TheBlackPumpkin

Currently weigh around 420 and I'm anticipating popped spokes and perhaps more wheel issues in the future on my 29" Specialized Hardrock. I'm using it currently for road riding and am curious which custom wheel builders people on here recommend. At my weight, what kind of rim / spoke count am I looking for?

shelbyfv

Since you weigh more than a normal tandem team, you might look for builders who specialize in tandem wheels.

FBinNY 

Start with a stout deep section rim, wide enough to nicely take a wide tire. Then a decent builder could probably build a relatively durable wheel using single butted 13/14g spokes on the right rear and 14/15/14g on the left rear and front.

More spokes would be nice, but hub and rim options may limit those choices. Given the choice, I'd rank the right rim over more spokes with the wrong one, though I'd try hard for 36 vs. 32 holes.

However, keep in mind that your weight puts you outside the normal range. It's like trying to build a truck with car parts. So you'll have to do your part by riding smarter, and things like standing with both knees bent to let the bike float over bumps.

Even with everything as good as possible all you should expect is decent life, but not the kind of life someone weighing less than half you do gets.

TheBlackPumpkin

Yeah I assumed that I would have problems until I drop some weight, I've dropped like roughly 15 pounds in the last week, so, hopefully the bike will hold up long enough for me to get a nicer bike.

FBinNY 

Given where your starting from, and the time elements involved, I suspect you'll be replacing a few wheels before it would make sense to invest in a new bike.

But, as long as your making headway, a few bucks now and then are money well spent. Best wishes for steady progress toward your goals.

fietsbob

I built a set of tandem worthy wheels for my international touring bike .. rear spoke count 48, front 40..
buying 88 spokes I went for straight 14 gage..

They worked nearly perfectly .. 1 spoke replaced in 10 years..





.....

Cheese Head

I have a set of these. Very nice. They should work for you as long as it's road/paved use.

The Burly 36 - Black Mountain Cycles

DWhitworth

Rich Lesnik can hook you up. Or a LBS that does tandem wheels. If you truly want trouble free, you are going to want 36-40-48 spokes for the rear.

It won't be terribly cheap (my rear wheels have been around $320-$375) but a wheel can be built that will go many miles without trouble. I started at your weight and still am 350+.

It can be tough to find a trusted builder, especially among LBS. Anyone who promises "bombproof" and "we build wheels for big guys all the time" is likely not going to be the answer. Not a knock against any LBS, it is just that your average 150lb bike shop guy can't even fathom that you are closer to 3x his weight than 2x and what works for a 220lb guy isn't going to be stout enough for you.

DaveW

work4bike

I use to always pop spokes on my rear wheel. I looked for a master wheel builder, both here in Florida and in Maryland, but could never find one that could build up my wheels strong enough to prevent breaking spokes, on average about once per month. My fix was to learn how to true wheels and I would tighten them up so much that it would give the spokes a little more life.

My permanent fix: I came across wheels with 12-gauge spokes (normal spokes are 14-gauge). I haven't had a broken spoke in years and what's more amazing is that I had a wrench fall thru a hole in my panniers and get caught between the rear spokes and my bike frame and all that did was bend a couple spokes.

The wheels I have are much like these: https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-.../dp/B006FCHTZQ

Notice that they are much cheaper than other "high-quality" wheels and I'm not dependent on a master wheel builder.




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ChuckD6421 

I can't speak for modern day Weinmanns, but back in the 80's I built up a set (who remembers the concaves?) with 32 spokes and put several thousand loaded touring miles on them without a single issue. That looks like a good deal on the face of it.

Edit to add: If you go for this wheel, I'd be VERY particular about how it was built being especially sure the spoke tensions were consistent on each side. Doesn't mean they need to be exact (musically tuned for me), there will always be inconsistencies in the metallurgy that require slightly different tensions to be true. But all the spokes on one side should be pretty close. In musical terms within a step or two of each other.
The price does raise some yellow flags so be sure it's assembled well before using it.

superdex

+1 on tandem wheels, or look at 29er mtn bike or touring wheels too.

