BigMac on Tubulars and such.

Want to know a little something about tubular rims, tires, and wheels? Check out what the Big man says on...

Tubular Tires
Tubular rims
Tubular vs Clincher
Climbing wheels
Composite rims
And Wheels for Sandy

William

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Tubular tires
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The "Dugast" sewups are in fact rebuilt Clements. The "Griffo" you are likely referring to are made in Taiwan under the "Challenge" label but are in fact based on the old Clement molds. The saddest day in cycling history was the day Clement closed its doors...followed by the day Mavic bought Wolber and decided Wolber sewup production would also cease.

The Dugasts are extraordinarily pricey and difficult to find but he actually uses the Clement casings (both silk and cotton versions) for his 'cross sewups. He also uses Wolber cotton casings on some road sewups. Repair casing as needed using same grade thread, insert new latex tube, latex seal case, apply vulcanized tread using similar albeit not identical knobby tread pattern. The result is a sewup that is arguably higher quality (more consistent) than the original model. The Challenger Griffo uses same shape and identical tread pattern to the Clement original but otherwise bares little resemblance to the Clement original.

To your question regarding repairability, yes these are each 'repairable' or conventional sewups that may be repaired by pulling back bias tape, cutting threads, repairing tube, sewing up casing and tape. I'm certainly not going to tell you what you should and should not buy or use but if ride quality, cornering performance and repairability of your tubular tires is of import to you, I would encourage you to avoid anything Tufo. Tufo is a reincarnation of the old Barum tubulars that promised tubeless superiority due to reduced mass, lower cost and similar puncture resistance. Unfortunately, the reality is the casings are stiff, production consistency poor and cost is similar to far better performing true sewups. Once you've experienced a quality sewup like NOS Clement, Dugast, NOS Wolber or Conti Comps I would doubt you'll ever consider a Tufo again. On the other hand, most Tufo riders seem to be wire-on converts as Tufo's ride and perform very similar to their beaded cousins, only 50 grams lighter. For 'cross racers the Dugasts (glued, NOT taped) are the winning choice as they can be run safely at insanely low pressures for remarkable hook-up in the really loose stuff.

Ride on!


Douglas:

After all these years you've left the dark side and once again embraced the enlightened few who swear by sewups. Those Dugasts are basically rebuilt Campiones, at least the casing. My limited experience with Andre's tires suggest they ride identically to the famed Clements. In fact I am going to be sending him several pairs of my worn Campiones this summer for rebuilding, there is/was nothing like that tire...ever. The Wolber Champione was nearly identical with a cotton casing, I understand Andre will also rebuild these, if so I will be set for sewups until perhaps the next millenium. Cost? Does it really matter? Normally, I am the most ardent value conscience, at least relative to most roadie's spending habits, but there is simply no substitute for the finest sewups that ever lived. Record v Chorus or Centaur? No brainer, the lesser priced parts offer same performance for less $$, often with greater durability. The super value Ritchey Pro seat pillar is another no-brainer at $40 a pop. Heck, I don't even wear Assos bibs any longer since finding Boure and Etxe-Ondo are equally comfy for half the price. But Andre recreating the legendary Clement and Wolber sewups...there is no price on perfection. I would however concur with previous gentleman, real sewups deserve real glue, that tape seems like a nice concept -- not unlike clinchers -- but does it deliver the goods? I think I'd give the demoing of such newer techniques to the young kids who more readily recover from broken bones before I'd trust tape to safely hold my tires in heat, cold and/or damp conditions...at least I know the glue works if properly applied. Be safe out there and welcome back to sewups.

