Some advice on Wheels.

[Parsley]

Hey folks, I've ordered a Gravel bike to get back into cycling as an all rounder. I'll be commuting on it occasionally and I really do hope to get a lot of use out of it over the weekends as well. I do a fair bit of exercise and I want something new to add into the routine.

Anyhow, what I feel lets the bike down are the wheels. This is what it will come with.

https://www.fulcrumwheels.com/en/support/ruote-oem-en/racing-800-db

I do intend to get use out of them and see how they feel, I'm not going to put new wheels on the bike straight away!

However, I'm trying to get an idea of how much it will eventually cost me to upgrade to something better. I'm quite heavy at 105kg (though I'm intending to drop another 5-10... see how that goes ) and will potentially doing some weekend touring / bike packing, so the wheels need to take that sort of weight. My current tyres are 38s, though obviously I can change them. I don't really have a preference for 650 or 700s.

I don't want to get into the realm of silly money, I want value for money in terms of quality though. Not the cheapest as I do want them to last.

This is the sort of wheel I was looking at.

https://www.huntbikewheels.com/prod...469g-30deep-27wide-999?variant=21358608547917

Is this the right ballpark to be in?

Cheers.

 

[SoliD]

Unless you're racing save your money, lose your weight and kill the wheels! If you do proper gravel year round the wheels will need bearings every year.

Yeah you'll go quicker on the new ones but it'd be best to invest in more gear to support your adventuring.

Ps hunt wheels are one of many wheel manufacturers out there using fairly average hubs on OK rims and selling at a fairly significant price for the carbon versions. I've got 2 sets and they've been OK, but have had the odd issue with quality. Yes they've been fixed but wouldn't expect it when you're spending that amount of money.

 

[Parsley]

Unless you're racing save your money, lose your weight and kill the wheels! If you do proper gravel year round the wheels will need bearings every year.

Yeah you'll go quicker on the new ones but it'd be best to invest in more gear to support your adventuring.

Ps hunt wheels are one of many wheel manufacturers out there using fairly average hubs on OK rims and selling at a fairly significant price for the carbon versions. I've got 2 sets and they've been OK, but have had the odd issue with quality. Yes they've been fixed but wouldn't expect it when you're spending that amount of money.

Cheers, that's exactly the sort of advice I was looking for. I really don't have much knowledge when it comes to bikes .

I'm not racing, I'd call it a mix of leisure riding at a fairly decent pace with the occasional bit of actual exercise thrown in. It's all for fun and variety really.

So those Fulcrums are going to be solid enough? That's probably my major concern, that I'm not riding on cheese that I'll bend or buckle. They're clearly on the budget end but if it just means they're a bit heavier I can deal with that.

 

[SoliD]

The wheels will be fine 28 spokes each end will take plenty of abuse!

 

[bimbleuk]

If you were running skinny tyres then maybe you would benefit from a stronger rim but 38s will provide plenty of protection to the rims. What's wrong with the current wheels anyway they cost as much as my new Genesis CDA 30 gravel bike

I've had to up the tyres from 28s to 35s on my Genesis because I swap in a powered rear wheel for commuting so adding a battery doubles the weight of the bike. I broke a couple of spokes on the powered rear wheel until I fitted 38s and lowered the pressure to 40 PSI. The spokes are shorter than normal due to the hub though.

 

[Parsley]

The wheels will be fine 28 spokes each end will take plenty of abuse!

Great . Cheers friendo.

If you were running skinny tyres then maybe you would benefit from a stronger rim but 38s will provide plenty of protection to the rims. What's wrong with the current wheels anyway they cost as much as my new Genesis CDA 30 gravel bike

I've had to up the tyres from 28s to 35s on my Genesis because I swap in a powered rear wheel for commuting so adding a battery doubles the weight of the bike. I broke a couple of spokes on the powered rear wheel until I fitted 38s and lowered the pressure to 40 PSI. The spokes are shorter than normal due to the hub though.

