Robust Wheels

nigeve

My ultimate plan is to buy a semi decent road bike to commute on… I’ll probably be spending between £800 and £1000 (if I can get my company to opt into the government’s cycle to work scheme). I’ve noticed a few flash looking bikes seem to have fewer spokes in their wheels. Obviously these are more expensive light weight wheels…
There are a few speed humps on my commute. One or two are rather harsh rubber protrusions. Currently my 32 spoke mountain bike wheels are coping with this… Does anyone have any experience with the kind of road bike I am looking to buy in terms of robustness and wheels buckling..?

Many thanks…

cjcp

Do you have the option of choosing your own wheels, or will you be stuck with those that come with the bike? The speed bumps shouldn't cause a problem (provided you negotiate them sensibly! ).

At that price point, the wheels should be fine for the commute. 32 spoke wheels will be fine. If you have the option of hand-builts, again, something like Mavic Open Pros, CXP 22 or 33 rims on good hubs will be fine. I wouldn't get anything fancy. Get something you can afford to replace if you buckle it.

There are some chaps on here who build their own wheels and will know better than me (Aidy, Jamey).

ride_whenever

a set of handbuilts shouldn't set you back too much, and they'll be more than strong enough for speed bumps. I tend to jump over the speed bumps on my road bike because i can though.

fossyant

+1 for handbuilts for rough conditions.

They also have the advantage of being easy to repair as they take standard spokes (not that you'll need to touch a good pair of handbuilts).

I opted for handbuilts on my new fixed commuting road bike - they've done over 1000 miles so far, up/down pot holes you name it.