Im just about 15st (6ft4 so not a lot of weight to lose!) and I have been told I am too heavy for some road wheels, especially with rear wheels with only 20 spokes. So, what are good and ok with my weight. Mavic Askium in the for sale ads look good, but only 20 spokes…likewise a set of Mavic cosmic elite on facebook near me, but worried about strength.

I’ve got Aksium discs.
With the weight of the bloody things, I’d be very, very disappointed if they couldn’t take a 15 stone rider!

I used to be a bit heavier than that 😳 My bike came with Shimano R500 wheels which were OK. When they wore out I replaced them with Hope Pro RS2 (newer version is the RS4) which have been fine and noticeably stiffer and have lasted several thousand Km so far. It’ll be the rims that go first – being on rim brakes not disks.

Generally I’d say any 32 spoke rear wheel should be enough.

Mavic Open Pro rims on the hubs of your choice.

I run the Aksiums and whilst i’m a stone lighter than you i’ve hit a few the of potholes and crap roads around huddersfield and they’re fine and true still

15st is (very) heavy for biking, but still under the weight limit on most wheels.
A quick browse over shimanos wheel manual didn’t show any weight limit:
http://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-WH0002-10-ENG.pdf

15st is (very) heavy for biking

What utter shite.

Indeed. Whilst it may be heavy for racing, there are large numbers of riders well north of 15st who don’t have problems with kit. See the Chris Hoy thread – he’s 14st so not exactly svelte.

What utter shite.

Clearly why the OP is over the weight limit for some components………

I didn’t say it was impossible, i’ve spent the better part of a year doing my training rides with a guy that started at 100kg in preparation for him doing NC500. His opinion is also that its very heavy for riding bikes!

I weigh between 14-15st. I used bontranger lightweight wheels for many years and although they always ran well and remained true I had problems with speed wobbles when going downhill fast.

I was never sure what caused the wobble but swapping over to 32 spoke front and rear eliminated the problem. I now run DT 240 hubs on DT 440 rims. They are light enough for me and I would generally prefer to carry the extra weigh of a couple of spokes if durability is better.

Open Pros are tough as old boots.

I had problems with speed wobbles when going downhill fast

🙂

16 st. 6ft 5. Ride fulcrum 5. And shimano rs80 thousands of miles and they are still true

15.5 stone and 6ft 2 here and had some H Plus Son rims built onto ultegra hubs. 32 spoke front and rear. Have put a few thousand miles on them and they seem bombproof. Cost about £300 iirc

His opinion is also that its very heavy for riding bikes!

What, exactly, do you mean by this?

15 stone when I bought my Superstar Elite-30s with conventional 32 spoke pattern, never any flex, rub or wobbling noticed… I’m lighter now at 13.5 stone but the wheels are 3 years old and have never needed any tensioning or truing…they’re lighter than the Fulcrums the bike came with (which weren’t bad either, just heavy)…highly recommended.

I’m 6’4″ and 12st 12 lb – you got plenty to lose

6’2″ and 15 stone. I use ultegras with no problems.

What, exactly, do you mean by this?

Lots of little things (along with getting fitter) have added up to make the whole experience rather more enjoyable as he’s got lighter.

Hills, are now hard rather than torture.
Gradual slopes are no longer major obstacles
Easier to slow down for corners on downhills
Less weight on the saddle = less soreness
Heavier (on same size tyres) = more puncture prone

Basically it makes a whole lot of things harder and less enjoyable than for someone of a more average size.

He does however like his epic straight line speed down hills. It’s been known for him to freewheel past me – whilst i’m pedalling!

Basically it makes a whole lot of things harder and less enjoyable than for someone of a more average size.

So, I think your initial turn of phrase was unhelpful – it implied to me that people shouldn’t be riding a bike because they are heavy. Given that the initial question was about component weight limits, it’s borderline out of order to even bring it up.

Also, given that the stated rider + bike limit for Aksiums is 120kg (nearly 19 stone) it’s flat out wrong.

I’m 120kg and my new road bike came with 21 spoke Fulcrum Racing 7’s, I thought they would be fragile but after nearly 2,000km they haven’t needed any attention at all. I was pretty fastidious about checking the wheels after each ride when I got the bike, but that routine drifted away. I guess I’d better check them before this weekend.

15 stone 6ft 3in here
32 spoke H Plus Son Archetype on Miche hubs and Sapim Laser spoke, as true as they were on day one.
32 spoke Open Pro on Ultegra also were ggos but had to get rid when changed to 10sp
Have to 20/24 Superstar Pave on DT Swiss 350 using CX Rays. are 300g lighter than the Archetypes but are flexy, and simply don’t trust them as much.
In my experience low spoke count factory light wheels a either flexy or harsh where as handbuilt 32 spoke wheels are compliant yet stiff and just feel nicer.

flat out wrong.

