Which Bicycle Wheels Are Best for Heavier Riders?

I’m just confused as to why ANYONE, particularly a wheel manufacturer with other options would recommend a carbon rimmed wheel for loaded touring.

Jacob,

That is exactly what I thought while reading this. Everyone, including me, seems to think carbon is bad in general for touring, but I’m not entirely sure why that is. If the carbon wheel is stronger, then isn’t it better for touring? If your rim cracks, I think you’re going to be replacing it regardless of what material it’s made out of.

The same goes for frames. I know some people say that carbon frames are bad for touring because they can’t be repaired, but unless you’re deep into the third world, are you really going to have your touring bike repaired during your tour if the frame fails?

Are there some other reasons that carbon is bad for touring that I’m not seeing?

Thanks for this post!

While I’m not in the 250lb range, I do qualify as a clydesdale. I go through wheels quicker than any other major component. I’ve tried wheels on my road bike that have low spoke counts and my experience is they don’t last too long. I’m not a fan of the funky lacing patterns like on the Rolfs. Once you break one of the spokes, it’s game over for your ride and probably the wheel as well. While I was waiting on replacement rim, spokes, and nipples from Mavic for my Ksyriums, I picked up an inexpensive pair of Fulcrum Racing 7s. Two years later, I’m still rocking them and they have yet to be trued. This is putting in about 2500-3000 road miles each year too. Once I rebuilt the Mavic, I sold the set. The Fulcrums certainly aren’t the lightest, but in my experience they’ve been bombproof which I’ll take over saving some grams.

For my mountain bike, 32 hole Stan’s Arch rims, triple butted DT Super Comp spokes, and high quality hubs (Hope and Profile Racing) have been a winning combo for me. I still have to true them once in a while, but that probably has as much to do with my ‘ride it like you stole’ style as it does my weight. I got two full years of riding and racing out of the first set that was built with the lighter ZTR 355 rims, not bad for a 29er wheelset that weighed around 1500g. The current set built with the Arches and Profile hubs is around 1800g, but most of the weight gain was in the hubs, so it’s not rotational. The Arches are notably stiffer than the 355s too.

Wow all these years of thinking I was fat when I was really just “powerful.” I ride Fulcrum Racing One’s on the road and Fulcrum Red Metal One’s in the dirt. Both are absolutely bulletproof. I do wish that Fulcrum would come out with a wider rim for bigger tires though….

Great article.

How about a set of MadFiber wheels super light and totally bomb proof. No limit on weight.
Supposedly a clincher version coming around March.

Yes, a topic I have a lot of experience with. I started cycling when I was about 380lbs and I have damaged some wheel sets. I started off stock 36 spoke wheel set on my bike. Nothing special, just 36 spoke with double wall rims. I then tried some Mavic sets. I ended up cracking the rims laterally at all the spoke holes. I finally said enough is enough. I had a custom wheel set built. I’m using White Industry MI5 hubs laced 4x to some Salsa Gordo rims. They are 40 spoke. These wheels have been nearly bullet proof. I did have a pannier mishap that did result in me having to have the spokes re-tensioned. It was my fault, so I can’t say that the wheels have let me down at all.

I plan on re-purposing these wheels on a Big Dummy build in the near future.

Oh yeah, I’m down to 300lbs now. Hooray for cycling.

Dave really hit the nail on the head re:heat dissipation. I ride carbon rims on my road bike, but do a decent amount of loaded touring and the dissipation issue/increased rate of brake pad wear (at a not huge 160lbs) makes the idea seem pretty ridiculous, especially for a more “powerful” rider.

I am 6’6″ and weigh 240lbs. Rim cracks, broken spokes, and constant truing every few hundred miles sums up my many past problems with low spoke count alloy rimed wheels’ durability. By experience I have found the best combination for me is Velocity Deep V rims laced to Ultegra hubs with 32 Sapim CX-Ray spokes each. So far I have build up 2 sets for myself and 1 for a friend of similar weight. Thousands of miles of touring, road, and trail riding later they are all as true as when first built. While they are not the lightest wheels I have owned, they are the least expensive and most reliable.

