Roadie/cyclocross wheelset – how many spokes to go for?

I do most of my ‘cyclocross’ riding on road, but occasionally ferret up bridleways or chuck the thing down rocky or rutted trails (e.g. Peaks)

Been using sets of Mavic Aksiums for the past 4 years now and I’ve finally given up on them.

They have been 20h/20h front rear, with non-driveside radially spoked rears.

They were always pretty crap and flexy, but occasional encounters with rocks and ruts seem to lead to an inexorable terminal decline.

The rear flexes like a sad thing and now requires re-tensioning every 30 miles or so.

So…. for a replacement set of wheels, I’m thinking I might go crazy and get a 32h rear – built with regular 3 cross lacing?

…but is that overkill?

Perhaps I could get away with 28h rear, or 24h?

Thoughts please… 🙂

two sets of wheels? my limited understanding of spoke count leads me to think you have two quite distinct requirements – or at least such a spectrum that no one solution is viable?

32h front and rear on mine, standard 3 cross. Not racing, so preferred robustness.

Open Pros with 105 hubs (mine’s a 130mm OLN frame).

Contemplating a 2nd set to use as road wheels with slicker tyres.

Unless you are going genuinely lightweight, just go 32H. The weight saved is **** all – 7gm per spoke or so?

If you’re not racing and weight isn’t a major issue then what Andytherocketeer says.

There are lots of good wheel builders out there, would be worth giving a few of them a ring and discussing your requirements (riding, weight, budget, etc.) and see what they recommend.

You building them yourself?

I agree with mr blobby. I have trashed the stock rear wheel that came with my CX last year. I am more prop forward than winger in stature which is the culprit I think. I thought hand building had to equal mega bucks but it’s going to cost £300 to have a pair built up for me that suit my requirements. I can recommend a guy who has been very patient and understanding with all my stupid questions if you’re anywhere near Bristol/Gloucester.

Oh I’m getting Open Pros with Deore XT hubs, 36h rear 32 front.

I’ve running stans rims, 32h. Makes for a great tubeless setup..

Just make sure you pick the right hubs.
Older CX frames are traditionally 130mm road type dropouts.
Newer CX frames are often 135mm MTB width dropouts (mainly due to disc brakes)

Okayeee… 32h f/r with open pros sounds the way to go. Should be able to build them up myself – no worries. Thanks guys!

Now. Which hubs to choose.

They have to be gold, or I will be sad.

These, dodgy looking eBay Taiwanese things looks nice:

What do we reckon? Exploding freehub in <100 miles, or a-world-of-amazingness?

Can’t see your pic but I have the circus monkey hubs (the disc ones with cutouts in the flanges(!)) from ebay and they’ve been fine for over a year now.

I went novatec 32 disc from bike24.de, cheap, light and so far durable plus cartridge bearings is a bonus. Cheap dt spokes from rose and rim of your choice.

From the sort of riding you’re doing it may be worth checking out some of the wider rims available which tend to work better with fatter rubber than OpenPros. The A23’s seem to be favourites at the moment.

Circus monkeys are the ones! Good to hear they are useable… I’ll have to check out the A23s too – cheers! 😀

mrblobby – Member
From the sort of riding you’re doing it may be worth checking out some of the wider rims available which tend to work better with fatter rubber than OpenPros.

I can see this at low mtb/cx pressures, but for 50psi+, I am not buying any performance improvement.

I can see this at low mtb/cx pressures, but for 50psi+, I am not buying any performance improvement.

Not tried these rims, just going by what I’ve heard really. Also no mention from the OP about what rubber/pressures he runs. If he’s doing some Peaks CX riding it may be that he’s riding fatter rubber at lower pressures.

The benefits of wider rims and rubber at road pressures on the road is another thread (sure this was done recently.)

mrblobby – Member
The benefits of wider rims and rubber at road pressures on the road is another thread

I’d love to hear them, seems to me to be “we’ve run out of ideas to sell folk stuff they don’t need, oooh, how about this?”

Al:

Reinventing the Wheel: The 25mm Revolution

My old CX wheels were Open Pros built onto Hope XC hubs, 32H 3x front & rear.

Got some pre-built wheels on my new CX; American Classic Hurricane Disc wheels but they’re still 32H 3x.. 1650g so not bad. I don’t really see the point in trying to be clever on CX wheels, they take a proper battering.

–> 35mm tyres, generally pumped to 70-80psi – going for lowest rolling resistance on the road and – boneshaker battering styleee off road!

I’m intrigued to know how you get some Hope XCs on a road bike 130mm vs 135mm slot width… or am I missing something here?

I’m intrigued to know how you get some Hope XCs on a road bike 130mm vs 135mm slot width… or am I missing something here?

You can get a 130mm axle for the old Hope XC hubs (I think!)

32h 3X would be my choice. I’ve flatted two Open Pros (both 32h) in potholes over the past month. I like them but they are not the most robust rim, and I’m 69 kg. New wheels on order are Dura Ace/CXP33s with 28h f/r, with 25c Schwalbe One and latex tubes. For CX duties I’d think CXP22s or CXP33s rather than Open Pro if you really want a strong wheel.

The benefits of wider rims and rubber at road pressures on the road is another thread over-rated

. Mavic rim widths are just fine for 25c tyres. It’s overall width that is improving ride.

Do you still do Mavic CXP33 rims? The 105 on Open Pro or CXP33 used to be a common recommendation with the latter suggested for a bit more strength and supposed mud shedding ability. It has been 10 years since I had a CX bike though, so this option could be totally surpassed.

Edit: Not questioning Tired, written at same time.

Interesting clubber (albeit more about wide tyres than rims)

I’ve been using Campag Eurus 16/21 spoke wheels on my cx bike since October 2012. They’ve been absolutely fine and are still rock solid and true. The braking surfaces probably won’t last another year – but then I’ve used them on my road bike since 2006, so I can’t complain.
I do have some Ambrosio Nemesis on Record 32 hole hubs for racing.

Al – yeah, I think that it’s a combination with some aero rims going wider (as mentioned in the link) as apparently this is actually more aero than narrow ones. I can imagine though that marketing will mean that this gets confused and non-aero rims also get wider… 🙂