Race wheels for larger rider?

Hello all,

This message is intended for the larger riders on out there, but anyone is
free to respond if they feel they have something worth adding to the
discussion.

Anyway, my older brother is doing his first crit soon and wants to invest in
a pair of race only wheels. He is considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs.
However, as he is a "cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs), he thought it
might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look into other options, ie.
something slightly stronger albiet slightly heavier. So what are his other
options in this price range?

Thanks,

- Boyd S.

Boyd Speerschne wrote:
Hello all,
This message is intended for the larger riders on out there, but anyone
is free to respond if they feel they have something worth adding to the
discussion.
Anyway, my older brother is doing his first crit soon and wants to
invest in a pair of race only wheels. He is considering the Mavic
Ksyrium SLs. However, as he is a "cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid
~220lbs), he thought it might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look
into other options,
ie. something slightly stronger albiet slightly heavier. So what are his
other options in this price range?
Thanks,
- Boyd S.


CXP-33 rims with 32 spokes front and 36 spokes rear, both built with D
Competition 14/15 3X spokes would be my first choice. or same spokin
pattern with Velocity Deep V would be my second choice. However, findin
a quality builder that will work with his needs is where I suggest h
spend his effort


-

i'm 210 & regularly ride a pair of 16-spoke shimanos. no problems yet.
also, the tensile strength of one single spoke is ~ 3x the weight of
your brother. i don't think there's anything to worry about for race
wheels.



Boyd Speerschneider wrote:
Hello all,

This message is intended for the larger riders on out there, but anyone is
free to respond if they feel they have something worth adding to the
discussion.

Anyway, my older brother is doing his first crit soon and wants to invest in
a pair of race only wheels. He is considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs.
However, as he is a "cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs), he thought it
might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look into other options, ie.
something slightly stronger albiet slightly heavier. So what are his other
options in this price range?

Thanks,

- Boyd S.

bspeersc- He is considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs.
However, as he is a "cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs), he thought it
might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look into other options, ie.
something slightly stronger albiet slightly heavier. So what are his other
options in this price range? BRBR

Just about hand built is way below the price range of ksyriums.

How about a Record/Chorus/Centaur hubset if he's a Campagnolo kinda guy, 7700
or ultegra if shimano. Velocity Fusions, Aeroheads or Deep Vs, with appropriate
spoke number for each rims(that is 4 more for a light rim, 4 less for the
heavier ones, Revs on the front, etc).

And in 3-4 years, after mavic stops supporting the ksyriums, he can re-use the
hubs for say 10-15 years.

Any of these will be in the $500 range.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

While I no longer race I still ride each day. For many years I rode
on 36 spoke rear wheels. I am 6'4 225 and in my race days I was only
190. Even at 190 32 spoke rear wheels were a disaster. Going to 36
spoke wheels helped but I still had to work on the wheels every 2 or 3
weeks. When I made the move to a new Campy 9 speed wheel with 36
spokes and mavic open pro rim, it went out on the first hard hit it
took.

This past winter I buit up a new bike. In talking with Lenard Zinn of
Colorado (a very well known racer and bike builder who is a 6'6) he
recomended going with the mavic ksyrium elite. After 1500 miles I
have not touched them and they are as true as when I got them. I like
many have read the endless posts about designer wheels. Many seem to
say that they are a waste of money but, from my first experience with
the ksyrium elite I am sold. I have never had any trouble with any
kind of front wheel, only the rear which I am sure is due to the dish.

I can't speak about the ksyrium SSC Sl, it is a lighter wheel. I
don't think would I take the risk since they are about 900 bucks a
pair until I could talk with a 225 pound rider to see what their
recommendation is.

Best of luck,
Sundog


On Wed, 26 May 2004 20:35:01 GMT, Boyd Speerschneider
wrote:

Hello all,

This message is intended for the larger riders on out there, but anyone is
free to respond if they feel they have something worth adding to the
discussion.

Anyway, my older brother is doing his first crit soon and wants to invest in
a pair of race only wheels. He is considering the Mavic Ksyrium SLs.
However, as he is a "cyldesdale" (6'2" and a solid ~220lbs), he thought it
might "behove" him (no pun intended) to look into other options, ie.
something slightly stronger albiet slightly heavier. So what are his other
options in this price range?

Thanks,

- Boyd S.

"sundog" wrote in message
...
While I no longer race I still ride each day. For many years I rode
on 36 spoke rear wheels. I am 6'4 225 and in my race days I was only
190. Even at 190 32 spoke rear wheels were a disaster. Going to 36
spoke wheels helped but I still had to work on the wheels every 2 or 3
weeks. When I made the move to a new Campy 9 speed wheel with 36
spokes and mavic open pro rim, it went out on the first hard hit it
took.

This past winter I buit up a new bike. In talking with Lenard Zinn of
Colorado (a very well known racer and bike builder who is a 6'6) he
recomended going with the mavic ksyrium elite. After 1500 miles I
have not touched them and they are as true as when I got them. I like
many have read the endless posts about designer wheels. Many seem to
say that they are a waste of money but, from my first experience with
the ksyrium elite I am sold. I have never had any trouble with any
kind of front wheel, only the rear which I am sure is due to the dish.

I can't speak about the ksyrium SSC Sl, it is a lighter wheel. I
don't think would I take the risk since they are about 900 bucks a
pair until I could talk with a 225 pound rider to see what their
recommendation is.

