Originally Posted by
tallbikeman
I'm 6ft 5in, 265lbs. At the higher weights we Clydesdales ride at, rim strength, overall spoke strength, and hub strength do matter. I 've pulled spokes through a disc brake specific rim, ie very lightly constructed with no rim brake area. I've broken so many spokes over the years.
I agree that wheels need to be strong. I disagree with people placing so much emphasis on rim strength.
I've never had even a cheap hub ever give me trouble.
Nor have I. I’ve never broken a hub at the flange. Most people haven’t. It’s really not much of an issue. I look at bearing quality more than I look at strength when it comes to hubs.
I've had good luck with all Sun CR18 rims from 36 hole 27 x 1 1/4 in, 36 hole 700c, to a 36 hole 20 in, on a recumbent front, and never had a spoke pull through or fail in any other way.
A CR18 isn’t what most people would consider to be a “strong”...in other words, heavy...rim. It’s a flat profile rim that weighs in at 470g which is on a par with a Velocity A23 or Velocity Quill or even a Dyad. It’s similar to many rims offered by Mavic and others as well. Most people would call it a “lightweight” rim. Some would suggest that it is too light for the duty of being used by Clydes.
A point about spoke pull through and rim cracking. It can happen due to two different mechanisms. If the spokes are too tight...i.e. pull too hard on the rim...a rim can crack and the spoke can pull through. However, if the spoke is too loose, the same can happen. Loose spokes cause more flex at the rim and stresses the rim which eventually cracks.
I'm a great believer in the 36 hole Velocity Chukker rim for 700c. That rim is virtually indestructible.
The Chukker, or even Deep-V, are fine rims. But they aren’t necessarily stronger than lighter rims. The Chukker and the A23 have a similar profile but the Chukker is just deeper. All the material that makes the Chukker heavier goes into adding to the rim depth. The walls aren’t thicker nor is the spoke bed thicker. They are just as likely to suffer from spoke pull-through as the lighter A23.
I like to use 13/14 gauge spokes and have had no failures with them at 36 holes. I've also used straight 14 gauge spokes with little trouble. The spokes always break at the bend on the hub if I get a broken one.
I’ve used both and had problems with 14gauge at the same spoke count. The “13/14 gauge spokes” are the 2.3/2.0mm spokes that I’ve been talking about.
I have owned a low spoke count set of 26 in MTB wheels and noticed the rims were deep dish aluminum with lots of material and the spokes were 12 gauge or bigger. That wheelset was robust and never gave me any issues.
I highly doubt that they were 12 gauge. Those are very rarely used by anyone. That’s a 2.6mm spoke. 2.3mm straight gauge spokes are rare as well.
Bicycles are tested very thoroughly for strength and failure points.
I don’t agree. Some parts of bicycles have been tested thoroughly for strength. Others have too many factors to measure meaningfully. Wheels fall into the latter category. There are just too many variables to measure and use for any predictive use.