Wheels for a heavier rider

richh

After putting a fair few thousand miles on the Shimano R500 wheels that came with my bike I feel that it's time to replace them and whilst I've come up with a list of possibilities I'm not sure whether they will be suitable or not.

Whilst I'm certainly not what you'd call fat, I am pretty tall (6'4") and broad across the shoulders which means that I'm normally in the 90-95kg range. I definitely notice some flex in the R500 with the rears rubbing against the rear brake blocks when climbing and I've had to have the rear trued recently, although I should say that I've never had any spokes break etc.

I should also add that I live in the Cotswolds so whilst we don't have mountains like the Ventoux here, there are plenty of short very steep bits, and hills are virtually impossible to avoid when out on a ride. I don't race and mainly do solo riding with the odd sportive thrown in when I fancy a change of scenery. Most rides are 40-60 miles (some longer, some shorter).

My thinking was that it would be a good opportunity to upgrade the wheels instead of just replacing them like-for-like and I guess I have a budget of ~£300 to spend. My concern from researching the options is that many people are sceptical about whether the lighter options would be suitable for heavier riders so I thought I'd ask here what people think. Perhaps these comments are just hearsay but perhaps there's something in it.

The ones I'd shortlisted were:

Shimano RS80 C24 (~£300 new can be got for ~£200 secondhand) - 1521g
Mavic Kysrium Elite (~£400 new can be got for ~£250 secondhand) - 1550g
Fulcrum Racing 3 - (~£350 news, can be got for ~£250 secondhand) - 1555g
Fulcrum quattro - (~£225 new - no idea secondhand) - 1710g but apparently very stiff due to the deeper rim
Mavic Cosmic Elite - (~£280 new - no idea secondhand) - 1770g
Pro-Lite Bracciano - (~£299 new - no idea secondhand) - 1482g
American Classic Victory - (~£350 news - no idea secondhand) - 1592g

Are any of these definitely not going to be suitable?

Lastly what about handbuilt wheels. I understand the benefits but from a quick look on Wheelsmith's website £300 only buys the lowliest wheelset they offer. Maybe that's still better than any of the above though.

Mayhemwmb

I'm also a heavy rider, (18 stone) I'm mechanically sympathetic and have had relatively few wheel problems. I recently bought a new Giant road bike with factory wheels and several of the spokes came so loose that I could turn the nipples with my fingers, once trued and tightened I've had no problems.

I have a set of handbuilt 105hubs onto open pro rims hand built by my local shop and they've proved to be bomb proof, have you considered the hope 3 hubs onto open pro rims - again awsome wheels.

I would be very reluctant to buy second hand - you don't know who has been riding them and for how long

mallorcajeff

heard nothing but good reviews for the Ksyrium Elite and i think im going to get a pair for winter winter riding seem pretty bombproof. Napd recommends them and he knows his stuff.

napoleond

Ksyrium Elites are fantastic, as are cosmics...

richh

They do seem to fit the bill quite nicely, but they are only an option secondhand for me, and they seem to have changed spec quite a lot over the last 5 years or so with a pretty dramatic reduction in weight. Some I've seem advertised as 4-5 years old are quoted as being ~1800g for example which is considerably different to the current version. Ok, so maybe I wouldn't notice the difference that much but when a brand new pair of RS80s for example are only ~£50 more and for that I also don't have an concerns about how they've been use/abused in the past it's a tough call.

drlodge

For handbuilts, you could get something like Ambrosio NoveTec SL hubs/CXP33 rims/Sapim Race spokes, may be with 32H at your weight. Or for a lighter rim, either the Excellight or OpenPro with Zenith hubs. Would be around £280/pair. Some example wheels at the bottom of this page http://www.harryrowland.co.uk/7352.html

rich164h

Sorry for the very slow reply, but thank you for all of the comments above and thanks Ugo for the PM. That's certainly given me a lot to think about.

Does anyone know if it's possible to test ride factory wheels? does anyone offer that? Whole bikes aren't normally a problem and nor are saddles but I'm not sure about wheels.

I must admit that I'm torn between the RS80s, the fulcrum quattros or some handbuilt wheels along hte lines of what Ugo has suggested, so it would be good to see how stiff the factory ones are and whether or not they are even realistic options.

Simmo72

I am 6ft 4 & 96Kg. I use Fulcrum 7's for winter and Mavic Kysrium Elites for better weather. The fulcrums are heavy but very solid and something of a bargain.

The Kysrium Elites are very tough. I actually bought them off a smaller/lighter friend who didn't get on with them because they were such a hard ride. Perfect for the big fellas!

On both sets I have never had a spoke snap, or had to even get these trued

northpole

I'd suggest hand builts. A friend of mine is quite hefty and has had problems with factory wheels. He had a set of wheels built up using dura-ace hubs, sapim spokes and (I think) open pro rims. After much denial he has finally come round to admit that they have behaved themselves perfectly. You aren't overly heavy, so you may be fine with factory builts; I just think you'd get more certainty with hand builts.

