MFallon

This may be an odd question to ask in the forum, but I have a 2002 Trek 520 that I essentially ride as a road bike. I’m considering upgrading the wheels to something perhaps a little lighter but that can still carry my rather, um...robust....235 lbs.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m new to all this and don’t really even know for sure what size / spacing to look for.

I hope this isn’t too annoying and remedial of me to ask. I occasionally think that I’d get a road bike someday, but then find myself thinking that I probably wouldn’t like it any more than this bike. It kinda checks my boxes, if that makes sense.

thanks, Matt

headwind15

I think that you should worry about loosing weight around your waist first. Seriously.

MFallon

That’s the plan!

Eggman84

Unless there is a problem with the rims or hubs, I would keep the existing and save the money. From what I see the 2002 Trek 429 came with 36 spoke wheels, which are pretty much bomb proof, and the Shimano DX hub, whcih is also pretty good. Watch the video at https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com...n-cycling-myth to see a good discussion on the mostly perceived benefits of lighter wheels. But if you insist, there are dozens of options, and any good bike store or web retailer will be glad to take your $. Sorry I can't recommend the one hoop (wheel) to rule them all.

fietsbob

My wheel build for touring was spare spokes in the wheel tandem rims 40 & 48 spoke hubs ..
so when that 1 drive side spoke broke, I still had 47 good ones ..

15 minutes of on the bike wheel truing & i was good to go for days.. I'm riding rather slow so that worked out

another plan now that I live in a town with lots of bike tours passing thru, is *common mid range Shimano hub wheels 36 spoke
any thing bad happens to your wheel rim that is probably like the spare a shop will provide,
an exotic wheel , down side ? high summer time to hand build a custom wheel will take several days.. or a week

More likely a distributor built wheel * in inventory will get you on the road , (or one cannibalized off a bike on the shop floor)

Tourist in MSN

You did not say what your tires are. If you want to make your bike faster, perhaps some faster tires. My road bike has 28mm tires, my rando bike 32mm tires, my light touring bike 37mm tires, etc.

I have another set of wheels with 25mm tires that feel really fast when I ride on them, have not used those wheels for a few years. But when I finished a ride with those wheels I often find they were only a couple percent faster for average time. Some of that extra speed that I felt was my imagination when I rode them. Perhaps the higher pressure and rougher ride made me think I was faster?

Not my last tour but the tour before that, I and my gear was probably the same total weight as you are without camping gear. It probably makes sense for you to keep using your touring wheels.

saddlesores

you dinna say if you're touring, nor if so how much weight, norer what road surface/terrain.
sounds like it's either as daily commuter, or local rides with a small daypack.

keep the wheels, buy a cannoli. by that i mean since you're not carrying heavy weight (luggage at least...)
or going off road, slap some faster, lighter road tires on that puppy. lose the heavy lugs and dirt profile,
replace with semi-bald racing slicks.

but don't go toooo narrow. wider, higher volume tires will be more comfortable and less prone to flats.

....and you might want a trusted lbs mech to check the spoke tensions on your 20-yo wheels.

MFallon

Thanks to all of you for weighing in. And, I think I'm tracking with your collective line of thinking.

1. Yes, I fully understand that losing weight will come easier (and at less cost) than any other upgrade I can make. I'm on it....errrr, at least trying
2. The existing wheels have some light damage. On both front and back there are a couple of small dents -- almost like matching dimples. I don't know if this was maybe part of the manufacturing process or maybe something from when my brother (the original owner) brought the bike up to Canda on a roof rack. There is also another dent I put in it from dropping something on it. Granted, I honestly think this is all more cosmetic than not -- and you have to look to find it. The truth is that the existing wheels are fine, likely even in light of these. I did have the guy at my local bike shop even up the spoke tension.
3. I was running the 20-year old Bontrager Selects (k?) tires. There was no dry rot or anything and I don't have a bad word to say about them.
4. I likely won't be touring on the bike or ever riding anything harder than a graded dirt road. I did take it on a single track woods path last year and decided that was as silly as it sounds and less fun
5. I'll never be fast, but faster is always nice -- as is comfort. Considering I'm on the 520, I figure I'll always be comfort biased, but can try to make a few small tweaks to help with the "faster"

