Hi. I’m a big guy (6’4", 200lbs). I’m looking to get an inexpensive (although not cheap) set of more aerodynamic wheels that I will use mainly for racing. I can’t afford Zipp or other carbon wheelsets. It’s just not in the budget. I’ve considered the Velocity Spartcus Pro (20 spoke front/24 spoke rear), becuse they’re inexpensive, and I’ve read some good reviews. Unfortunately, Velocity doesn’t provide any help other than that the 20/24 is “for riders over 180lbs”.
Can anyone tell me if these wheels will work for me, or should I find something else? Maybe build my own?
Im also in that weight range and i race with Shamal. They are supposed to be one of the strongest wheelsets around. I find them stiff and fast and wouldnt trust myself with fancy carbon wheels- leave them to the skinny guys
Are Hed3’s out of your price range? I am about your size, perhaps slightly heavier and that’s what I chose for my P3. My idea was the wheels are strong enough for training and fast enough to race on, so why not kill two birds with one stone.
Though I am one of the “Skinny guys” who races on Zipps…my day to day training wheels are Shamals…AWESOME wheels. Super stong and durable. If you have ShimaNO you can easily just install a Campy 9sp cog set and the shifting is fine!
I would have a good wheel builder lace up a pair of Velocity (tubular) rims and Dura Ace or Ultegra hubs, 28 front, 32 rear. This would address strength and not be too heavy. Don’t go wimpy on the spokes, go with 14 gauge straight ga. spokes. Your power build would be best suited for something that is a bit heavier. Better a bit of weight at the wheel than to have a race ruined by a popped spoke and you can’t finish the race. You can finish a race on one less spoke on a conventional wheel set. Going into wheels with less than 24 spokes front, 28 rear for 650c and 28 front, 32 rear for 700c for a guy your size can be a dangerous proposition, unless you’re riding a deeper dish wheelset (like a Zipp 404, Campy Shamal, Mavic Cosmic, etc.; meaning a rim section at or greater than 30mm). If the Spartacus is available in a tubular and has a rim section of 30mm or taller, then 20 spoke front and 24 rear would not be quite as dangerous.
Make sure that they’re tubular, or they won’t be real race wheels.
I am a similar build and have ridden a pair of Rolf vectors for training and racing until recently. They have lasted 4 years now and despite the low spoke count seem bomb proof, just the odd tweak from time to time. Perhaps the Vector comp would be a good bet. There is a wheel review somewhere on this site that also rates these wheels as tough.
Clinchers are fine unless you like sewing up dirty tyres after winter rides, perhaps the weather is worse here…
I am about 210lbs. Just when through the wheel purchase. My LBS suggested Bontrager Race X Aero Lite which is very similiar to the Rolf Vector Pro. So far so good. Not alot of options for larger folk. Zipps would be nice but too expensive
Check out speed dreams wheels. I think it is www.speeddream.com or something like that. The guy makes custom built wheels at a reasonable price. He built me up a semi-aero set of velocity fusion rims with 14 ga. bladed spokes (20 front 28 rear) w/ american classic hubs (am classic front, velocioty rear) for around 400 bucks. Will be cheaper w/ ultegra hubs. I have over 10,000 miles on mine (crappy roads) and have never had to true them.
I, too, am a somewhat larger rider (6’2" @ 210 lbs). I’ve been riding a Cannondale MS2000 with Spinergy Rev-X’s (650c) for the last three years. I used the Spinergy’s for both training and racing up to this year when I got a Renn disc for the rear. I’ve got probably 7K miles on these wheels and have had no problems. I also have an older Cannondale road bike with 700c Rev-Xs. These are also my every day wheels and are still straight and true - probably 6 years old now.
True, these are not the most aerodynamic wheels out there, but for me they have been very durable and, lets face it, they look cool. They are a little squirrelly in a crosswind but I love them. They also smooth out the ride on my stiff aluminum Cannondales.
