Originally Posted by
MiPeGr
I'm going to be picking up a new bike soon (Topstone 105), and I understand that the general consensus is that the 28-spoke wheels probably won't hold up to a Clyde (295# / 135 kg) very well for long-term durability.
But my question is this, should I just ride them until they break (maybe pay a few $ to get them fully de-tensioned/re-tensioned when new), or sell them as-new or trade up for something more durable / reliable? Seems like if they're going to get used up anyway, they have the most value new, and I could put that towards a better set of wheels to start.
If I just keep them and ride them 'til they break, then I can start riding right away, and can dispense with shopping for new wheels and getting them built.
I can't decide...what are everyone else's thoughts on this?
When I bought my bike I was not as heavy as you but the bike came with stock Shimano wheels. Never really thought about it at the time but those wheels are still true today after 3 years of riding. When I upgraded to a new bike 3 years ago, the stock wheels that came with the bike (Fulcrum) went out of true within months. I opted to have a new set made and those went out of true too after several months. They were purchased online from what I thought was a decent builder.
I then found a local wheelwright and went to see him and after speaking with him, decided to have him build a rear wheel. I kept the front wheel since it was not the problem. 3 years later, and my rear wheel is still true. He is local so I can go back and see him if something goes wrong. He also provided me with a wheel calibration both before and after the build that showed spoke tension that was plotted to a graph that was circular like a wheel so you could see the tension on every spoke. That way, if I brought the wheel back in, he could check the spokes against what was originally set. I thought this was very cool. My total rear wheel rebuild with new spokes, rim and nipples set me back with labor about 250.00. I reused my Shimano hub that originally came with the bike since it was an Ultegra hub.
Long story short, you will probably have your rear wheel go out of true at some point. I would ride it until it does and then have one built. This way it will buy you some time to look around for a good wheel builder and talk to them. Nothing less than 32 spoke count though.
john