What wheels for heavy rider?

Cupras

Looking for a new set of wheels for my bike but I don't even know where to start.

Bike is a 2014 Defy 1.

The wheelset on it seems fine but having had some spare cash I would like to change it up.

This is my first road bike but I have been loving it but cant help think that some decent wheels will make me feel better.

It will also mean I don't mine sticking the bike on a turbo with the old wheels once the bad weather is here.

GiantMike

How heavy are you and what kind of budget do you have? Why are you looking to upgrade?

There has recently been a long thread about the relative benefits (or otherwise) of lighter wheels and several well-known members of BikeRadar died in the skirmish, so you may find advice a bit limited for a while. The summary is that lighter wheels help in certain situations, but you're really just paying for bling and some bragging rights on a club ride.

notsoblue

How heavy are you? What kind of cycling do you do?

As a relatively large cyclist (92kg) who uses my road bike for commuting as well as weekend rides, I've had the best luck with custom built, low tension, high spoke count wheels. When I was riding 20-30 miles a day I just totally trashed lighter (budget) wheels like Planet X Model B's or Mavic Aksiums. In both cases the spokes were pulled through the rim after going over bumps/potholes.

I'm currently running 32h DT Swiss RR585 rims and they've held up really well. They're relatively heavy, but to be honest if you're a heavy rider its kinda silly to agonise about a less than 100g difference between rims.

diamonddog

notsoblue wrote:

How heavy are you? What kind of cycling do you do?

As a relatively large cyclist (92kg) who uses my road bike for commuting as well as weekend rides, I've had the best luck with custom built, low tension, high spoke count wheels. When I was riding 20-30 miles a day I just totally trashed lighter (budget) wheels like Planet X Model B's or Mavic Aksiums. In both cases the spokes were pulled through the rim after going over bumps/potholes.

I'm currently running 32h DT Swiss RR585 rims and they've held up really well. They're relatively heavy, but to be honest if you're a heavy rider its kinda silly to agonise about a less than 100g difference between rims.

Model C would have been a better option as they have a higher spoke count.

trek_dan

Speak to a local wheelbuilder, a high spoke count and decent quality hub is a must. I'd be looking at something like an Archetype or DT Swiss rim, 28 spokes front and 32 rear, built on something like a Miche hub.
Also I'm glad you've used the correct term 'heavy' rather than 'powerful' like all the other cuddly fellas that ask question about wheels.

arran77

navrig

http://www.wheelcraft.net/

Speak to Al. He'll sell you:

CRX rims, 105 hubs about £190 delivered. Good solid wheels, not featherweight but reliable.

47p2

^^^ Have to agree about speaking to Big Al, he certainly knows his rims and hubs and won't try and sell you something you don't need.

I visited him a couple of weeks ago to have a pair of wheels made, and we decided that 28 spoke (I'm a lightweight) on Ambrosio Excellight rims and Hope Pro3 hubs were the way to go. He did ask if I would like Chris King hubs for extra money and I declined, he also offered me Miche hubs for around £100 less than the Pro3s but I am staying with the Hopes. He also mentioned that it wasn't often he got to build wheels for 'wee skinny folk' and the majority of his work was for 'big fellas'

marcusww

Just bought some american classic victory 30 - these have a high rider weight limit. As above I do find them easier / faster in certain situations. Gave em a good hammering on a club run yesterday and all reports are good. I did put some conti supersonic tubes in also so I lost 500 grams overall compared to standard issue stock wheels on a spec. bike.

24 spokes at the rear - did not want to go to 20 like the mavics etc. as have heard a lot of failures with this many spokes from heavy riders.

AndyPkr

I weigh around 95kg and have been using a set of Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels for the last 3 years. I have done around 6000 miles in all weathers, hitting numerous potholes along the way. The wheels have stayed as true as the day they were bought without any maintenance whatsoever. For the price around £300 for the pair you will not get a better set of off the shelf wheels. They are also fairly light.

cycleclinic

RR585 rims are heavy and a 92kg rider does not always need something that stiff and heavy, that is not to say they are bad rims they are not, they have there place but that is not in every wheelset. Open pro rims, Velocity A23, DT Swiss RR465's, velocity deep V's, Kinlin XR-270's or XR300's can all be had in 32H drillings and will take the weight of a heavier rider. All these are very different rims but for a rear wheel a 32 spoke count is ideal for riders above 90kg. You pick based on how stiff you need it to be and to a lesser extent on how aerodynamic you want the wheels to be. A track cyclists on training runs for example may need a DT Swiss RR585 wheel your average club cyclist doing the odd sportive and the like may be better of with a lighter rim in 32H drilling. I know one track cyclist who on a sprint kicks out 1.8KW and is about 95kg. A less powerful rider does not need such a stiff rim.

Given this is your first road bike I would have thought you are not a 1.8 KW sprinter so a rims like the Mavic Open Pro, Velocity A23 or H plus Archetyp or Velocity deep V would all do the job well. They are also in order of weight lowest to highest but the best rim of the three is the archetype. Lace those to some Novatec or Miche hubs or maybe shimano hubs and you have a durable wheelset.