Peter

bickers

I'm 6ft 2 and 90kg if I eat to many pies and I've been running on a 2nd hand set of shimano rs80s and they have been great. I ride the same area as you and even on the steep stuff I don't get them to touch the blocks.

Kiwi_rich

Fulcrum's are great wheels - very robust. I have a few kgs on you and have put many miles on a set of racing 0s. I commute on mavic aksiums which are flimsy - will buy some fulcrum 7s to replace them when they break.

smidsy

Go handbuilt. That way you have the added security that everything is replaceable and readily available.

This is often not the case with factory wheelsets.

rich164h

bickers wrote:

I'm 6ft 2 and 90kg if I eat to many pies and I've been running on a 2nd hand set of shimano rs80s and they have been great. I ride the same area as you and even on the steep stuff I don't get them to touch the blocks.

That's really good to know. Thanks a lot for that.

smidsy wrote:

Go handbuilt. That way you have the added security that everything is replaceable and readily available.

This is often not the case with factory wheelsets.

Yeah, that may well be what I do, and the velocity A23 rims that Ugo suggested do sound like an interesting option given that they're slightly wider and the difference in performance that that brings. All reviews of them are positive. What I would say though is that I wouldn't be commuting on the wheels so it's not as if they need to stand up to day in day out abuse that causes or that I'd be relying on them day-to-day, but yes you're right that if/when something does go wrong it would be easier to fix with handbuilt wheels. I guess it's a case of when a problem might occur. If a factory wheel is going to fail I'd have assumed it would be early on in it's life and hence covered under warranty schemes so if it's going to go wrong then I should still be covered, and if it lasts beyond that period then it's unlikely to be going wrong anyway (due to poor manufacturing anyway - i.e. not allowing for accidents/pothole damage etc).

arlowood

FWIW I had a set of RS80's on my previous bike (Spesh Secteur Elite). When first fitted they were a revelation but within a few months after I had gained a bit of fitness I experienced quite a bit of flex in the front wheel to the extent that the magnet for my Cateye Wireless was catching the sender unit on the front fork. The resultant ticking was quite disconcerting when climbing out of the saddle. FYI I was a shade over 90kg at the time.

Sold the Spesh and bought a Trek Madone with Bontrager Race Lite wheels factory fitted. These again were prone to a bit of flex but not as bad as the RS80's. Perhaps due to the fact that I have slimmed a bit to around the 85kg point.

Eventually bit the bullet and had Ugo build me up a set of wheels on Novatec hubs with Mavic Open Pro rims. 28 x 2 cross on the front. 32 x 3 cross on the rear. Not the lightest wheels but stiff and responsive - they do everything that I need and I have no problems with flexing.

My budget was more or less what you are targeting so I would suggest you talk to Ugo or check out some of the other wheelsmiths out there.

vs4b

+1 for hope pro3 hubs on open pro rims.
Nice ride, bombproof fairly light and nice noisy freehub.

lastant

arlowood wrote:

Eventually bit the bullet and had Ugo build me up a set of wheels...My budget was more or less what you are targeting so I would suggest you talk to Ugo or check out some of the other wheelsmiths out there.

+1 - I also had a set of wheels built up by ugo having ummed and ahhed over what to get for ages. iPete gave a glowing recommendation and I'd be more than happy to echo that for anybody that asked me my thoughts (as I have done).

rich164h

vs4b wrote:

+1 for hope pro3 hubs on open pro rims.
Nice ride, bombproof fairly light and nice noisy freehub.

nooooo!!! I personally can't stand loud freehubs. I'm sure the quality is good but the noise would annoy the hell out of me.

Thanks everyone, this is all much appreciated.

LegendLust

You won't go wrong with a well built pair of handbuilts - there are a quite a few good builders out there. Although in my experience stay clear of Ambrosio hubs - I had to change rear bearings all the bloody time!

If you do want some 'factory' wheels then I'd recommend some Miche Connects - strong, ride well and look great!

ugo.santalucia

LegendLust wrote:

You won't go wrong with a well built pair of handbuilts - there are a quite a few good builders out there. Although in my experience stay clear of Ambrosio hubs - I had to change rear bearings all the bloody time!

If you do want some 'factory' wheels then I'd recommend some Miche Connects - strong, ride well and look great!

Ambrosio hubs are fine, the bearings are OK, you have been unlucky or it's lack of care... not as good as Hope, but neither as pricey... not as big as Miche, but neither as heavy... if it was my money I would go for Miche hubs too, but a set of hubs weighing over a pound are not to everyone's taste

white91

I am 91kg at my heaviest and use Planet X Model B wheels, been fine so far.

They have been replaced by the AL30s, they also make a 32 spoke version, they weigh 1622g and 1743g respectively (without skewers) and come in at £150 and £130.

Fantastic value, but obviously not as good as a pair of £400 wheels