And, finally, I bought a set of Continental GP5000 x32s yesterday prior to posting my original message. I had picked up a roofing nail in the last 100 yards or a 30-mile ride yesterday and decided that was a sign that I deserved fancy new tires. Upon buying the tires I got so giddy I thought "what the hell....I'll get some wheels too." For instance, I see a pair of take-off Specialized Axis 2.0s on the For Sale section -- https://www.bikeforums.net/sale/1207...-wheelset.html -- and think those are 135mm spacing. I know they're nothing special, but seeing as I think they used them on their endurance and gravel bikes, it might be a very inexpensive route. I just don't know if they'd be compatible.

Thanks again and sorry for the disjointed note -- just wanted to try to respond to everyone who took the time.

Tourist in MSN

The older 520 bikes have a steel frame. You can put a 130mm hub in a 135mm frame or put a 135mm hub in a 130mm frame in back on steel frames. My rando bike frame is 130mm and I run 135mm rear wheel. It takes a bit more effort for me to squeeze the wheel in because it does not drop straight in, but it will not damage the frame, steel can take the flex without a problem.

Good luck and safe riding on your new wheels.

imi

I had a wheelset (Mavic A719’s with XT 135 mm hubs) that I wanted to put on my new Bianchi Lupo frame (same as a Volpe). My LBS cold set the frame to 132.5 mm, a compromise for both hub widths.

Tourist in MSN

I have a 1961 vintage Italian racing frame, Columbus tubing. I tried to cold set it from 120 to 126mm. That steel was like a giant spring, I had the stays spread apart by over an extra inch (~~25mm) and it did not want to take a permanent bend. I was afraid I might crack the silver solder joint at the seat stay brake bridge or chainstay bridge, so I did not try push it further. It is still a 120mm frame and I have to yank the stays apart to get the 126mm wheel into it. That is why I have given up on cold setting and I no longer suggest it. Would it work on an old 520? Probably. Would it work on my chrome moly rando frame? Probably. But it only takes an extra 10 seconds to fit the wheel into those bikes, so I don't bother.

But thanks for posting, the OP may be interested in that.

My rando bike, I am also running an A719 rim with XT 135mm hub, I built up that wheel in 2004 for a touring frame that I no long have. Nice wheel.

cyccommute 

Your wheels are 135mm Deore 9 speed hubs. Any 135mm hub should fit. Road 130mm will fit but the frame will squeezed down a bit when you tighten the quick release.

For wheels, you aren’t going to lose a lot of weight unless you want to spend lots of money. Dropping a few spokes isn’t going to have a huge impact on weight. Each spoke and nipple weight around 7 g which ain’t much. I have built wheels that dropped 2 lb for the set but the major weight savings was in the titanium freehub of the White Industries hubs. I used Velocity A23 rims and 2.2/1.8/2.0mm spokes. The spokes are the key to strong wheels with light rims and hubs. But there is a cost. Rims, hubs, and spokes cost around $725 for the set. I build my own so there is no building cost but expect to add another $100 to have them built.

MFallon

Forgive me for bumping this to the top, but I'm one of those guys who feels a need to bring at least some form of closure to the threads I start. If for no other reason than someone may search a similar topic in the future and find this helpful.

I did not buy new wheels -- but, it wasn't due to any sort of practicality -- the one's on the marketplace that I saw ended up being already sold. I still may if something comes along and it strikes my fancy, but the burning desire is quenched for the time being anyway.

I did, however, put on the Continental GP 5000s x 32s and I have to say that I'm impressed. They probably aren't right for most on the Touring section, but if you're a casual rider like me, I think they might scratch the itch a little. Despite my modest talents, I seem to have gained about 1 mph and I swear that they're a little more comfortable / compliant at the same pressure. Time will tell with respect to puncture resistance, but nothing is going to stop the roofing tack that got me last week.

Take it all with a grain of salt -- I'm very new to all this. And, I'm sure the results are just about what you'd expect, but its all a great discovery for me.