planickam

Hi, I'm 280, ride prob 80-100 miles a week on a Trek Domane, disc brakes. I have historically blown through wheels, broke spokes, etc.

My questions: would a carbon rim be better/ stronger for a big guy? Or, should I have a wheel hand built (more spokes, deep V alloy rim, etc)? I don't know enough about specs, just don't want the spokes breaking constantly.

Thanks for any advice, sorry if this has been covered before.

Grudey1

I have a 2019 Trek Domane SL5. In June of 2020 ordered a set of custom-built wheels from ProWheelBulider.com since, at the time, I was closer to 300. The rims are DT Swiss RR 521 with 32 holes. Three-cross lacing. Heavy gauge single-butted spokes White Industries hubs.

I have had ZERO issues. The wheels have never needed trued. At the time it cost me under $900 all-in for the complete set. I highly recommend.

MikeM21

I just bought a set of wheels from ProWheelbuilder. Velocity Atlas rims, 36 spoke, DT Swiss 340 hubs. Love them so far. They are on my commuter and haven't gotten a lot of usage since I got them in January, but they feel rock solid. PWB was great to deal with too. About $650 for the set.

I'm 6'!" about 260-270 lbs lately.

beng1

You should be talking to manufacturers about their wheels, not people on internet forums.

cyccommute 

Like a broken record, I’ll say this yet again…rims don’t do anything for wheel strength. They are a convenient place to put tires and a place to hold the spokes in place but they do nothing for wheel strength. You say you’ve broken spokes in the past. Fixing broken spokes by replacing the rim is akin to putting your leg in a cast when your arm is broken.

The spokes breaking are the problem. Address that problem by using stronger spokes. To begin, I would ditch any proprietary, low spoke count wheels. You want at least 32 spoke wheels and probably 36 spoke wheels. For spokes…remember that is the problem…use something like DT Alpine III spokes. This article explains why you should use this kind of spoke. You can even use a 32 spoke wheel with this kind of spoke and get strength at least equivalent to a regular double butted 36 spoke wheel and possibly more. There is very little weight penalty…like 7 g total…for going in this direction.

I use Alpine III (and similar triple butted spokes from Pillar) exclusively in my wheel builds. I’m not quite your size but close and I load up bikes with extra gear to go ride around the country. I even load up mountain bikes and go ride rocky downhills with extra load. I haven’t broken a spoke is several years, despite my best efforts.

Use a carbon rim if you want but start with the spokes