into the space you have with the trek.

however if you are doing light touring maybe no more than 7-8kg on the rear rack you may be ok with the wheels you have but it depends on how long the tour is and where you are going, if you can only fit 25c tyres in the trek it will be one very uncomfortable tour indeed!

sorry to shatter your plans but i don't think you can do much, the trek isn't designed to take large tyres or strong wheels, if you have an MTB i'd use that!

however if you are going to do light touring (as above) get some hand built wheels with somehting like Tiagra or 105 hubs, DT swiss plain guage spokes and mavic open sport rims, these will fit your bike fine and you can get a 28c tyre on them if you can fit that in your forks and rear!

andymiller

however if you are going to do light touring (as above) get some hand built wheels with somehting like Tiagra or 105 hubs, DT swiss plain guage spokes and mavic open sport rims, these will fit your bike fine and you can get a 28c tyre on them if you can fit that in your forks and rear!

A set of Mavic Open Pros with a 32 spokes and decent hubs will give you some perfectly decent, tough, touring wheels that will withstand pretty anything you can throw at them (within reason). They'll certainly withstand a good deal more than 7kg of luggage. Just get a good wheelbuilder to build them.

PHcp

Open Pros are good, but I think for touring I'd prefer the heavier (and cheaper) Rigida Chrina and I'd choose 36 spokes, there's no reason not to. Spa Cycles have a good reputation for wheelbuilding and a pair of these on 105 hubs cost £165.
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b0s141p376

Depending on where you're touring, I might consider just changing the rear wheel.

andymiller

Yep I'd second the recommendation to go to Spa. I've been very happy with the wheels they've built for me.

mtbhenry888

you guys are missing the point, i don't think that you'll fit the thicker rims which need thicker tyres, at least 28c into the chainstays and fork!

i think if he can fit 28's then go for open sports/pros or whatever but on a trek 1.7 i sure wouldn't want to carry enough luggage to warrant touring wheels.

the best thing to do is to work out what tyre size maximum the bike can take and go from there, 32c (very unlikely) go for touring wheels, if it is 28c (less unlikely but i'td be a push) then go for some dencet handbuilt mavic open sport/pros and good hubs

andymiller

you guys are missing the point, i don't think that you'll fit the thicker rims which need thicker tyres, at least 28c into the chainstays and fork!

I think it's you that's missing the point. The recommended tyre widths for the Open Pros are 19mm to 28mm (and some say more). Maybe slightly less for the Chrinas. Open Pros/Chrinas are good general purpose wheels and will give good service whether or not used for touring.

PHcp

mtbhenry888 wrote:

you guys are missing the point, i don't think that you'll fit the thicker rims which need thicker tyres, at least 28c into the chainstays and fork!

What are you talking about? Nobody has mentioned wider rims.
The Chrinas linked to above are the same width as the Mavic open pro/sport.
The Mavic Sport would be a poor choice as it's only single eyleted.
The Open Pro with a decent hub and build would be well over the max price in the original post.

akcc05

What about Tiagra hubs with DT spokes and Mavic CXP22s or 33s? I heard the CXP series are much stronger and more reliable than the Open sports/pros.

vernonlevy

mtbhenry888 wrote:

you guys are missing the point, i don't think that you'll fit the thicker rims which need thicker tyres, at least 28c into the chainstays and fork!

i think if he can fit 28's then go for open sports/pros or whatever but on a trek 1.7 i sure wouldn't want to carry enough luggage to warrant touring wheels.

the best thing to do is to work out what tyre size maximum the bike can take and go from there, 32c (very unlikely) go for touring wheels, if it is 28c (less unlikely but i'td be a push) then go for some dencet handbuilt mavic open sport/pros and good hubs

Nope the other posters are not missing the point. There's no need for wider rims and the Chrina 36h rim paired up with a decent hub with double butted spokes on the non drive side and plain gauge on the on the drive side is perceived to be the standard for a value for money rear wheel - like another poster mentioned, I'd leave the front wheel as is.

I've toured with 22, 25 and 28mm tyres using road bike rind touring wheel sets. 700c x 22 tyred road wheels did not fare too well and broken spokes were a regular feature.

I currently use Mavic 319 and 719 rimmed 700c wheels with Deore hubs with 28mm Panaracer Pasela tyres with a back up set of Chrina rimmed wheels for audaxing/light touring. Neither wheelset has given me any bother.

BTW lightweight touring is a bit of a misnomer when the rider weighs in at 22 stones

bjmerry

Thanks for all the replys, I have had internet problems so have not been able to reply quickly myself. some very useful info, thanks!

bjmerry

Oh and thank you PHcp for posting the link, I didn't know about the site, and it has good reviews from other riders. Many thanks.

dilemna

message duplicated below.

dilemna

I'd agree with all the general points above although not sure what max size your frame will take? Don't forget to allow for mudguards as well unless you want to get covered in crap. What sort of touring will you be doing smooth roads, forest trails or rock strewn tracks? No luggage, panniers or trailer? ...........distance?