I’m 6’4 and currently out of shape at around 275lbs, usually I’m closer to 235-240lbs. I ride Chris King CX hubs laced to KinLin XR-300 Rims (32/32) with DT Competition spokes 3x front and rear drive side with alloy nipples on the front and brass on the rear drive side. On the rear non drive side I have DT Revolution 3x with alloy nipples. On my cross bike I have Chris King Classic Hubs laced the same way to Velocity A23 Rims. Actually the front is an R45 28H. These wheels have been great. I previously had Mavic Ksyrium Elite’s in 2005-6 and they were the crappiest wheels I had ever ridden. I weighed closer to 210 then also. The rear never stayed true, I warrantied them twice. Mavic’s warranty was terrible so I honestly can’t say anything positive about Mavic. I’m sure they’ve improved their design since, but I had such a poor experience with their product and customer service that I don’t recommend or support them anymore. For what it’s worth I had a set of Mavic Cosmic Equipes back when I was a 160lb junior in like 98 or around then. Those wheels had the same problem with the rear becoming detensioned all the time. Chris King on the other hand has been fantastic to work with whenever I’ve had questions. The best part is that their hubs have been completely trouble free for me as well. Chris King may be a bit on the pricey side but you get what you pay for –great product and great company.

The general rule of thumb for any riders over 180 lbs is aluminum rims, 32 spoke straight pull spokes, with quality hubs. Obviously you don’t want to use tripple butted spokes or your wheels will feel extremely flexy. Wheel durability has a lot to do with the how much finese the rider has and how he treats his bike. If a rider thinks his bike is a Sherman Tank then he is going to go through a lot of componets regardless of his weight.

My Yeti ASR7 came with Mavic Crossline, these were good but not perfect, needed alignment in various opportunities, now in my Ibis HD I asked to Universal Cycles assembly a pair of Stans Arch with Hope Evo hubs and Sapim CX spokes, these whells rocks and hold more hits than my last Crossline set in the same trails, I weight with gear @ 270lb so I can give a good comparisson from the Crossline to the Arch+Sapim+Hope set.

Mavic really come through here.

The carbon wheels are a silly choice and a blatant attempt to sell high priced wheels when others would do far better.
I’m 270 and 6’4″ and have no issues with Mavic Open pros, 32 spoke, Dura Ace hubs.

Nice to see so many opinions on wheels, seems like most say good old traditional wheels are the strongest.
What’s the Rolf guy on about though? How would pairing spokes make it stronger? Spreading the load evenly seems pretty obvious even to a kid. And over building the rim to take the super high (uneven) tension doesn’t make much sense either. Guess they look pretty though…

If your’re worried about heat dissipation and better stopping – run disc brakes.

Since when is Mavic “plain, simple, honest”? They are still touting R-Sys.

I weigh 300 lbs. I had my bicycle dealer custom build a Mavic aluminum road Rim (I’m not sure what model, 25mm Continental’s heaviest 25mm tire. So far, no problems.

“I know some people say that carbon frames are bad for touring because they can’t be repaired”

I think this is based more on rather ancient experiences rather than current facts. In fact, carbon frames are quite easy to fix, as easy as steel, and far easier than aluminum. I repaired my Orbea Orca (a hole in one of the triangles), and it was usable within a day, and stronger than the original layout (and I am a 185 pounder). Many people in their right minds actually do go on extended tours with carbon equipped bikes (frames, wheels and other components)–I know I do, with five carbon MTBs in the stable and two carbon Roadies. Haven’t had a problem I can’t fix yet, with thousands of miles under my belt. I love the flex of a good carbon frame, and the rough road absorption of a good carbon wheel–makes those long hauls much more comfortable–that and my old school Brook B17 saddles on each an every one of them…

I am in the planning stage of designing a bicycle camper. Have no idea as to how heavy the camper will be or the tongue weight that the bike will have to take. I am currently 355lbs…Hopefully by the time I test ride the camper my weight will drop a great deal. I need a bike wheel that will NOT be destroyed with the weight of a fully loaded camper (with me inside from time to time) and also the bike – – – I’ll be using the same wheel and tire for the bike and camper.

Anyone with any ideas of where to I may find info on these things is greatly appreciated.

