New Wheels Required

steveal
steveal Posts: 22
edited March 2011 in Road buying advice
Today, I broke a spoke on the rear wheel of my Specialized Tricross Sport. The LBS said the rim was 75% worn and I should consider new wheels. On returning home I realized the front rim looks similarly worn

The current rims are Alex Ace-19 (size 622 x 17mm) and I have Pasela Tourguard 700 x 32C tyres mounted.

I've looked at a couple of the obvious web sites, but none show the rim width of the wheel sets they sell (I presume 17mm internal is OK for 32 section tyres).
Can anyone suggest a suitable, good value wheel set for a 61 year old trundler doing about 30 miles on an average ride?

Steve

Comments

  • huuregeil
    huuregeil Posts: 780
    Give these guys a call:

    http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s178p2235

    Rigida Synper or Exal LX17 have an internal width of 17mm and are spot on for your tyres and usage; I assume your tricross has a rear spacing of 135mm so the lx hubs would suit. I have LX17s on my fixed-wheel, they're nice and solid rims, they'll give you many miles of problem free service!

    PS you can happily run 32mm tyres on 15mm wide rims (e.g. open pro, open sport) but you're better off on slightly wider rims.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    huuregeil wrote:
    Give these guys a call:

    http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s178p2235

    Rigida Synper or Exal LX17 have an internal width of 17mm and are spot on for your tyres and usage; I assume your tricross has a rear spacing of 135mm so the lx hubs would suit. I have LX17s on my fixed-wheel, they're nice and solid rims, they'll give you many miles of problem free service!

    +1. I've just bought a pair of wheels from Spa for my old tourer - Rigida Snyper with Deore LX hubs. They are very true and very smooth.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • yakk
    yakk Posts: 589
    Hi, would recommend Byers Cycles, who built me a very tough (campag hubbed) pair of wheels on mavic touring rims. They can build you what you want. I'm sure there are lots of good builders - I just have experience of the above.
    Good luck.
    Yak
  • steveal
    steveal Posts: 22
    Well, by coincidenced I'm off to Harrogate tomorrow for a book fair - But, handbuilt wheels take time to make and Spa don't have any pre-built.

    Can anyone comment on these (which I could pick up today):

    http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... r_2537.htm

    Steve
  • huuregeil
    huuregeil Posts: 780
    Very likely they won't fit as they're spaced 130mm at the rear dropouts, and I think your Tricross will be spaced at 135mm (check this!). Building a pair of wheels will likely take a good builder less than a couple of hours, so whether Spa can turn this around or not depends on their order book, but it;s definitely worth trying.
  • steveal
    steveal Posts: 22
    I measure the rear spacing at 128mm, so assume it is 130mm hub I need.
    Spa quote a week for a build and only have a pair of 105 jobs available at £191. Probably great value, but a bit above my requirements.

    I'm off to Merlin cycles to see what they have.
  • steveal
    steveal Posts: 22
    Merlin Cycles - highly recommended!

    I bought these (further reduced to £107 the pair):

    http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... r_2538.htm

    I've just done a 20 mile ride on a gorgeous afternoon. I thought I'd gone deaf at one stage. The freewheel is quiet!

    Thanks for all your help.

    Steve

Categories