Ride on!
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On Tubular rims
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RWL:

Actually the "flyweight" sewup rims of yore is mostly a fable. The actual superlight sub 300g rims were very rare, very flexible and for very limited situations. Others, the Mavic GEL's for example had claimed masses of 280g which in typical Mavic-speak meant they were in reality 315-320 grams of spaghetti like flex. The very popular GL was in reality 365g rim despite its claimed 330g mass. The GP4 was around 440 grams and the famous Paris-Roubaix was a portly 490g, although that rim won more races in its day than any rim in history...perhaps rider watts and durability are in fact more important

Mavic is famous for their claimed masses, when Reflex was introduced, it was actually considered the sucessor to the GL330, claimed to be more durable and only slightly heavier at 375g, per Mavic Fr. Then when the same rim arrived on US shores, the US distributor claimed its mass was 395g...same identical rim and in fact I believe Mavic still claims this is the true mass of said rim, with 410g for the ceramic brake surface version. In reality, the standard silver anodized Reflex is around 420g, a pretty light and relative strong rim. By comparison, an Open Pro is approximately 470-480g, despite what Mavic claims (450?). This is true of basically anything wearing a Mavic label, add 8-10% and you'll have true weight...if it really matters to you.

NOS rims? The really good Ambrosio's of the day were all over 400 grams, Wolber offered a couple of light rims in the 350g class but they were similar to Mavic GL's in terms of strength. The Fiammes were very spotty qc and they did offer some very low mass rims but their best rims (durable) were >400g. Super Champion had some great rims in 60's but most 'modern' Super Champions are rebadged Wolber (company was bought by Wolber in around '72) or Mavic (Wolber was bought by Mavic in mid 80's and they kept SuperChampion name for Asian market up till late 90's). The best lightweight sewup rims were Campy, they had a couple of true 350g rims that were reasonably strong, had great vertical braking surfaces and always perfectly round and true. These were all produced in-house till early 90's when FIR took over production with nearly same superlative quality but slightly higher mass models due to dish issues.

The more modern sewup rims are a bit dicey. I avoid Ambrosio, they too were bought in mid 90's and most of their rims are pinned and glued. They do offer 2 FIR produced rims which are welded but both are clincher models. The Velocity sewup rim is similarly pinned and glued which I do not prefer and my personal experience with Velocity rims is questionable. They are a bit higher quality (more consistent qc) than Sun/Rhyngo but I have yet to see a single Velocity rim arrive in original packaging perfectly round and true. In truth, Mavic's are rarely round and true, but they are more consistently close than Velocity, plus Mavic's are welded which is likely cause for some slight trueness/roundness irregularities which is easily corrected in buildup.

The FIR rims are in my opinion the best available...well actually I love Bontrager rims and especially their pricing but Bontrager unfortunately has not offered a sewup rim...yet (Sr. Jerk had indicated one may be forthcoming?). FIR rims are, ime, the 2nd coming of vintage Campy rims; remarkably true, round and strong. FIR does offer at least 3 alloy sewup rims I am aware of. I do not recall the names of the individual models, one is essentially a 20mm box rim, 13mm tall, very similar to Reflex. A second is an aero V model, 20x20mm, 460g, very strong. The last is the "Concept 2000" model, the front is a traditional aero V, 20x19mm available in 24,28 and 32H drillings. The rear rim is 20x20mm semi-aero (similar shape as Open Pro) with 3mm offset assyemmtric rear drilling for reduced dish. This rim however has a significant downside in that it is designed as a team issue model. Its is very dark grey anodized but with HUGE "CONCEPT 2000" logo, each letter spaced evenly between spoke hole and a reasonably large "FIR" logo as well in very bright yellow. It also appears to not be available for public retail, at least not to my knowledge at this time. There is a clincher version of similar design available to public so hopefully the sewup version may soon follow. I have been using these rims on 2 of my bikes, they are remarkably strong and relatively light -- team mechanics say they arrive incredibly true and they weigh 410g +/- 5g....that includes ss eyelets. I am trying to acquire 15-20 of the rear rims only to ship back to 'States next month but if import duties end up being ridiculous, I will just keep them with me here in Italy and pack only 2 or 3 in our luggage when we return home at the end of August. I would be shipping from my residence in Italy directly to my residence in US and the items would not technically be for resale (friends would be reimbursing my shipping costs only), does anybody know if there is a legal way to avoid import duties for such an event? If I am able to ship these rims, I would be willing to make a few rims available to fellow forum members in September.

