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Just out of curiosity, do you have any suggestions for stiff bicycle wheels? I've been looking for a sturdy wheelset for touring with a fairly heavy bike, but i

Just out of curiosity, do you have any suggestions for stiff bicycle wheels? I've been looking for a sturdy wheelset for touring with a fairly heavy bike, but it's hard to navigate the offerings because they're all seemingly advertised based on lightness.

rawland 10y ago
Drop me a mail (see my profile). I already feel guilty after mentioning Lightweight. However, they deserved it to be mentioned here, because it was a few idealistic guys revolutionizing wheel building in a garage start-up before they were bought a few years ago.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
wiredfool 10y ago
In my opinion, If you want durable wheels, the best way to go is wheels built by a _good_ wheel builder. That means properly tensioned (high), stress relieved (for fatigue life), and lubricated nipples (so you don't wind up the spokes). There are some places that will cater to tandems and touring bikes, but you have to be careful. I've seen a tandem specialty shop lace up a dedicated rear tandem hub to a lightweight mountain suspension front rim, with predictable results. Note that this is not a cheap option, as I think there's at least $150/wheel in parts here, as well as expert labor. Parts wise, I'd look at something like: * 36 hole hubs, either deore or ultegra level. 32 if you can't find 36. Not less than that. Some tandems go higher. This is more important on the rear wheel, where half (drive side) of the spokes are doing most of the work, because the other side's tension is so low. * 3 cross, double butted spokes. It looks like the Dt Competitions are 2.0/1.7, which is a decent balance between elasticity and windup. 2.0/1.8 used to be my go-to choice, but that's hard to find now. * Deepish section double eyelet rims, such as the Mavic Open Pro series. They should have closed section, not just a U for torsional rigidity. * Grease the spoke threads and the nipple bearing surface. * Tensioned just to the point of elastic instability in the rim, then backed off. Reasoning: * The key here is that you _never_ want a spoke to go slack under load. Once that happens, bad stuff happens with fatigue. * 36 spokes puts either more spokes in the loaded zone. * 3 cross lacing makes the spokes come in tangential to the hub, which reduces stresses on the spoke holes and prevents tearing of the hub. * Double butted spokes allow the spoke to stretch more in initial tensioning for a given force on the spoke. As the rim deforms under load, the spoke will remain under tension to larger deformations. * Eyelets make the nipples easier to turn in the rim, greasing even more so. Double eyelets also get support from second wall of the rim. I've had single eyelet rims (e.g. old MA series) fail where the inner wall of the rim pulled away from the braking surfaces. * Grease the spoke threads and nipples. You want the nipples to turn on the spoke threads, not seize up and torque up the spoke like a spring. If you first ride a new wheel and hear it pinging, that's the spokes unspringing and unscrewing. Likewise, a good builder will always back off the tension a bit till there's no torque in the spoke. * All other things equal, a wheel with twice the tension on the spokes will hold twice the load before you unload the bottom spokes, and have a much better fatigue resistance. So, take the tension as high as possible.
- rawland 10y ago
  Ha, really love that one, wiredfool! :-) Using 32 (front) and 36 (back) using your mentioned double eyelet rims (tubular) in Cyclo-Cross racing these days.
  - wiredfool 10y ago
    FWIW, nearly all that advice agrees with "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt, with the exception of rim selection. Rim selection though is tricky these days, as most wheels are now sold as a unit rather than parts.

rawland 10y ago

Drop me a mail (see my profile). I already feel guilty after mentioning Lightweight. However, they deserved it to be mentioned here, because it was a few idealistic guys revolutionizing wheel building in a garage start-up before they were bought a few years ago.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

wiredfool 10y ago

In my opinion, If you want durable wheels, the best way to go is wheels built by a _good_ wheel builder. That means properly tensioned (high), stress relieved (for fatigue life), and lubricated nipples (so you don't wind up the spokes). There are some places that will cater to tandems and touring bikes, but you have to be careful. I've seen a tandem specialty shop lace up a dedicated rear tandem hub to a lightweight mountain suspension front rim, with predictable results. Note that this is not a cheap option, as I think there's at least $150/wheel in parts here, as well as expert labor. Parts wise, I'd look at something like: * 36 hole hubs, either deore or ultegra level. 32 if you can't find 36. Not less than that. Some tandems go higher. This is more important on the rear wheel, where half (drive side) of the spokes are doing most of the work, because the other side's tension is so low. * 3 cross, double butted spokes. It looks like the Dt Competitions are 2.0/1.7, which is a decent balance between elasticity and windup. 2.0/1.8 used to be my go-to choice, but that's hard to find now. * Deepish section double eyelet rims, such as the Mavic Open Pro series. They should have closed section, not just a U for torsional rigidity. * Grease the spoke threads and the nipple bearing surface. * Tensioned just to the point of elastic instability in the rim, then backed off. Reasoning: * The key here is that you _never_ want a spoke to go slack under load. Once that happens, bad stuff happens with fatigue. * 36 spokes puts either more spokes in the loaded zone. * 3 cross lacing makes the spokes come in tangential to the hub, which reduces stresses on the spoke holes and prevents tearing of the hub. * Double butted spokes allow the spoke to stretch more in initial tensioning for a given force on the spoke. As the rim deforms under load, the spoke will remain under tension to larger deformations. * Eyelets make the nipples easier to turn in the rim, greasing even more so. Double eyelets also get support from second wall of the rim. I've had single eyelet rims (e.g. old MA series) fail where the inner wall of the rim pulled away from the braking surfaces. * Grease the spoke threads and nipples. You want the nipples to turn on the spoke threads, not seize up and torque up the spoke like a spring. If you first ride a new wheel and hear it pinging, that's the spokes unspringing and unscrewing. Likewise, a good builder will always back off the tension a bit till there's no torque in the spoke. * All other things equal, a wheel with twice the tension on the spokes will hold twice the load before you unload the bottom spokes, and have a much better fatigue resistance. So, take the tension as high as possible.

rawland 10y ago
Ha, really love that one, wiredfool! :-) Using 32 (front) and 36 (back) using your mentioned double eyelet rims (tubular) in Cyclo-Cross racing these days.
- wiredfool 10y ago
  FWIW, nearly all that advice agrees with "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt, with the exception of rim selection. Rim selection though is tricky these days, as most wheels are now sold as a unit rather than parts.