Wheels for Riding in Thailand

mrbenj

I'm heading to Thailand to do some road cycling at the end of Dec, my current road wheels are old so I'm looking for some new road wheels that are:

1. Very Robust - some of the riding is remote and I'll be riding solo so they need to be 100% reliable (road surfaces are good though)
2. Medium weight - I'm planning on doing a lot of climbing so willing to spend extra to get something lighter that is still super robust.
3. Very robust
4.. Costing up to £400
5. Very robust.
6. Available to buy in the next week or so (which may exclude some hand built options)

Any recommendations and suggestions gratefully appreciated.

domgears

These are phenomenal wheels at the price, bomb proof, light etc.

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... 4godmD8AjA

Otherwise you can get the 3s for 299 from the same place

napoleond

Try and get something like some hand built 32h Ambrosios. Important that proprietary parts aren't used which rules out most factory options.

Have a look at these!

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/c/q/wheels/ambrosio

ugo.santalucia

The biggest concern is tyres... if you can't fit touring tyres (28+) to your bike, all the rest is in vain.
You really want 32 + mm tyres ideally, for a number of reasons

1) They won't get shredded
2) They can live with a range of pressure between 4-6 Bar, which means you can ride and ignore them for 2 or more weeks. It might not be straightforward to find a pump that works with Presta valves and your mini pump might not put 100+ PSI in a tyre, hence, the above

That said, Vittoria tyres are made in Thailand, if it's of any consolation.
THe best compromise between a robust rim and one that doesn't weigh a ton is probably Rigida Chrina... they are also very cheap, which means if you don't like them, after your trip you can replace them with something plush. Cone/balls hubs are a good idea, as they can be adjusted and have tolerance, something cartridges have not. So Shimano.
The Planet X wheels mentioned above can be a good idea if you need them quick, but get them checked by your local builder/LBS, as the tension can be low (PX builds are not stellar, in terms of quality).

If you are local to me, I can check them for you free of charge, I am curious to see their most recent builds...

mrbenj

Thank you each of you for these posts, very helpful.
@ugo.santalucia Thanks also for the offer of the wheel check - I live up north so probably won't be in touch.

cycleclinic

105 hubs and chrina rims Sapim Race spokes weight 2kg. So not too heavy and cheap as ugo said. You will not even spend £200 on those. My wife's pair has over 8000 miles on them but with miche hubs. Rims are half way through there life I think.

meesterbond

Might also be worth budgeting for a couple of hours of someones time to show you how to true / fix / generally bodge your way home should it be required - assuming you don't know already.