Advice - readying my new bike for a 3 week tour

[nibbler12]

Just managed to snap up a Dawes Sportif Elite for £500 - looks barely used. I am planning on going for a 3 week tour in france with a friend of mine in September. Essentially I want to know what I need to do to ready this bike for carrying me (95kg) and some clothes, sleeping bag etc - should be pretty light touring as I am with a friend and we intend to WWOOF (working on organic farms). Should I be overly concerned about the 20H Shimano RS10s? This is a one off tour and the bike is in top notch condition so can I get away with this or am I asking for trouble?

[Brucey]

most mass-produced road bikes have a recommended weight limit; check the specs. If (say) this is around 120kg (rider + bike + luggage) then you can carry a small load and stay within it. However in this case I would definitely be concerned about the wheels.

20-spoke wheels are simply not designed for touring on. Especially not these 20 spoke wheels, it seems. A little google action comes up with many forum threads with titles like 'RS10 wheel durability; non-existent' with riders experiencing problems such as cracked rims or spoke pullouts at low mileages (e.g. about 500 miles).

In your case I would suggest a well built 36h (or 36h rear, 32h front) wheelset if you want them to be reliable.

cheers

[mig]

a few years ago i warmed up for a TT using one of those wheels in the rear - a brand new, out of the box one. as i returned to HQ maybe 5 miles later it had a loose spoke causing significant lateral movement in the rim. use for loaded touring?......nah!!

[Mick F]

I'm off Up North for a couple of weeks - 800miles - and I'm off in early/mid May.

Bike will get a full strip-down and re-build in the next few weeks. Both hubs, BB, headset, both gear mechs, new tyres, new chain. Whilst everything is off, I'll be polishing the frame and forks with car polish. I'll do all this a couple of weeks before I go, so that any set-up niggles can be sorted out prior.

[nibbler12]

Thanks for the responses. What's the most economical way, in that case, of changing the wheels? Do the RS10s have any resale value? I don't really care about weight (within reason). As I understand it, the fundamental components in that rear wheel are the hub, freewheel and wheel itself and then the cassette. Would I want to recycle the hub I already have or would it be best to get a brand new self contained job? Is it stupid of me to suggest putting in a stronger rear wheel and making do with the front wheel?

[Brucey]

you can't sensibly re-use the hubs because they have the wrong number of holes in them.

The front wheel is less likely to let go but if it does it is more likely to kill or seriously injure you. There are reported instances of RS10 front wheels pulling out multiple spokes in seconds (mostly with fairly heavy riders, in fairness, but that is you....).

Just get some half-decent wheels with a genuine shimano freehub at the rear and 36 spokes and you should be fine.

If the RS10s are in good condition you can sell them on e-bay. If they are already bad then the bin is the best place for them.

cheers

[nibbler12]

They're pretty much brand new. Thanks for the advice - in that case could you suggest a sensibly priced replacement? Something that hopefully costs around what I can get for the current wheels on ebay. Will the 10speed (I believe) 105 cassette go on pretty much any hub?

[Vinko]

Hi,

Totally agree with what Brucey has just said above.

I think Sheldon Brown has a term something like “boutique wheels” and I wonder if these are examples of such. Whatever they are suitable for, they are certainly not what I personally would want for any type of touring. I appreciate they have thicker/flat spokes, but only eight on each side?

Just check, these wheels have 20 spokes on the rear, but I think its only 16 on the front.

I admit to being someone that has only this year reduced my own rear wheel spoke count from 40 spokes to 36 and that is as few as I want personally. I read with interest all the threads on here about wheels, I don’t understand the technicalities much, I wish I had the skills and experience to build my own – one day maybe!

In the meantime it seems that I need to read, learn and listen to those on here who have been building wheels and look at the specs of people who do the type of riding that I want to do. Then get my credit card out and buy decent wheels!!!..... 'cause of all the technical problems I could face when riding, a wheel failure would rate as my worst nightmare….so I don’t skimp on this bit!

So that’s 36s both ends for me.

My main concern with the RS-10s is just what would happen if one spoke broke (let alone a couple)? That could be quite a problem! If one of 36 goes, its not likely to be so bad.

So I certainly would get hunting around for different wheels, plenty of stuff on here about where to go etc.

[Brucey]

They're pretty much brand new. Thanks for the advice - in that case could you suggest a sensibly priced replacement? Something that hopefully costs around what I can get for the current wheels on ebay. Will the 10speed (I believe) 105 cassette go on pretty much any hub?

I build my own wheels of this sort so I can't really advise on what would be a good buy here, not from personal experience, not at that price point. I'd suggest you spend more and go to a good wheelbuilder. If budget is tight you can get a cheap set of wheels from rosebikes; the component spec will be good for the price (often less than the trade component cost in the UK... ) but the build quality may not be.

cheers

[horizon]

nibbler12: I think you've been caught in a marketing trap where a bike with mudguards (= robust, long days out) gets teamed up with a 16 spoke front wheel (= short, sharp sportives) and probably does neither well but satisfies a tricky marketing challenge - a usable bike that looks good on the Sunday morning sportive. It's neither fish nor fowl.

Just to up the ante, I would suggest keeping the bike for what it is restricted to - short, fast, light rides. Even take the mudguards off! Then get an old MTB or whatever to hammer on your trip to France for the price of a new wheelset. We haven't even started really talking about luggage, high gears, tyres, long days stretched out over those bars etc.

As a consolation you've then got a good sportive bike (853 is it not?) at a very reasonable price and you can enjoy that in its own way.

Just my thoughts!

[mercalia]

96 kg is about 15 stone so u are quite heavy. Brucey, or any one else, would factory built wheels be ok? maybe from Rose bikes in Germany?

what ever you do you should check the inner tubes are ok before you start and if been repaired alot replace with new ones? look for any places where they have been nipped & damaged.

[nibbler12]

Thanks a lot for your help.
So if pressed to pick a rear wheel out of these, what would your thought process be?

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.M-Part-Shimano- ... nfoReviews

(looking v similar)
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/atb- ... aid:716404

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/m-w ... l-ec007867

or perhaps this from ebay?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261435069113? ... EBIDX%3AIT

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xt-Hub-On-Mav ... 1e890dbc29
I think those should all fit a 10 speed cassette.

[mig]

be careful as the rosebikes wheel is a 135 OLN rear wheel. i assume that your frame dropouts are 130 spacing at the rear if you have those shimano wheels fitted at the moment.

i think that, despite the descriptions, the two ebays listings are also for 135 OLN wheels which i doubt would fit in your frame.

you can't visit a local bike shop for a wheel?

[nibbler12]

be careful as the rosebikes wheel is a 135 OLN rear wheel. i assume that your frame dropouts are 130 spacing at the rear if you have those shimano wheels fitted at the moment.

i think that, despite the descriptions, the two ebays listings are also for 135 OLN wheels which i doubt would fit in your frame.

you can't visit a local bike shop for a wheel?

Aha I hadn't factored in spacing. Thanks. I could, I suppose, but I don't particularly like the ones here in cam and I sort of assumed it'd be cheaper online but worth looking at I agree.

[honesty]

Have a look at Spa cycles for hand built wheels. theres no need to go over the top as you could get some cheap, heavy, but decent touring wheels and keep the RS10s for when you just want to ride the bike at home.