Campy's last rim building efforts included the forgettable Barcelona model. this was claimed to be an in-house effort, not sure whether this is true, the result was poor qc and a rim HIGHLY prone to popping rim eyelets. I would avoid this rim although it was a true lightweight at approx 375g.

Unless you can find the Concept 2000 rim, or I am able to ship a few myself, I honestly think prebuilt wheels are the better choice for sewup wheels using modern 43mm drivelines. The Campy Neutron/Nucleon and Bontrager Race X-Lite are excellent offerings, with reduced dish rims, good hubs albeit rather eye-popping prices for a daily wheelset.

Ride on!

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Question by Big D:
Hello, this is a question for Big Mac. I am 6'3" 350lbs+. I am interested in building up a set of tubulars and have found Ital-thecnos online has many different types. Do you think I can build of sturdy wheels with Mavic CXP 30 of Ambrosio rims. If not these rims what do you suggest? What every i build for my second set of wheels I will be going with 36 spokes and i think white industry hubs or DT's

thanks in advance

Big D
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BigD:

You are a prime candidate for the Bontrager rim, if it ever makes it to production or the FIR's, although the 32H maybe a bit too little even with assymetric drilling. You are also a good candidate for the hub upgrade, not for weight but for strength in freehub, flange and flange design for reduced dish. Are you using Campy or Shimano? Use White LTA hub for Campy, Phil Wood hub for Shimano. Lace 3x on driveside, 2x leftside. I would consider using the DT Alpine (I believe that is name of spoke, it features a 13g elbow which both White and Phil are drilled for, the balance of spoke is 14g for standard brass nipple compliance. You will only need these on driveside as non-drive will have lower tension and straight 14g spokes will be fine. You may consider tie and soldering spokes, it makes for a stiffer wheel, possibly stronger although that is debatable, retrueing/servicing can be more problematic and your wheels will DEFINATELY require periodic servicing (spoke replacements) regardless of components used. Sewup rims? Not the Reflex or any other currently available rim. The CXP30's are pretty strong, although really ugly imo...not that it really matters . I would see if you could find NOS 36H Mavic SSC Paris-Roubaix rims. They will be pricey but far more durable than alternatives. The vintage Ambrosio Synthesis Durex was also available in 36H and extremely strong. There are bunches of NOS Italian rims labeled Galli, Assos, Fiamme, Nisi....most were of marginal quality and considerably too light for your requirements. Wish I could help with direct source but until I can easily ship the FIR's, Google is probably your best source and the Mavic P-R's are the best possible choice.

I would also suggest minimum 25mm sewups, the recently discontinued Conti Competition 25's are pricey but bomb-proof durable and extremely smooth. NOS Clements(rebuilt and sold as Dugast's by Andre Dugast) are not quite as durable and extraordinarily expensive but worth it given your size. Wolber also made great sewups in their day in 24-27mm widths. Be sure you have enough clearence for fat sewups, if so you will love the ride, response and feel.

It's past midnight now and I'm about to turn into a pumpkin if I don't hit the hay soon.

Ride on!


I am not a Campy historian by any account, I can only marginally recall the Campy rims I have used and most were indeed of exceptional quality. They did go outside for production of most of their rims from late 80's-on, however I am not aware of any specific problems attributed to that outsourcing. The traditional rim names were Record, Corsa and Victory as I recall but then somewhere in late 80's or early 90's the greek naming took over and we saw Omega, Sigma and Lambda. As I recall the Sigma was the priciest followed by Omega and Lambda, in that order. Sigma rims were made by FIR -- pronounced 'feer' if it matters -- the Omega's were apparently produced by Ambrosio before their buyout. I do not know who produced the Lambda series rims. I have put many miles on Sigma Strada and Record Pave's, both with excellent results. The Strada model is around 400g rim, no matter what "series", the Pave's were considerably beefier at maybe 460g. The Sigma, Record, Victory and Omega models all use ss eyelets, canted a bit to relieve spoke fatigue. The Sigma has nice flat braking surface, not machined like modern rims but extruded flat none-the-less, the Record Pave braking surface is a bit rounded. As long as you avoid the Barcelona model rim --produced in-house and apparently same as Neutron/Nucleon front rim but unfortunately not assymetrically drilled like Nucleon rear, it also has tendency to pop eyelets which Nucleon rarely does perhaps due to Campy's propreitary nipple design used on Nucleon -- any Campy sewup rim is a good choice in my book...at least for older chainlines and/or sub 200lb riders.

