I’m looking to purchase a set of “bombproof” wheels for my bike. I’m not as concerned with weight as I am with a stiff ride where the wheel has minimal flex. I have a set of easton tempest 2 wheels and they have lots of flex. They are 20 spoke and almost brand new. I weigh 220lbs.
Other wheels that may be stronger and less flex in the $500-$600 price range than my tempest 2.
I’ve used Spinergy Xaeros for about 7 years, have found that it’s a good sturdy wheel. I did need to have the rear hub repacked after about a year (the techie at High Peaks Cyclery in LP who did the work said it’s a common problem with Spinergy’s) but other than that haven’t had any issues with them.
For that money you can build up a pair of 36h Mavic Open Pro’s or Velocity Deep-V’s. Those will be about as bombproof as you can get. I have a 40h Deep-V on my commuting/cyclocross bike. Add to that fenders, rack and now studded tires for winter.
My Soloist with Krysiriums (could never spell that) or my American Classic Carbons… whew… that’s gonna seem real fast!!!
I have a set of pbo stealths. I like them well enough. I probably would have never bought them if it wasn’t such a good deal. But I like them. They are light and strong and ride great. The only problem I have with them is that the spokes are big and probably not very aero.
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+1 to the Mavic Open Pros. They arent aero though… but would be a great wheel for a 220lb rider.
If you want a set of bombproof wheels and weight isn’t a concern, tough to beat Aerospokes. I’m pretty sure you could take a sledgehammer to them with no effect. Flex, couldn’t say, as I’m about 150, but as heavily built as they are, I can’t imagine you’d have any troubles.
I’ve been riding a set of Velocity DeepV wheels for a while now and I like them more than the Open Pros that they replaced. Damping is a bit better without being flexy, but I am only ~160lb…I’m riding the 20/24 spoke but I think they make a 32H set as well.
For bombproof wheels… go with Open Pros and Ultegra hubs, 36 spokes in a 3 cross pattern. $227 for the pair at colorado cyclist. Phenomenal wheels and can’t come close to the price and value with lesser “boutique” wheels.
I am about your size (and at one time was bigger) and had Spinergy Wheels. They held up OK, but I wasn’t a huge fan of them. They felt harsh on a ride. I replaced them with Mavic Ksyrium ES and have been training on them for almost two years. I absolutely love them and have never had to true them and I have hit some pretty big potholes (big enough to cause two flats). You seem to be able to get good deals on them lately because I think they were replaced with a replacement model.
The thing with Spinergy’s road division USED to be their lack of quality control compounded by a lack of customer service. When carbon wheels started to be a regular find on the retail scene. Spinergy came out with their models. A lot of the time, the wheels were poorly put together. Spokes were a hit and miss deal. Sometimes tensioned, sometimes not. A lot of flex in the rims. Then, if they did hit the road, something would break or need attention customer service wise, which was only in operation from , like, noon to 12:15pm on the second Thursday of each leap year. If you got them on-line, you were in for a tough go. The word got out and Spinergy suffered. That was then, a lot of other wheel mfgrs. have gotten stronger, Spinergy has fallen by the way side. I’ve never considered them a player in the high-end wheel market since about 2000.
I have the stealth with PBOs also. I like them as a training wheel. The PBO spooks are bomb proof and absorb a good amount of road also. Weight is a little high, but overall a good race/training wheel. I second the other post about the hubs. I have repacked mine once or twice a season for the past 2yrs. Then again, I ride rain or shine.
I dont know what you’ve decided but I heard a story about a guy losing part of his hand on some spinergy wheels. Good luck with the decision.