Best of luck,
Sundog

I am glad that some else has had the same results that I have had. I posted
a similar questions a while back. The response was a LOUD get a good wheel
builder to make you a quality 36 spoke rear wheel...and to stay away from
"wheels in a box." I had three hand built wheels. They lasted 316 miles,
412 miles, and 453 miles. I will be glad to give the three names of the LBS
that built the wheels if you contact me directly. A few months ago I
switched to a Ksyrium Elite rear wheel, at the recommendation of one of the
LBS's, and have over 1,500 miles without any problems. So for me, "wheels
in a box" have been a wonderful solution.

"RWM" writes:

"sundog" wrote in message
...
While I no longer race I still ride each day. For many years I
rode on 36 spoke rear wheels. I am 6'4 225 and in my race days I
was only 190. Even at 190 32 spoke rear wheels were a disaster.
Going to 36 spoke wheels helped but I still had to work on the
wheels every 2 or 3 weeks. When I made the move to a new Campy 9
speed wheel with 36 spokes and mavic open pro rim, it went out on
the first hard hit it took.

Huh. I am about your size, racing weight without much fat was about
195 and currently am about 215, with more fat than I want. As I get
older, it doesn't come off as easily as it did! I raced on 32 spoke
wheels for 10 years and rarely if ever had trouble with them being
unreliable- as in going out of true from just riding or from hitting
bumps. Never had much trouble with spoke breakage except in one wheel
built with Asahi spokes.

Basically, I have to think that your wheels have had some problems
with build quality. 36 hole Campy 9 speed with an Open Pro rim ought
to be strong and durable, at least until it cracks (see the many
threads on anodized rims. This ought to start another one now).
Either your spokes have a lot of residual twist in them from
tensioning or they are quite undertensioned overall, is my hunch.

This past winter I buit up a new bike. In talking with Lenard Zinn
of Colorado (a very well known racer and bike builder who is a 6'6)
he recomended going with the mavic ksyrium elite. After 1500 miles
I have not touched them and they are as true as when I got them. I
like many have read the endless posts about designer wheels. Many
seem to say that they are a waste of money but, from my first
experience with the ksyrium elite I am sold. I have never had any
trouble with any kind of front wheel, only the rear which I am sure
is due to the dish.

Dish is a contributor as it makes for a weaker wheel, and
unfortunately it is also the wheel that carries more than half of the
load (somewhere around 55-60% in most cases). However, many heavy
riders have used highly dished wheels with good results provided the
wheels are properly built: evenly tensioned, highly tensioned, stress
relieved and built with proper spoke wrench use so that the spokes are
not twisted.

I am glad that some else has had the same results that I have had.
I posted a similar questions a while back. The response was a LOUD
get a good wheel builder to make you a quality 36 spoke rear
wheel...and to stay away from "wheels in a box." I had three hand
built wheels. They lasted 316 miles, 412 miles, and 453 miles. I
will be glad to give the three names of the LBS that built the
wheels if you contact me directly.

Hmm, people who live in your area should be warned about the inept
wheel building this LBS is providing. Good grief, barring accidents
or unusual braking wear on the sidewalls, a rear wheel ought to last
at least 10,000 miles and more like 50,000 miles before anything
needs to be replaced (except maybe bearings). I hope you got your
money back! Shucks, my 32 spoke Campy 9sp with MA2s have been in
service for at least 10,000 miles and are showing no problems at all.

"Tim McNamara" wrote in message
...
"RWM" writes:
SNIP
"sundog" wrote in message
...
I am glad that some else has had the same results that I have had.
I posted a similar questions a while back. The response was a LOUD
get a good wheel builder to make you a quality 36 spoke rear
wheel...and to stay away from "wheels in a box." I had three hand
built wheels. They lasted 316 miles, 412 miles, and 453 miles. I
will be glad to give the three names of the LBS that built the
wheels if you contact me directly.

Hmm, people who live in your area should be warned about the inept
wheel building this LBS is providing. Good grief, barring accidents
or unusual braking wear on the sidewalls, a rear wheel ought to last
at least 10,000 miles and more like 50,000 miles before anything
needs to be replaced (except maybe bearings). I hope you got your
money back! Shucks, my 32 spoke Campy 9sp with MA2s have been in
service for at least 10,000 miles and are showing no problems at all.

I had the three wheels built at three different places. One in Portsmouth
NH, one in Bellevue WA and the last in Redmond WA. All had 14g double
butted spokes. All had Ultegra 36 hole hubs. One Open pro rim, one CPX33
rim, and one MA rim.

In article , "RWM"
wrote:

snip

I had the three wheels built at three different places. One in Portsmouth
NH, one in Bellevue WA and the last in Redmond WA. All had 14g double
butted spokes. All had Ultegra 36 hole hubs. One Open pro rim, one CPX33
rim, and one MA rim.


I don¹t know about the wheels built in New Hampshire, but the ones built in
Washington are obviously built by Microsoft and are subject to frequent crashes
and failures......

HAND
Ride Safe
Look out for that truck!
What truck?

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution

tim- Hmm, people who live in your area should be warned about the inept
wheel building this LBS is providing. BRBR

Even in Boulder, I can name only 5 good wheelbuilders, and three of them are at
Vecchio's.



Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"