Update for those inquiring about assymetric drilled sewup rim:

As I previously noted, I will possibly be acquiring 1-2 dozen team issue "Concept" sewup rims, actually I only want the assyemtric drilled rear, I can happily use a standard FIR, Campy or Mavic box section sewup rim up front. I will know more later this week, FIR is located up north in Modena while I'm in Sorrento (south of Naples, north end of Amalfi coast). I do however have my hands on an '04 product catalog. It lists 2 sewup rims, model ST-120 and SRG30. The rim product line will apparently be unchanged for '05 as FIR continues to concentrate on the more profitable pre-built wheel market -- they will have no-less than 11 composite wheel offerings in '05! As for the sewup rims, the ST 120 is a 400g box section rim very comparable to Mavic Reflex. The SRG30 is a semi-aero (30mm deepx20mm wide) 505g rim (545g in clincher model) very similar to Mavic's discontinued CXP33 sewup rim. Braking surface is a full 11mm deep, joint is MIG welded. The best news however is that the SRG30 is available in assymetric drilling in both sewup and clincher versions! Its also available in 6 different colors, if that's your thing. The downside (imo) is that Red Rose Imports (Lancaster, PA) is the US distributor/importer. There is apparently another authorized importer but their alotment is so minute I seriously doubt they import any sewup rims. My personal experience with RRI is not great, they usually import a fraction of a vendors product line and their distribution is painfully slow. I am told they have ordered reasonable quantities of sewup offerings in past so hopefully I am incorrect in my assumption. Of course even if RRI does choose to import the SRG30, in Ferrari red no-less, there is no guarantee they will import the assymetric drilled rim as importing the symmetrically drilled front rim only would require 50% less inventory, no new product sku numbering and eliminate possible LBS confusion and inventory issues. I personally know of 2 BayArea Trek shops who do NOT stock Bontrager rims because of this very issue preferring to stock Mavic rims...but they do use the assyemtric sales pitch to sell Campy and Bontrager pre-builts of course I will update folks early next week if I can easily ship the Concept rims, until then please contact your LBS or RRI directly to see if they will import SRG30 assyemtrics for you....retail price here is 5 Euros less than Mavic Reflex dark anodized.

Ride on!

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Tubular vs Clincher
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I do not know if there has been an emperical study performed that would prove sewups have lower rolling resistance than wire-on, but it is a fact. Speak with engineers at Continental, who produce high quality versions of each design used by pro's worldwide, they will tell you sewups are lower rolling resistance, at least in theory. Places where ultimate speed is the only criteria, velodrome racing for example, only use sewups. It does have something to do with casing design and friction losses due to the loose tube, this is one of the supposed benefits of the new tubeless clinchers. For practical terms, anyone around this forum, including yours truly, is not going to be even fractionally faster based on tire design choice, at least in straightline racing.

If you were however to include high speed descents in your riding regimen, I do believe the sewups will be faster for most aggressive riders due to much improved handling response, feel and performance(grip). I also suspect any triathletes competing over most long courses could gain considerable time using faster rolling sewups as used by every elite triathalete and professional road racer over long TT events.

