I recently ordered a ‘bespoke’ touring bike and went for the Surly LHT. Now I discover that the builder of the bike has fitted the basic road bike Hope Hoops with a 130mm rear hub on Mavic Open Pro rims. My local bike dealer said this would be bad if the frame wasn’t made of steel but that it’s still a bit naughty because the LHT is for a 135mm MTB hub. He also said the Open Pro hoops are not suitable for proper long distance touring.

Can anybody offer a second opinion on this?

Thanks.

What are you using for brakes?

My local bike dealer said this would be bad if the frame wasn’t made of steel but that it’s still a bit naughty because the LHT is for a 135mm MTB hub.

It’s still bad.

He also said the Open Pro hoops are not suitable for proper long distance touring.

That’s complete bollocks.

I’ve got Deore XT caliper brakes.

And thanks … it’s the hub that concerns me the most.

the builder has fitted the wrong size wheel: whilst it might work; it is a best a bit of a bodge.

open pros are a good wheel but for touring with big tyres and big loads you might have specced something more robust.

You could get the frame “cold set” to reduce the drop-out width. That would make future wheel changes a damn sight easier as you’ll otherwise be trying to squeeze them together by 5mm every time.

FWIW, my Van Nicholas AMazon has 132.5mm drop-outs so it’ll take either 130 or 135 🙂

Yep – 130mm in 135mm dropouts is OK for a bodge, and I’ve done it for long periods (years in one case), but it’s not what you should have on a new build.

Open Pros are really pretty bombproof rims. I can only see a problem with them if you’re really heavily loading the bike with luggage. Are they 32 or 36 hole?

scotroutes: Surly Cross Check does the 132.5mm thing too

Open pro rims are bomb proof .Never bent one rattling round the 3 peaks cx under my 16 stone .5MM wont make much difference on a steel frame I have gone up to 130mm from 126mm on old frames without a problem

Thanks everybody … they are 32 hole rims Jonathan

Probably still be fine to be honest, just more bomb proof if they had been 36 hole