When planning a tour I usually eye up the road bike but always end up taking the touring bike, with it's heavy duty wheelset instead. Has anyone taken the plunge and toured with modern, low spoke count wheels? How did it work out for you?
Not happened yet but we are doing LEJOG next year. My road bike has lightweight 20 spoke front/24 spoke back Mavics. I'm getting something like 30 spoke wheels built even though we are B&Bing and thus travelling light. Of all the relatively common mechanical failures on a bike, a broken spoke is one of the most inconvenient. I guess it may come down to where you're touring. There are parts of the Highlands of Scotland where I will be 30 miles from a bike shop and a broken spoke there will be a real pain.When planning a tour I usually eye up the road bike but always end up taking the touring bike, with it's heavy duty wheelset instead. Has anyone taken the plunge and toured with modern, low spoke count wheels? How did it work out for you?
Thanks, I'm heading off on Shimano RS20 wheels. They're cheap but feel really firm to ride on and reviews say they're strong. Having 3 bikes to upkeep, I'd like to give this a go rather than upgrade immediately. I'm going to give them a go in France, where the road surfaces are decent and take around 8kg luggage. (I'm 72kg)A few years ago I did a ride from Durness to Dover using as much off-road as possible, I had a 24 flat spoke Mavic on the rear, I weight 15 stone plus full camping gear, and had no problems the spokes remain tuned as they did from day one. The same wheel has also rolled across South East Asia and part of Africa and never let me down. I have another bike with Halo SAS 36 spoked wheel on the back and that has had quite a few spokes break; I just guess it’s the luck of the draw.
Thanks for confirming my vague idea.The problem with low spoke wheels are that if a spoke breaks then the wheel goes out of true very easily. Trying to then true the rim with the remaining spokes becomes an exercise in frustration. With more 32 or 36 spokes a broken spoke is rarely a big deal and you can keep on riding. Low spoke wheels are rarely lighter as they need heavier rims, and spokes weigh very little in comparison.
I'm surprised that you didn't mention that you were forced to abandon your Scarborough forum ride this year when one of your spokes broke just before the first cafe stop!Not happened yet but we are doing LEJOG next year. My road bike has lightweight 20 spoke front/24 spoke back Mavics. I'm getting something like 30 spoke wheels built even though we are B&Bing and thus travelling light. Of all the relatively common mechanical failures on a bike, a broken spoke is one of the most inconvenient. I guess it may come down to where you're touring. There are parts of the Highlands of Scotland where I will be 30 miles from a bike shop and a broken spoke there will be a real pain.
I wouldn't choose a wheel for comfort - choose bigger tyres and lower pressures for that!How comfortable are low spoke wheels with deeper section rims?