Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I've decided to treat my trusty 1980s Dawes to a new pair of wheels. The ones it has at the moment are of dubious provenance (each has a long story, both are a bit crap), and I want to experiment with bigger tyres and also dabble with tubeless tyres.
Why bigger tyres? Well, I've discovered that that's what the bike likes (see herefor a load of gushing pretentious rot on the subject).
Why tubeless? I'm just curious really. If I don't like them then I can just run ordinary tyres & tubes on the same rims (that is true isn't it?)
So to the wheels. What are my requirements?
Do different makes of tubeless tyres require different rims?
Any freehub compatibility problems between the 8 and 10 speed cassettes?
I'm just beginning a web search for wheels and rims, it's all a bit confusing. Any suggestions?
2017 may also be the year I attempt to cold-set the frame of my Dawes to make rear wheel replacement less of a physical battle. But that's another story entirely.
Why bigger tyres? Well, I've discovered that that's what the bike likes (see herefor a load of gushing pretentious rot on the subject).
Why tubeless? I'm just curious really. If I don't like them then I can just run ordinary tyres & tubes on the same rims (that is true isn't it?)
So to the wheels. What are my requirements?
- I want to run tyres up to 32mm (I think that's as much as the frame can take). I think, from Sheldon's chart a 17mm rim would be in order.
- I want to run tubeless tyres. I'm thinking of going with 30mm Schwalbe One tubeless tyres. But that's just because Schwalbe One is the only brand of tubeless I know about.
- I'm not a performance rider and the bike in question weighs a ton (Ginormous Reynolds 500 plain guage Cro-Mo frame) so lightweight aero performance wheels aren't what I'm looking for.
- I'm a heavy rider (I'm about 92kg) my bike is quite heavy, and I carry a lot of heavy things like pork pies, tools and so on so lotsa spokes is the order of the day.
- I run an 8 speed Shimano cassette on the bike (I can only use 7 of those because it's an old frame, but that's another story).
- I may want to transfer the wheels to my best bike, which currently runs a 10 speed cassette and has 105 hubs. So I want a freehub that will handle both.
- My best bike has handbuilt wheels (Mavic Open Pro rims/105 hubs) and I've been happy with them, so I'm inclined to get a pair built, but I'm also open to buying a factory-built wheelset.
- I'm thinking, on the basis that they've never given me any problems, that 105 hubs may be the thing to go for.
- My riding is best described as long and trundly. All day rides up to and beyond 200km.
- This is likely to be my only big-ish cycling purchase for 2017, so I'm not going to be scrimping. I see that Spa charge £150-£300 for their handbuilt wheelsets (but I've no idea about the suitability of the various components they offer). I'd be happy to pay the upper end of that.
- And yes, my current wheels are 622mm rims. They aren't old 27" ones.
Do different makes of tubeless tyres require different rims?
Any freehub compatibility problems between the 8 and 10 speed cassettes?
I'm just beginning a web search for wheels and rims, it's all a bit confusing. Any suggestions?
2017 may also be the year I attempt to cold-set the frame of my Dawes to make rear wheel replacement less of a physical battle. But that's another story entirely.