For most stage events, pro teams generally prefer sewups for 2 reasons, performance and servicability. In reality, the field is nearly even at this years TdF due primarily to Michelin being the largest professional sponsor. All Michelin support contracts REQUIRE teams to use clinchers a minimum of 50% of total miles, some teams much higher. Michelin does not produce sewups however teams are allowed to contract for mock-up sewups that employ cosmetic features of Michelin clinchers, namely logos and tread colors. Yes, pinch-flat prevention, low rolling resistance, handling performance are all important factors but perhaps the biggest factor in choosing sewups among pro teams is ability of wheel to continue to be ridden when flatted while race support attempts to get to rider. If a puncture occurs with a clincher, the wheel can rarely be ridden safely thus rider often must wait helplessly at roadside till a race support vehicle can get to him for assistance. This can mean minutes, not seconds and has often occurred thus far in this years Tour.

On this very forum this topic has often been rehashed with the identical arguments. There are in fact fans in both camps, perhaps a few may even convert to clinchers with soon introduction of Mavic-Michelin road tubeless design. I would not dismiss either design w/o a full hands-on demo of each under your normal riding conditions. The difference in feel is considerable, as is installation and servicabilty. Use whatever works and feels best to you and your needs. Heck whatever gets people on their bikes more often is ALWAYS the best choice. Debating rolling resistance is synonymous with debating whether smooth or file tread offers better performance...it just don't matter.

Ride on!

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Climbing Wheels?
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The best climbing wheels are the ones on the bike of the strongest climber, period!

I'm honestly not trying to rain on your parade, but seriously, the lightest, fastest wheels will not turn a schmuck into Lance Armstrong. A good, sound and reliable hand-built wheelset or a defacto quality prebuilt such as Campy Nucleon or Bontrager Race X-lite sewups will perform equal in most instances to the fanciest cf offerings from Lightweight, ADA, Campy, Reynolds, etc. An aero wheel will have greater speed impact over a long TT or tri course but even that will be 30 seconds on average, perhaps a minute on longer courses. In mountains, the lightweight wheels will feel quicker accelerating forward but honestly the net result may be 10 seconds on a very long course with lots of swicthbacks. You're far better off spending your time in weight room gaining strength and money on a coach or training device to improve your pedalling technique.

Your money to spend as you wish, hope you're not too dissapointed when the latest, lightest "climbing wheels" still leave you dropping off the back of the pack.

Ride on!

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Composite Rims
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I would disagree with the "Jerk" in his assesment of the Bontrager Triple X. I am a big fan of Bontrager alloy wheels and their rims as well, however the Triple X does not share the most important factor in making the alloy prebuilts and rims so good; the Triple X is not assymetrically drilled in rear to reduce dish. They are also not the equivalent of Race XLite's in terms of braking feel and performance.

That's not to say these are not good race only wheels, they are. Their braking performance is similar to Campy Hyperon, much better than the Zipp's. Rim mass is among the lightest, although not as light as the Reynold's Cirro KOM's. Total wheel mass is around 1200g, 50g less than Hyperon although Campy mass is w/skewers, I do not believe Bontrager masses include qr skewers. The Reynolds KOM's are another 150g lighter, albeit w/o skewers. The std Cirro's are 50g less than Triple X, equally stiff laterally, $100 less money although a bit worse in braking performance.

Bontrager has begun using Edco hubs in Triple X and Race XLite, this is same hub Zipp formerly used. The Zipp's were noted for occasional freehub pawl failures thus I'd be a bit concerned about this change. They had previously used DT/Hugi produced hubs.

If you are looking for lightweight composite climbing wheels at "semi-reasonable" pricing, I think the Hyperon is the best choice. Lateral stiffness is noticably higher than Bontrager or Reynold's, the Zipp 303's are terrible in this respect. This is largely due to fact that Hyperon uses an assymetric rear rim that results in lateral stiffness similar to Neutron. The Cirro and Triple X required me to open brake qr during any climbing or heavy load conditions to prevent brake block rub. Why the Triple X is not assymetrically drilled I do not know, seems like a very imprudent decision, imo. If you need something more aero, the Campy Bora G3 is another superb wheel, not overly crosswind friendly however. I personally think alloy rimmed wheels are a better choice, not to mention a FAR better value, for 99% of all users. Of the current available inventory of composite wheels, the Campy's stand alone at front of class, imo.