Ideally, you'd want a builder you can talk to. I think you can call Excel Sports (in Boulder) and chat (800-543-8144), and I'm surprised Mr. @psimet himself hasn't popped up -- Request Quote

Velocity has clyde wheels, I don't know if you can call them though -- Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA [edit] they encourage contact: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hBP...requested=true

corwin1968

I'll second the recommendation for Rich Lesnik at Rivendell Bicycle Works. He built my wheels about five years ago and they've been zero maintenance, despite my weighing over 400 lbs for much of that time.

I've had too many bad routine maintenance experiences with "professional" mechanics at LBS's and there is no way in hell I would trust one to build my wheels. I'm sure many of them do a fantastic job but knowing who those guys are is the problem. With a guy like Rich (or Peter White or the guys at Velocity) you get someone who has built over 10,000 wheels and who has many, many people who will vouch for his work.

RubeRad

That's interesting; that Dyad rim looks very wide, with offset spoke holes left/right. I have 32-spoke Dyads that are not like that at all.

1nterceptor

I was satisfied with a back wheel I had custom built by Peter White.
Plenty of places that can buid you wheels. One difference with Peter
is; if you follow his specs recommendations; spokes, rims, etc. - he'll
warranty them for life. Worn brake surface and bent spoke(s) due to
sticks not covered.

pdlamb

The problem with "lifetime" warranties on custom wheels is that, unless you live very near the builder, you'll end up paying $40-50 for shipping to get the wheel back to the builder.


I bought a wheel from a respected builder; a couple spokes were loose within a year. I retensioned (to a higher tension) and retrued everything myself, and it's lasted for five years or so without further adjustment. Of course I should check that wheel tonight, since I just jinxed myself!

RubeRad

Back when I was building my commuter, I posted here asking for wheel recommendations, and FBinNY recommended a wheelbuilder/shop he happened to know of in my area. I used them, and the wheels he made for me (Dyad 32H on 105 hubs) have been rock solid. Had to replace one spoke, but it was hit by something, it wasn't a weight issue.

Not to say that I regret that purchase, but if I had to do it over again, instead of paying $400 for handmade local wheels, I'd just wait for Nashbar's Vuelta Corsa HD to go on sale. Currently $124 for a wheelSET!)

Wheels are not rocket science. With enough spokes (32+), and a wheelbuilder competent enough to verify proper tensioning, many wheel solutions can get the job done.

DGibson

Let me preface this by saying that Velocity has absolutely awesome customer support.

I have a Velocity 40 spoke cliffhanger rear wheel. The wheel cut three tire beads over a 700 mile set of tours. I took it in and they also found that the rim cracked at the spoke holes (I had not noticed that). They assure me that my weight had nothing to do with it as I assumed it had (I am 375lbs) as this wheel is built for their tandem bikes. They built me a brand new rim at no charge but....I still have not put it back on the bike. The tires were Schwalbe Marathon, Continental Ride Tour and Continental Contact Tour, good quality tires.

Vellocity has otherwise excellent reputation for quality and durability and based purely on their customer support I would recommend them. I still think that it must have been something that I was doing wrong that added to the issue but...

Since then I have been using a Spinergy rear wheel with 32 spokes and zero issues. The Spinergy wheels are more expensive than the Velocity rim so probably not a great choice for most people. I got mine when I purchased a used bike from Craigslist so they were very cheap for me. The drawback to the spinergy is the type of spoke that they use, mostly because I have not had any experience with straight thru spokes.

corwin1968

My next set of wheels will likely be a 40 spoke, Cliffhanger set built by Velocity. People I trust (Rich Lesnik, Peter White) have really praised Velocity rims and my Dyads have been flawless so I'm pretty committed to Velocity for the rims. The Velocity built wheelsets are very reasonably priced and a hub is a hub so I may as well just buy them straight from the source. Now I just have to decide between 26, 27.5 and 29.