Wheels again!

vs4b

I'm looking at handbuilt 36 spoke 3 cross wheels for commuting duties. I was thinking something like tiagra hubs on cxp33 rims. My good wheels are hope on open pro but I have had two openpro split in the same place in two years so I don't want anymore.

I'm not looking for light as top priority but don't wants needless weight, I have plenty of that! Cost is a driver but I don't want something rubbish that will need replacing In a year.

I'm 17 st and commute is 25 each way, twice a week all on road.
Any ideas for other options to look at?
Ta
Steve

BillyImp

I have ultegra hubs with CXP33 rims and can't speak highly enough of them, only got them in Feb so only 2,000 miles down the line but still as true as anything on my road bike and they have taken beating on some of England's finest roads!! I did have to have the hubs serviced after 1,000 miles but LBS only charged £8, and I had been riding in the wet a lot to be fair. I paid £280 for the wheelset if that's any help.

ugo.santalucia

The idea is good, maybe something like Ambrosio Evolution or even better Ambrosio Balance will last longer than the Mavic. I find the eyelets on the CXP 33 are prone to failure when they corrode and the Ambrosio have a thicker brake track and an awesome wear indicator.
Tiagra need regular service

vs4b

Would 105 be noticeably better?

cycleclinic

I would not use tiagra hubs ever. Lower end Shimano is far too needy in the seviciing department. A 105 hub or above or ultegra ideally are worth the money. Novatec A171/F172 or Miche Primato are good choices for cartridge bearing hubs without breaking the bank.

Ambrosio or H plus Son rims are always a good choice. A cheap rim that last forever is the rigida chrina. The braking surface is very thick (they are not light rims) and for a commuting rim they are hard to argue against (they are very robust too).

ugo.santalucia

I would use the Chrina more, but the feedback is that they are hard to get a tyre on and they only take up to 25 mm, occasionally 28... while we have jammed cross tyres on Ambrosio rims without problems

rolf_f

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I would use the Chrina more, but the feedback is that they are hard to get a tyre on and they only take up to 25 mm, occasionally 28... while we have jammed cross tyres on Ambrosio rims without problems

That's curious. The wheels on my tourer are Rigida Snypers and you'd presumably assume the critical dimensions of those (at least in terms of ability to get a tyre on and off) would be similar to the Chrina. I have no problems putting tyres on those and normally I use Schwalbe wire beaded tyres which you'd think wouldn't be the easiest to get on.

ugo.santalucia

There doesn't appear to be an equation to predict how hard it will be to fit a tyre... it's all trial and error

cycleclinic

I have not found the chrina a difficult rim to mount tyres on but then again I find no real difficulty in mounting tyres on Pacenti SL23 rims with thick velox tape other have to resort to expensive thin rim strips and tyre levers.

The Chrina is 13mm internal width which means anything over a 25mm is a waste of time as if you out a 28mm tyre on it will still be 25mm wide so what the point. Ambrosio rims are 15mm internal width meaning 32mm tyres are the practical limit but a 28mm tyre still will not be 28mm wide so again what is the point. Narrow rims are for narrow tyres.

The Snyper rim is 16 or 17mm wide internally that is why that works with wider tyres.