Nothing wrong with them, I just looked them up and saw the price of other things and made an assumption that I came here to query. Cycling is another rabbit hole to go down with rapidly diminishing returns that's for sure. I'll just leave them alone and find other things to waste money on like seat posts or gold coloured chains....

Though seriously, I think I'll just enjoy the bike for a bit now and see if I feel the need to change anything later on.

 

[SoliD]

Spend more money on your bib shorts and shoes, they last an age and stop the bits that are mostly interacting with the bike from pain.

 

[Parsley]

Already sorted!

 

[Bear]

Those Fulcrums have a max weight limit of 120Kgs, so at 105kgs plus the bike say 9kgs leaves you 6kgs worth of equipment for bike packing / touring. Doesnt sound much but as you say, you're aiming to lose some weight so that will allow you to carry more or just go more minimalist

 

[Begbie]

Unless you're racing save your money, lose your weight and kill the wheels! If you do proper gravel year round the wheels will need bearings every year.

Yeah you'll go quicker on the new ones but it'd be best to invest in more gear to support your adventuring.

Ps hunt wheels are one of many wheel manufacturers out there using fairly average hubs on OK rims and selling at a fairly significant price for the carbon versions. I've got 2 sets and they've been OK, but have had the odd issue with quality. Yes they've been fixed but wouldn't expect it when you're spending that amount of money.

Hunt done well to build a lot of hype/media attention - I know a few people who've dented them early on or totally taco'd them. Most wheels all share the same hubs and rims, with different advertising.

I can highly reccomend DTSwiss, but as above I'd only change if mine blew up.

Spend more money on your bib shorts and shoes, they last an age and stop the bits that are mostly interacting with the bike from pain.

Also this.

 

[SoliD]

Hunt done well to build a lot of hype/media attention - I know a few people who've dented them early on or totally taco'd them. Most wheels all share the same hubs and rims, with different advertising.

I can highly reccomend DTSwiss, but as above I'd only change if mine blew up.



Also this.

Indeed, I've dented 2 rims from them when they've been in the back of the car with only other spare sets of wheels. Luckily both minor and can still be used tubeless but frustrating nonetheless

 

[Parsley]

Those Fulcrums have a max weight limit of 120Kgs, so at 105kgs plus the bike say 9kgs leaves you 6kgs worth of equipment for bike packing / touring. Doesnt sound much but as you say, you're aiming to lose some weight so that will allow you to carry more or just go more minimalist

Yeah I'm not exactly a lightweight. I've always travelled / hiked light though, so that isn't really an issue moving things onto a bike.

As an aside, if I did screw my wheels up because of my weight and riding like an oaf, what would any of you recommend for something that isn't outrageously heavy that could take say... 130-140kgs perhaps? Just for more breathing room.

 

[Parsley]

I think something like these are good to have in mind.

https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheels-road/gravel/gr-1600-spline

Thanks again for the chatter, at least I have an idea should I need to investigate more in the future.

 

[Bear]

I think something like these are good to have in mind.

https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheels-road/gravel/gr-1600-spline

Thanks again for the chatter, at least I have an idea should I need to investigate more in the future.

They have a max limit of 130kgs so it gives you some more headroom should you need it

 

[mattyfez]

I'd suggest don't go for a low spoke count like 28...and if buying online take them to a trusted wheel builder to check the tensions on the spokes.

 

[nrh1703]

I haven't checked the weight limits (never a problem for my 60kg frame) but have bene happy with a couple of Mavic wheelsets, not crazy expensive but felt good, especially compared to the WTB i23s that came with my gravel bike, and easy to set up tubeless. Have one set of Aksium Elite USTs for road tyres and more recently Allroad S for gravel tyres. The latter doesn't need rim tape because the spokes are connected differently which was a selling point for me, one less thing to worry about. Done about 5000km on the Aksiums with no issues, only a couple of hundred on the Allroad.