Wheel Upgrade Advice

[Maherees]

Hello all,
i've had a couple of wheels issues (spokes and buckling) with the OED wheels that came with my Boardman SLR 8.9 Disc and was wondering if there was any recommendations out there for the 15+ stone rider (wheel-wise not weight loss!).
I have Hunt wheels on my Tempest which are perfect but want more road orientated wheels for this bike.
thanks

 

[vickster]

Handbuilts from Spa? They can advise

Or Hunt do a road wheel with 32 spokes
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-4-season-superdura-disc-wheelset

 

[Sallar55]

Aren't Hunt wheels just rebranded rims and hubs?

 

[I like Skol]

O/E wheels can be shockingly bad, it's one area manufacturers can compromise without it initially screaming CHEAP at the buyer!

I'm 14-14.5 stone and don't struggle with good wheels, but have had probably worse than 50% success rate with O/E wheels failing early in life due to snapping spokes, spokes coming undone or rims splitting at the nipple holes. Funnily enough, they seem to remain true until this starts to happen?

15st isn't into heavyweight territory IMO so standard wheel formats should suffice if the build quality and component choice are right. I build my own wheels but I suggest you speak to a reputable wheel builder and get some handbuilts made up. Probably Shimano hubs (Tiagra/105/Ultegra depending on your wallet or to match your bike's components) with maybe 28 spokes front and 32 in the rear wheel? Builder will suggest a suitable rim if you don't know what you want. Spokes I would ALWAYS suggest Swiss DT butted as these are very common but almost bullet proof and universally available should any replacements ever be needed. I've got wheels I built 10-15yrs ago to this recipe that have never needed as much as a spoke tweaking despite my hooligan riding tendencies.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I too would recommend hand builts with at least 32 spokes rear. I’ve built my own wheels since 2014 and haven’t had one fail since then.

 

[ianrauk]

As what @vickster has said.
Give Spa Cycles a call and have a chat with them. they are brilliantly helpful and can advice what would be good for you. Their prices are very reasonable and the wheel top notch.