My budget special cross wheels (recycled from a previous road bike) are pretty much dead and, with 3 weeks to go til the 3 Peaks, I need to get sorted, quick!

The only other road wheels I have are Shimano RS 20s. I know these are sold with some cross bikes (Giant tcx Rabobanks among others) but can they really cope with the Pen y Ghent track?

They don’t have many spokes so it’s pretty catastrophic if one goes. Should I be getting the wallet out for some Aksiums or something?

thanks

Have a shop round and see if you can get Open Pro’s, 32holes on hubs of choice – I imagine you’d find a pair for similar money to Aksiums but they’ll be a lot lighter and probably stronger.

I rode Aksiums on the peaks for four years using the same pair, never needed truing up and never let me down, retired them when the side walls became concave.

I’d always go for something slightly stronger on the peaks and pay a small weight penalty, but then descending is my strong point.

My rs10s took a right beating on my cx bike. They only broke spokes when under power on road uphill, off road they were fine!

yup mine have been great, on some 7stanes red routes too.

Thanks for these.

The point about strengths is a good one – mine is climbing and I descend like an old lady so am probably easier on my wheels than some.

I’ll have a look into OPs and Aksiums to see if I can find a bargain. If not, I’ll continue mincing.