Tough rims - DRC ST19 v Mavic A719 v Rigida Sputnik

Jamey

Hello,

I'm not a touring rider but I do need tough rims (big, fat, carrying full panniers, blah blah blah) so I thought this might be a good place to ask.

My current rear wheel is a 36-spoke Mavic A719 rim on a Shimano Ultegra hub. It's been ok but I'm wondering if there's something better. People have mentioned DRC ST19 rims and Ambrosio Excursions elsewhere on these forums so I thought I'd get some opinions.

I'd quite like to go to 40 spokes but while 40h rims are reasonably easy to find (ST19 certainly) it would seem that 40h hubs are much, much harder to come by. Does anyone know of any?

If not I'll stick with 36 spokes and just true it more often.

andymiller

Sorry to complicate things still further but you might want to consider Rigida Sputniks (Spa Cycles have them and they built me really nice rear wheel with a Sputnik Rim and Sapim Strong spokes). According to Chris Judah, the CTC's technical guru, they are the toughest rims out there. Although it's debatable whether they are so very much stronger than the 719s as to make it worth junking the Mavics.

I don't know how big or heavy you are but if you are having to frequently true your wheels then it might be worth having a wheel built by a specialist wheelbuilder (eg Spa or Harry Rowland) or have them give the existing wheel some TLC. The quality of the wheel build is probably more important than the rim or the number of spokes (OK, within reason).

Jamey

Cheers, I build my own wheels and you're absolutely right about the quality of the wheel build being the most important factor.

Will have a look Sputniks as well, cheers.

Jamey

Right, well I've done some more nosing around and the Rigida Sputnik certainly wins on price.

The Ambrosio Excursion doesn't go up to 40h (I'm now thinking I might splash out on a 40h Phil Wood Touring Hub) so that really means it's down to two - the DRC ST19 and the Rigida Sputnik.

Both go to 40 holes, both around the £20 mark, both seem to be equally well regarded online... I guess the honest truth is that they're probably very similar and I won't be too disappointed with either...

So now all I have to do is decide whether to drop $400 on a Phil Wood hub.

Jamey

Just noticed the weight difference of the Sputnik... The DRC ST19 is 580g (similar to the Mavic A719 and most other touring rims) but the Sputnik is 745g.

How noticeable will this be in day-to-day commuting with two panniers on the back? I've heard all the 'science' about rotating weight being more noticeable than flat weight.

Jamey

Hmmm... rigida got back to me to say the maximum spoke tension they recommend for the Sputnik is only 800 - 1000 Newtons, which is a bit poor even at the upper end of the scale.

DRC say 1200N for the ST19 so the balance is tipping slightly in favour of that now, i think. The Sputnik has a much better wear indicator though... The ST19 only has the one where the line disappears instead of the system where the line/hole appears when worn like the Sputnik.

Jamey

Went for the Sputnik because it's cheaper, it's got a better wear indicator and a chap who builds regularly with them assures me he's built up to 125 Kgf of tension with no problems so that, coupled with lots of positive reviews online swayed it.

DRC ST19 still looks good, just more expensive and the wear indicator's not as good.

whydoesitalwaysrainonme

Mavic Open Pro?

Alex99

whydoesitalwaysrainonme wrote:

Mavic Open Pro?