masi61

Hello, I have in my possession a new set of Mavic Open Pro 28 hole rims that I got at a good price from Colorado Cyclist a few years ago that I would like to have made up into an everyday set of rims. I have another set of wheels using the DT Swiss RR 1.2's (which have a taller profile, so they might be a little stronger). My current body weight is right around 195#. I am a smooth rider, spin more than mash. I do ride on some chip seal and cracked asphalt, and bike trails covered in sticks from time to time. I found a set of Dura Ace 9000 hubs for the best price I could find and pulled the trigger on them yesterday. They will be here next week. It seems that Open Pro rims have people who love them, and people who hate them. I'm willing to give them a try but don't want to go down this road if they are going to just go out of true or break spokes. I would love to save a little bit of weight on the wheels but still prefer my wheel builder to build them and not go pre-manufactured.
I would welcome any wheel builder mechanics opinions on this.
If need be, I might just get an identical set of RR 1.2 rims as I have had very good luck with these (zero issues!).

Retro Grouch 

So you own the wheels now. If you don't use them for everyday riding what do you plan to do with them?

bradtx

masi61, I've had a set of 28H OP CD rims since about '97 and I weighed about 200-210 lb for much of their service period. They use 2.0-1.8 DT spokes and 7700 hubs. They were a good build and have had very few truing events over the years. They've been on a wide variety of surfaces without incident.

I wouldn't use them on a commuter, I'm not so sure I'd even use a 32H OP on a commuter, it's a waste of money and there are better candidates for that purpose. But as an every day recreational / training wheel I think they'd be fine. It really starts with the quality of the build.

Brad

masi61

I own the hubs and rims. I have not fully committed to using the Mavics or if I'll go with the 1.2's

fietsbob

Build 2 Wheel-sets get 2_32 spoke rims to use on the rear, use the 28's as the fronts.

Every day a Back Up wheel set will be useful in case of damaging One .
OPen sport may be Fine on the rear.

Retro Grouch 

Since you own them I'd still build 'em up and use them. Can you think of ANY bicycle component that doesn't have lovers and haters?

AnkleWork

Special occasions only, like weddings, funerals, anniversaries, etc.

masi61

good point.

With all the current fashion for wider clincher rims, regular old clincher rims sometimes seem outmoded?

masi61

HaHa, us workhorse riders have to designate levels for our gear. I like to say that my riding is more for entertainment than training anyway.

demoncyclist

Properly built and stress relieved wheels using Open Pros and DA hubs should be great wheels. The people that complain about things like eyelets pulling through or cracking around the eyelets are building wheels with too much tension. Higher spoke count wheels need less tension than low spoke count wheels do, and should you pop a spoke, they will remain truer than a low spoke count wheel too. My current wheels are a mismatch. Front is an Open Pro on a 105 hub and the rear is a CXP22 on a DA hub. I have yet to put a spoke wrench to them since I bought the bike 3 years ago.

Mr IGH

Sell the Open Pros and get some DT RR 440, lighter, stronger, comes asymmetrical for the rear, tubeless ready.

goldcoastjon

I have been riding Open Pros (32H and 36H) on my Eisentraut road bike (with Campi Chorus 9-spd group) and Peugeot UO-18 mixte (1 x 6 SIS, 28-32mm tires) since 1998 with no problems. LOVE Open Pros, which are bombproof and trouble-free. (I may have had 2-3 broken spokes from overshooting into the spokes on occasion, but that was fixed with re-lacing the rear with new spokes.)
Run wider 28-32mm tires and you will give the rims more protection: wider tires with lower PSI (say, 80-90 PSI on 700 x 28 or 60-70 on 32s) will offer a more comfy ride on tougher pavement without risking your rims. Lacing them 3x may help, too.

I am looking at a set of 28H Open Pros for my upcoming Ed Litton made-to-measure bike: the rims are strong enough to take my 165 pounds on Mavic 500-series sealed hubs with 700 x 28 Panaracer Paselas for the "classic" drivetrain side of that bike. (I will also have a Campi 10-speed triple drivetrain most of the time...)

Have fun!

Jon

Brocephus

I had a set of 28-h Open Pros on a Cannondale, years ago when I only weighed around 170-175, and I still busted spokes !! To be fair, they weren't built by Co. Cyclist ( and most of my road wheels back then were 32h Open Pros, that were built by Co. Cyclist).
At your weight of 195, and the riding you say you'll do, I wouldn't put them through it, and trust that they'll hold up. Better to sell them while they're still solid, and get something beefier IMHO.

masi61

This is a bit of a zombie thread as I had posted this question 2 years ago. Decisions have been made. I ended up not using the Dura Ace 9000 hubs yet. But I had my LBS (master wheelbuilder) mechanic build up some really clean used Dura Ace 7700 hubs using the lighter weight butted DT Swiss stainless spokes 2x front and rear with aluminum (red anodized) spoke nipples. The wheels are built and I have 1600 miles on them on my Veritas titanium road bike. These are being used for faster group rides in the country and haven’t been plugged into commuter use. They have stayed true so far and I still weigh right @ ~ 195#. The total wheelset weight without skewers or cassette was about as light as any wheelset I have ridden (with clinchers that is), right around 1550 grams.

I did hit a blind, deep set of 2 oval shaped pot holes in the middle of the road last week during a group ride where I was drafting in close proximity and did not see the holes until I was right on top of them. I managed a straight line bunny hop with no of control but I think each wheel took a strike. My rear might have gone out of true ever so slightly, I’ll have to double check.

Handmade wheels like this are are really great. My wheelbuilder does a follow up stress relief and re-tension and true at no charge for the first year after he builds wheels. He has built up 5 or 6 sets for me now and that extra step where you take them back really is confidence inspiring.

BTW: since the interior rim width on these is the older narrow dimension of like 13mm, I have elected to just run 23 mm tires on the Open Pros with good results so far. The tires are TUFO Calibra and the tubes are Vittoria latex. The combination, along with my titanium frame and Ritchey “Flexlogic” seatpost and elastomer Turbomatic saddle gives a fast yet well damped ride .

nomadmax 

I think you can ride 28 hole rims all day long because you know how to "ride light".

davidad

210 to 225 pounds for the vehicle weight is a little much for 28 spokes and those rims.