I use Mavic Open Pro Cds anodised finish 32 and 36 hole with Swiss DT plain spokes on Campag Chorus hubs. I have 23, 25 and 28c tyres Specialised Armadillos which fit the rim no probs. I also have used Schwalbe Marathon XR and touring tyres in the past which have been good. Just at the moment I ride smooth roads so use the Armadillos heavy but bullet proof, no punctures. The frames are Trek 7500 17.5" and Specialised Sirrus Sport 56cm (a tiny bit large for me but good for touring, I really need a 54/55cm frame) when they first came out so no carbon fork or suspension. I find them good light and strong frames. I have been known to carry a fair amount of weight in panniers. I have a suspension seat post. I was very sceptical of these at first but 'am now a convert for any distance riding. You arrive at your destination as fresh as when you got on your bike at the start. No soreness nothing. Anyway I digress.

My observations on wheels are that factory built conventional spoke wheels simply don't last, too many creaks and groaning and broken spokes! Plus not so good ride. So for touring or commuting any reasonable distance you need hand built wheels. Go for the best hub you can afford. For me this was old style Campag silver Chorus 9 speed or new Shimano XT 9 speed although Chorus is far superior in my opinion. For any serious load carrying go for at least 36 hole with at lest a 25c tyre or even 28c to be safe you may need to experiment with tyre size depending on the type of surface you are riding on. If really smooth the 25c will do but if rough, not boulders and rocks, then 28c will be better. If survival is the aim then go for 26" Sun Ryno rims 40 hole with hub gears as fitted to tandems, they are bullet proof but heavy rims!! A well built 700c wheel with 28c tyre is more than adequate IMHO. The 28c tyre properly inflated will also give the wheel more strength. I commuted for some months 30 miles a day on a 25c 32 hole hand built wheel with no problems until I was carrying a fair amout of shopping in the rear panniers, probably too much really, I could feel the wheel flex (not hugely) under cornering or going over uneven surfaces on the road. Now whether this was down to a crap wheel builder or a genuinely over burdened wheel I am not sure. I have never had any spoke break on hand built wheels only factory supplied Alesia rims which the Sirrus Sport came with. Eventually the rear wheel was rebuilt by Evans in Holborn themselves and was perfectly true for 6 years until the day I fell on it while servicing it in my lounge slightly buckling it! Bugger. Unfortunately I no longer live in London and wheel builders are thin on the ground in Cambs. All my other wheels have been built by Monty at Condor which have have been perfect.

On the front I use a 32 hole Mavic Open Pro Cd 700c rim on a Campag Chorus hub with a 23c tyre which works well with a 25 or 28c tyre at the back. I do mostly road commuting and touring when it's warmer. I find having a thicker tyre at the back gives more comfort and appears to give more strength to the rear wheel although drag is marginally greater with the larger 28c tyre. At the moment on the Trek I have a 36 hole Mavic Open Pro CD rim on a Shimano XT 36H hub with 25c Armadillo All Condition tyre on the back which works well with a 23c 32H front. The ride is good not overly hard or unforgiving and I don't get any broken spokes. Touch wood. Of course I have the seat suspension post as well to take into account. I occasionally use front panniers as well and the 32h 23c tyre can easily manage this. If not I could put on a 25c, but in any case I don't like loading the front up too much as it makes steering more work. So much choice.

A pair of Mavic rims say Open Pro Cds good all round rim £80. A pair of hubs Shimano XT 32/36h £60 or Campag Centaur (replaces Chorus) £80, wheel build including spokes £80-90. Total about £240-250. They WILL be worth it.

I have checked out the Spa link and they seem competitive prices. I must admit I’m a Mavic cyclist, haven’t had experience of the rims Spa offer in these packages. Had Rigida steel wheels many years ago when I was 13 abd they were pretty heavy and not that strong, not to say these are. If you do fancy them try to go for at least Ultegra hub or better if you can.

The rest of the spec for the Trek is: cassette is Ultegra 12-25, rear mech is currently Deore LX soon to be Shimano XT long cage with XT shifters and the front chainset is Campag Record Triple 39-42-53T with a Shimano UN54 113mm bottom bracket (the only one that will fit with this set up) and Deore LX front mech std. Basically all the std stuff was a bit tired after 2 years so the bike was laid up and has now been re-spec'd with the last of the old stock pre full hollow tech bottom bracket chainset technology.

My Trek training bike has 700c wheels with 20 or 23c Bonetrager Race Select tyres, I can't remember exactly, on front and back. Mind you the only weight I carry is me.

So must now do some riding, must pedal.

Hope this has been of some help.
Alex

marksteven

give harry rowland a ring he's a wheel builder based in kent tell him what you want wheels for he'l give you onest advice . i did end 2 end on fully loaded touring bike inc camping gear on 32 hole open pros with 23mm tyres now use 25 mm krylions by michelin you'l find harrys number in any cycling plus issue they like him alot . ps he built all 3 of those flash whhels in mag a few issues ago so can do bling also