24 spoke wheels

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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don1
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24 spoke wheels

Post by don1 »

Hi. My Croix de Fer has a Shimano RX31 wheelset. Whilst these are great for the majority of the riding I do, I've not yet done any heavy loaded touring on them. They've only got 24 spokes so I'm unsure if they're really suitable.

What are your thoughts ? Should I be thinking of a different wheelset for touring ?
Does anybody have any wheelset suggestions that wouldn't break the bank ?
mercalia
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by mercalia »

you need to tell us how much you weigh?
don1
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by don1 »

I'm 15 stone.
don1
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by don1 »

I forgot to add. I'm running disc brakes.
simonhill
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by simonhill »

That sounds like a pretty heavy load for 24 spokes. Most people would be wondering whether 32 or 36. Also, I imagine your rims are pretty lightweight as well.

I used 32 for a long time with no problems, but am lighter than you and wasnt really "fully" loaded. I now use 36 on Rigida Satellite rims with Deore hubs. Been fine for over 20,000 kms.

Why risk your lightweight wheels? I would get a pair of touring wheels and save the lightweight ones for unloaded riding

If I were you I would go 36, don't know what rims as mine aren't made now. Mine were built by LBS, but plenty recommend Spa cycles for touring wheels. Contact them and ask their advice on good current rims. If not wanting to spend too much, then you should be (more than) OK with Deore hubs.
Vorpal
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by Vorpal »

Using wheels with 24 spokes for loaded touring is more likely to be a durability problem than an overload one.

Canyon have published some recommended maximum weights for various wheels https://www.canyon.com/_en/supportcente ... les_id=141

There is certainly a factor of safety built into those recommendations, and exceeding them isn't going to cause a wheel to immediately explode, or anything.

But as previous posters have said, if you can, it's best to get a touring wheel set. I rode for many years on 32 spoke Rigida rims. I'm rather lighter than you, but I've also carried children, touring loads, and done rough stuff touring.

I recently had a new wheelset built up for my commuter, and chose a DT Swiss 32-spoke rim, and I'm really happy with it. In your situation, I would consider...
http://www.dtswiss.com/Components/Rims-Road/TK-540-disc

Here are a couple of other threads that might be useful...

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=90920 (about numbers of spokes)
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=80249 (about wheels for a Croix de Fer)
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don1
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by don1 »

Thanks guys. You've confirmed my initial thoughts.
simonhill
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by simonhill »

Glad to (try to) help.

In my post I should have said Rigida Sputniks, not Satellites. Sorry, I must have been a bit spaced out!
mercalia
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by mercalia »

simonhill wrote:Glad to (try to) help.

In my post I should have said Rigida Sputniks, not Satellites. Sorry, I must have been a bit spaced out!


just on another planet?.

On another thread here I share how I had broken/cracked rear rim ( spokes ok ) - I weigh just under 17 stone now - and these where 36 spoke Mavic rims. So 24 spokes -- wow.
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cycleruk
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by cycleruk »

One advantage of numerous spokes (32/36) is if the wheel does go out of true then it is a lot easier to re-true it.
You'll never know if you don't try it.
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foxyrider
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by foxyrider »

My new Kinesis cyclocross/touring wheels are 28 spoke and disc braked - if they are good enough for thrashing around the woods I'm sure they will survive a bit of loaded smooth tarmac once a year!
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
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cycleruk
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by cycleruk »

foxyrider wrote:My new Kinesis cyclocross/touring wheels are 28 spoke and disc braked - if they are good enough for thrashing around the woods I'm sure they will survive a bit of loaded smooth tarmac once a year!

Might stand smooth tarmac but maybe not an unseen pothole.
Chances are that low spoke rims are extra strong so adding weight just where you don't want it.
Of all my wheels the one that gave most trouble was a 28 spoke one. :?
I have other wheels with less spokes and, upto now, have had no problems. (But have only been used on tarmac.)
I did manage to twist a 32 spoke MTB wheel once and that was reasonably trued and continued on the ride. (I hit a boulder. :oops: ).
You'll never know if you don't try it.
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foxyrider
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by foxyrider »

cycleruk wrote:Might stand smooth tarmac but maybe not an unseen pothole.
Chances are that low spoke rims are extra strong so adding weight just where you don't want it.
Of all my wheels the one that gave most trouble was a 28 spoke one. :?
I have other wheels with less spokes and, upto now, have had no problems. (But have only been used on tarmac.)
I did manage to twist a 32 spoke MTB wheel once and that was reasonably trued and continued on the ride. (I hit a boulder. :oops: ).


I use wheels with lower spoke counts (20 in my Campag cross wheels for example) and not had an issue with a few potholes so why worry about 28?
The Kinesis wheels are actually just 1500g the pair so no weighty rim there!
Strange - my most reliable wheel over the years was a 28 spoke job - never broke a spoke, used for racing and the odd bit of offroad back when 28 was exotic!

I've done more damage to 36 and 32 spoke wheels than any of my low spoke count jobs, maybe I'm just lucky :wink:
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
neil ry
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by neil ry »

I'm new to touring,
but through advice on here and other site's , I just ordered hand built wheels from local wheel builder,
32 hole front & 36 on the back both mavic rim's coupled with deore hubs and aci spoke's(was going for dt's but the builder advised to use the aci spoke),
total build £150
pq
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Re: 24 spoke wheels

Post by pq »

The old rules of thumb about how many spokes you need simply don't apply to factory built wheels using non-traditional components. They often use beefier spokes with stronger attachment to the hub which means lower spoke counts are possible without sacrificing wheel strength. Rims tend to be stronger too.

There is a disadvantage in that the wheel will be much more affected by a broken spoke, but that's unlikely and you can always carry a spare.

So whether your wheels are strong enough for what you want to do depends on the wheel as a whole, not just the spoke count. I'm not familiar with your particular wheelset, but I'd expect them to be fine.
One link to your website is enough. G
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