Flat out wrong except all the components where the OP is indeed over the weight limit right? 🙄
10lbs over the weight limit for vector2 pedals for example
And over the limit on several types of road wheels – but as I said in my initial post if you bothered to read it rather than taking professionally offended viewpoint – under the limit on most wheels.

Bit of googling dug up a useful table (although a few years old):
http://www.lifeinthebuslane.com/road-wheel-weight-limits/

but as I said in my initial post if you bothered to read it rather than taking professionally offended viewpoint

So, you’re ok with being generally offensive, so long as you’re right?

So, you’re ok with being generally offensive, so long as you’re right?

Only the professionally offended would take that as offensive.
In much the same way you could say 9st is very light for a rugby player. Doesn’t stop them playing should they wish to do so, but their body shape isn’t exactly suited for it, and they’ll find it more difficult than someone larger.

Anyone doing any sort of exercise is a great thing – but that’s not to say that every body size/shape is ‘normal’ for every sport.

But if me being offensive will make you sleep better at night then hand over the badge and i’ll happily wear it.

weird double posting happened…

thanks for some pointers gents, and for the usual STW banter!

Unless I am going to significantly diet and train every day, weightloss isn’t going to happen. I have a 34″ waist, 36″ inside leg, quite thin arms and long legs which don’t suit skinny jeans as they are too thin, 12.5st would put me into the “you need to gain weight” category at the Doctors (as it did when I was 12.5st at Uni and my doctor was concerned for my health). So I am stuck in the 14-15st region. I have had some issues with some of the wheelsets mentioned above and my LBS told me to move away from the low spoke count wheels as they will need constant attention.

6’5″ here and 100kg, used Fulcrum Racing 3’s for years until the sidewall wore out but I notice that they have an 85kg weight limit now.
I am currently on a set of DT R32’s which are absolutely lovely, roll forever, look lush and with a nice aero (but not too aero) profile. Weight limit as quoted by DT is 130kg. Would highly recomend.

Only the professionally offended would take that as offensive.

No, I think many people weighing 15st would be offended. It’s just plain offensive. But hey, it’s a forum so feel free to carry on being a cock.

As for wheels, there are plenty of factory wheelsets that will be absolutely fine at your weight as mentioned above. Am running Mavic Ksyrium Elite with no bother at all. I do prefer a nice handuilt set of wheels though and there are plenty of really nice rim options available these days. I’d go for something a bit wider and deeper than an Open Pro (which has been a go to rim for many years but there are better options now – even Mavic realise this as there is a new version on the way) with Shimano hubs (I like cup & cone hubs and quiet freewheels!) and 32 spokes.

No, I think many people weighing 15st would be offended. It’s just plain offensive. But hey, it’s a forum so feel free to carry on being a cock.

Well, Fifeandy was just stating an opinion, right or wrong. You are the one using invective.
Do you weigh 15 stone?
🙂

Do you weigh 15 stone?

I do 🙂

Well, that’s fine in my book.

15.5 stone here (about 100kg) and I’ve been riding Fulcrum 5’s, Fulcrum Quattro’s, and Mavic Kyserium SL’s. No problems with any of them.

My dad was 6’4″ and weighed 16st and looked like a rake (the implement not the naughty boy).

i’ve spent the better part of a year doing my training rides with a guy that started at 100kg in preparation for him doing NC500. His opinion is also that its very heavy for riding bikes!

Then he’s full of shite too.

I’m now 14 1/2 stone but was 16 1/2 until this year. I’ve been using the same pair of Mavic Ksyrium wheels for about 4 years and they have remained true despite hitting potholes and suffering from pinch flats.

Yetidave – apologies – just re-read this thread and my earlier post seems to have been clipped. Think there have been some issues looking at the number of double posts etc.

My first comment was meant to end with a smiley

Ooer!. And that post seems to have been clipped too! I typed loads more!

I give up! Stick with 32 hole.

I’ve used 32 hole mavic open pro rims on 3 cross for everything from cx to heavy touring. I’m sure my weight and panniers weighs more than you.

I think you will be fine on most wheels without a weight limit restriction, however, some will flex more than others.

Personally id avoid 20 hole aero spoke wheels but I think they would be fine.

BTW 6ft3 and just under 13 stone but unfortunately or fortunately depending how you look at it I can’t put any more weight on.

At 6ft4 and 15 stone I doubt you are offended easily 🙂

Personally id avoid 20 hole aero spoke wheels but I think they would be fine.

14st here (and trying to get to 12!) running 20 spoke aero wheels. Not out of any particular choice, but because they happen to come with the bike I’m currently riding. Have given them a reasonable amount of stick and they’ve not exploded yet and run nice and true.

Normal 32 hole wheels on the 29er MTB though. Even I’m not daft enough to run silly wheels there!