Now for some advice based on experience… As I said I am 431lbs and I ride 4/5 times a week in order to drop weight and it is working… so as I write this I a losing weight but my experience should still be pretty valid.
I ride mainly road and have a Specialized Allez Comp but the stock wheels (Mavic Aksium) lasted about two weeks… so I upgraded to the following:
• Mavic Open Pro 36h rim
• Double Butted Sapim spokes
• Brass nipples
• Hope Pro III Hubs
This was ok but I still broke the odd spoke so I dropped the double butted and went for 2mm straight gauge.
This is a good combination but @ 431lbs I still buckle the wheels through potholes and driving hard up hills so I have two rear wheels and I swap them every month or so and get the used wheel trued and tensioned at my LBS.
The LBS are under strict instructions that the wheel must be perfect, with a high tension setting and that no spoke can me more than 10% out from any other spoke and I check them with a tension meter.

Paul,
Regarding your request for advice based on practical experience with the brands mentioned in your post:

I average around 275 pounds and do four or five weeks of light weight touring each year. I currently own several sets of wheels using Shimano and White Industry hubs. Two sets are built with HED Belgium (one set 24 by 28 and one set 24 by 32); one set has Kinlin R300’s (24 by 32); and one set with Mavic Open Pro (36 by 36). All but the Mavic’s are built with CX-Ray. The Mavic are double butted DT Swiss (2.0 1.8 2.0)

I have never had a problem with any of the hubs. I like the WI better because I found the free hub ratchet quieter (opinions vary) and the TI free hub seems to be more resistant to notching from the cogs. Notching will be an issue when a big guy climbs out of the saddle.

I have had no problem with the lower spoke count HED’s. Each pair has about 5000 miles.

I had a rear drive side spoke hole failure on the Kinlin but it was not a fatigue issue (spoke got caught in the peddle of an adjacent bike when be lifted off a bike rack). It is interesting to note the rim failed before the CX-Ray spoke. I detensioned the adjacent non drive side spokes and rode that rim with a missing spoke for the next two days of touring until I could purchase a replacement wheel. Note I was in the middle of nowhere and the replacement wheel was the only thing the shop had; a cheap machine built, straight gauge, 36 hole Mavic that required tensioning every other day for the remaining two weeks of the tour. This is not meant to be a disparaging comment about Mavic but a comment that high spoke count wheels are worth nothing if they are not properly built and tensioned.

I have had the worst luck with the Open Pros as, regardless of how highly and evenly tensioned the wheel was built, the rear would need retrueing within a couple of hundred miles. The pair of Open Pros I have seem to have a flat spot around the weld and are the only box section rim I have ever owned that I had difficulty maintain roundness on when retruing. You can definitely over tension this wheel.

I believe the biggest thing one can do as a heavier rider to improve wheel life is to ride bigger tires. I typically ride C25 to C28 in front and C28 to C32 in the rear. Vittoria makes a lot of very nice tires in these sizes with high quality (150 TPI) casings.

If I was in your case and trying to build an inexpensive set of wheels to ride, I would get your existing Shimano hubs rebuilt and then have a set of Kinlin XR300’s built up with DT Swiss or Sapim double butted spokes. Your local shop should be able to do this for less than US$250 in parts and labor. If I had another hundred I would spring for the HED Belgiums. Get a new set of C28 tires and you are ready to roll.

I have Mavic cross 24 spoke rims and as I was driving the hub at the back just locked, at home striped the hub thinking the bearing broke just to discover the hub broke the area where the gears fits on cracked all around the spokes. what might be the reason for this

Try tandem wheels if you weigh 250 pounds or more as they are built to carry double the weight of a normal size rider. Tandem wheels usually cost a lot though but are worth it as they have a long lifespan when used on a normal bike.

For ALL heavy Riders Look at Ryde Wheels DP18 for road use really strong Iam 120kg put these wheels true some serious abuse no truing needed about 1400km
For DH/AM http://www.xerowheel.com/wheels.php?id=50 look at this link no more worry’s ligth and strong I made 13 foot drop with these wheels couple of times and A few staircases 3step downs about 6 meters up total and know issues. Not really famous brand but great wheels.

Velocity Deep V wheelset is a fantastic option for heavier riders. I know this article is old, but the rolf Prima with 16/20 spokes gave me a good laugh.