The Rev-X is no longer produced but you can still find them on e-Bay.
Going into wheels with less than 24 spokes front, 28 rear for 650c and 28 front, 32 rear for 700c for a guy your size can be a dangerous proposition, unless you’re riding a deeper dish wheelset (like a Zipp 404, Campy Shamal, Mavic Cosmic, etc.; meaning a rim section at or greater than 30mm).
I’m not disagreeing with you but why do deeper section rims decrease the likelihood of breaking a spoke? Is it because the spokes are shorter and therefore exposed to less strain or at least less leverage? Is it because the carbon rim gives some and absorbs some of the strain that would otherwise be absorbed by the spoke? Something else entirely?
I’m 6’1 220 and two years ago went through zipps like it was my job. I went with Velocity Deep V’s 700’s 28 front 32 rear (tubulars), which I don’t think they make any more. I had them built up with American Classic Light Hubs with bladed spokes and have been in love since. Since I was so gun shy about trashing wheels, I bought an extra set of the Deep V tubular rims, which I know I will never need. Email if your interested, I know the bunnyman would endorse it. If your hard on wheels at your weight, do not get carbon!!!
I’m 6’5", 205. I race on a Shamal front and it is quite aero and unbreakable— In light wind conditions they are more aero than even the Hed3. They have been available on closeout lately so you might want to check into them. I’ve had good luck with all my Campy wheels and would recommend any of them. If you do go with a Shamal and use Shimano deraillers, you will need to buy a Campy 9 speed cassette as they did not introduce Shimano compatible freehubs until recently and the Shamal design is a few years old.
… Going into wheels with less than 24 spokes front, 28 rear for 650c and 28 front, 32 rear for 700c for a guy your size can be a dangerous proposition, unless you’re riding a deeper dish wheelset …
Now you’re making me nervous. My bike was delivered to me with an Equation wheelset, 16 on the front and 20 on the rear. I’ve had a bit of an issue with keeping the rear wheel in true. I’m still rather new to all of this so I figured it was some of the rough as hell roads here in MA. Compound that with being 6’4" and 210, I suppose that makes a lot of sense.
I don’t like to make people nervous, but I have just had a bit of experience over the years. I think of my trusty Sun Mistral 19mm aero rim with 16 spokes. I am only around 160 and the thing cannot stay true. Of course it also has to with the fact that it’s an ancient rim and it has all of 16 spokes, as well.
I am unfamiliar with the Equation wheelset, but if I were the bikeshop guy, I would have tried to get you a more stout wheelset. I am just that way when it comes to wheels that you train on. Heck, I like to ride a 32 or 36 spoke wheel to train on.
Thankfully, it is a cheap remedy to get a stouter wheelset. A pair of 32 hole hubs can be gotten dirt cheap, and appropriate rims are as dirt cheap, as well.
Any time you go outside of the norm with spoked wheels, you risk more. That being said, it has not stopped me from utilising the latest technology. Yes, you can break a spoke if it’s shorter, though the possibility of breaking it is slightly less (as more than likely, they did not bend the spoke while building it in the case of factory-built wheels). They could be more brittle being shorter. But, the shorter the spoke, the less of them you need to keep it true, this being the case of the rim taking more of the load. It’s a double-edged sword.
Carbon rims are actually pretty stiff. Look at what happens in descents with Lightweight or ADA wheels- they riders plain don’t descend as well (as Ligget and Sherwen had pointed out on one stage of the Tour- rightly criticising Ullrich for poor equipment choice on a mountain stage). An aluminium rim will help as they do tend to flex just that little bit better. Infact, the Nimble Fly rim (non clyde version) can withstand 600 lbs without spokes*, and the Nimble Horsefly (clydes version) can hold substantially more. I would wager 600 pounds would fold a typical aluminium rim without spokes.
I have not broken a spoke on a deep-dish carbon wheelset, knock on wood. That being said, I descend very poorly on them as they don’t flex just that little bit to damp the bike on the road while descending.
