LHT 26" wheels

[nifty950]

I'm sorry to open another topic about wheels, but I'm so overwhelmed by information!  I come from a century/road race background, which has totally different wheel requirements than touring.

I bought a Surly LHT frame on Craigslist and I'm building it up.  I've made a decision about all the components except the wheels.  Realistically, I'm not going to be using this bike as a loaded tourer for a few years.  I'm buying the bike now so I don't have an excuse when life stops getting in the way.

So it's pretty much going to be a commuter/townie for a while, with a possibility of a short, semi-supported tour (150 miles one-way) this fall.

Instead of just buying some crappy wheels for now, I think I would rather get the real thing.  I doubt I'm going to wear them out before I'm ready to tour.  I'm 145 lbs and I doubt I'll ever carry more than 50 pounds fully loaded. I think I've decided on Deore LX hubs and Mavic A719 rims.    I haven't had any luck finding that combination in a 26" wheel.  700c would be no problem at all! 

So I'm wondering...does anyone know where I could find these, or maybe has some for sale or knows of a wheelbuilder that would do this well?  Or has other suggestions for what hub/rim combination to look for in 26" rims?

Thanks!
Blair

[Pat Lamb]

If you're not in a rush, most wheel builders can order anything you want.  I'm assuming the Mavic 719 in 26" is what's limiting you.  Don't know what the importer is importing this year, that could make it a long wait if they're not stocking that rim in the U.S.

Sun CR-18 can also be built into a stout wheel.  Sun rims are less expensive, but sometimes a bit more difficult to build into a straight, evenly tensioned wheel.  A good builder will get it there -- and then it will last for a very long time.

Shimano had some problems a while back with the casting on their LX hubs, although those may have cleared the distribution system by now.  XT hubs are slightly more expensive, but they're pretty much bullet-proof.

[nifty950]

Thanks, Pat!

I'm somewhat intrigued by the CR18s.  Looking at reviews, it seems like MTBs kill them, but everyone else is happy.  Since I'm not a MTBer, I will definitely consider them.

[RussSeaton]

Any Shimano hubs should be fine.  And about any aluminum heavy duty rim should be fine.  Name brand or unknown brand, doubt it makes too much difference when building a heavy duty wheel.  You're not looking for high tech, super strong, lightest, thinnest, newest rims.  You are looking for basic, heavy duty, thick aluminum rims made out of the same aluminum that has been produced for 50 years.  I've had good luck with Alex brand rims.  Friend used a Velocity Dyad rim on a rear tandem recently.  48 spoke so its probably strong enough.  Had some Mavic Open Pro rims that cracked at the eyelets.  So I don't like Mavic rims.

[DaveB]

Had some Mavic Open Pro rims that cracked at the eyelets.  So I don't like Mavic rims.

The earliest rim failure I ever had was with a Mavic Open 4CD which cracked at 11,000 miles but I've also had marvelous service from two sets of Mavic CXP-33 rims which are still going strong at over 35,000 miles each so you really can't generalize.

[chuckwagon]

Here's another unscientific data point for your mulling. I did the TransAm on a standard road bike with the stock Mavic Cosmos wheels. I had no wheel issues (and only 5-6 flats). I'm 165 pounds. I think it helped that I had a trailer, which took considerable load off the bike. A riding buddy had a nice touring bike (I think Cannondale) with touring wheels and panniers and broke two spokes. But he carried a couple spare, and it wasn't a huge deal for him to replace them. All part of this sort of outing. (Most if not all of our flats were due to tiny wire fragments of steel belted car tires on the shoulder.)

Good luck and happy riding.