CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

More bad advice needed (wheels, this time)

(7 posts)

  1. Greenroofer
    Member

    My bike for going on adventures is a B'Twin Triban 540, with which I am very happy. It currently has 20-spoke 622x17 Mavic Aksium wheels.

    My plans for 2017 include extending beyond my current 200km record, so I'm contemplating new wheels with (a) a dynamo and (b)more spokes for strength and reliability.

    So, the bad advice I'm after is:
    1) What brand of dynamo is good for 300km+ 'audax' type events? Does it have to be SON, or will Shimano do?
    2) What rims should I get. Some advice seems to be 'Mavic Open Pro' but other advice is that they are old hat now.

    Go on you siren voices of long distance cycling, tempt me into new feats of endurance with your whispered words of bad advice...

    Posted 7 years ago #

  2. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I suppose any brand of dynamo is good for 300km audaxes. I think Laid Back has supplied some that aren't SON or Shimano, maybe Shutter Precision? Does marginally higher off-current resistance lead to deficiencies of seconds or minutes over that distance, if a dynamo is only requiring a power input in single digits? Sturmey-Archer also does a couple of models, both disc and non-disc.

    I'm happy with the Velocity A23 rims I got via LB, but there is very little in it really compared with something like a Mavic A719. Mine have always been 36 hole – but I'm sometimes putting a camping load onto the bike, rather than going for light weight above all else.

    You could fit a fabric wheel cover on the back if aerodynamics were part of the equation.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  3. gembo
    Member

    I think shimano cheaper as it can come on the wheel already whereas SON require wheel build too?

    Posted 7 years ago #

  4. amir
    Member

    I've had Open Pro rims for some time now and they've been fine (audax and commuting use). For the summer bike I've now got a H plus Archetype rim on ultegra hub on the back. This is very nice, looking a little more flashy than the open pro, being semi aero and wider. The latter is meant to make it more comfortable. I'm not sure if I'd use the same setup with the front wheel as I'm a bit nervous with bigger rims catching cross winds

    Posted 7 years ago #

  5. steveo
    Member

    I went with the shutter precision hub in the end as its marginally lighter and marginally more powerful (and I was feeling flush). The £30-£40 saving could be better used and the 200g could come from elsewhere.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  6. Dave
    Member

    We have had Sturmey Archer, 2x Shutter Precision and a Shimano dynamo in the fleet.

    I swap between bikes with an SP dynamo and the Deore one and I can't tell the difference. If you're budget minded, I would expect an off-the-shelf one with a Shimano hub to save a useful amount of cash.

    There are definitely better rims than the Open Pro I think, although it would be fine if you can only fit narrow tyres. Not sure what the clearance is on your bike, but I like wider rims now, and wider tyres on them.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  7. algo
    Member

    I am not a sporty cyclist at all, but I have DT Swiss rims on mine, but they are 36 spoke and intended for a reasonable amount of loading (TK540 I think) - they are probably too heavy but they do other rims too which are very highly regarded on the continent. I know very little about these things though. I built the wheel with an Shimano XT dynamo hub - i.e. the best Shimano one, which was something like 3 times cheaper than the SON. It works great for me and I've done night rides with imperceptible resistance....

    Posted 7 years ago #

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