Ride on!
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Jerk:

In order to get reasonable braking performance from the Hyperon you must jetison the stock cork pads and use Kool Stop Green pads instead. No heat build up issues that I've noticed.

If Trek feels the new Edco hubs do not require assymetric rear rims, why do they use same hub and lacing on '04 Race X-Lites which do have assyemtric rim? The spoke angle on right (drive) side is considerably less angled than on left. I did not check spoke tension to determine exact tension differential between sides but I suspect it is large. The spoke angle on Hyperon are much more similar due to 3mm offset and spoke tension is quite similar. I'd trust the Campy hub for longterm durability/reliability over the Edco as well.

The one item in favor of the Bontrager is its usage of stock j bend spoke on driveside hub. This is typically where spoke failures occur, so having a readily available spoke is far better than Campy's proprietary straight pull type. On the other hand, Campy's better lacing/rim design should be beneficial in mitigating spoke breakage issues. I've had mine for 2 seasons w/o any failures or maintainence issues although I rarely use them, basically limited to competitive DC's with lots of steeps.

I've only demo'd one TripleX sample, which was prior to retail release so perhaps some changes have been made however I doubt it. Granted, my size and weight is greater than most cyclists and I am a bit hard on wheels so take my experiences with a grain of salt.

I'd still buy the Race X-Lite or Neutron sewup wheels before spending nearly twice as much to save maybe 300g per pair of wheels unless I was spending all day riding >10% grade climbs. Safety, durability, reliability, torsional stiffness and cost all favor the alloy versions. Bontrager and Campy make really fine alloy wheels.
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Jerk:

Amazing how you and I have evolved into agreeing on most cycling topics. I still can't use 15cm stems, even my filet'd Cr-Mo 11.5cm stem flexes more than I sometimes prefer, a 15cm would have to use way OS tubing and that would be tooooo uuuugly.

You've even dropped the 3rd person references, or is that just for my benefit saved just for direct response to me. Anyway, Holiday Cheers to you and yours.

Ride on!
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There is no composite rims that is suitable for daily usage amongst the box jockey's. Unless your riding is limited to open stretches of tarmac that never require emergency stopping power, stick with alloy rims.

While all cf rims offer seriously compromised braking, the Lews were the worst ever. This was due to their excessively narrow width. There was no viable reason for this design, a large reason why the company failed, please let us not be reminded of the pedophilia charges that also effected the companies founder. The 17mm rim width is less than optimal given the geometry of all caliper brakes, not to mention that it compromised glueing integrirty for most quality sewups. The Lew wheels should be avoided altogether. When Reynold's/MacLean took over the Lew patents they made several changes, the first and foremost however was was redesigning rims to 19.5mm width for better braking.

If you do use cf rims, install Kool Stop Green pads, the best pad available for composite rims, used by almost every pro team. They still will not stop or modulate like a good alloy rim but at least a 20mm rim width and Green pad give you the best shot at decent braking performance for those cf rim users.

Ride on!

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Wheels for Sandy
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Young Sanford:

Good to hear you are still out enjoying your new rig. Have we not already been down this "which wheels" topic in a 'previous life'?

With all due respect to a few previous posters responses, composite wheels are to be AVOIDED at all costs, no pun intended. Composite wheels are great for race only usage on closed course. Negotiating nasty DC traffic with composite wheels is not only fiscally imprudent, its dangerous. Even if using special brake blocks, the Kool Stop green compound are the most effective ime, the braking performance using rim brakes on composite rims is poor at best. Stick with good reliable and affordable alloy rims for your usage.

The most important consideration should be what you are looking for from these wheels. Something bullet-proof reliable, affordable and long lasting? Hand built 36H wheels by a local experienced wheelsmith is best choice. Avoid the fancy, pricey spokes, use butted 14g up front and non-drive rear, straight 14g driveside 3x laced, 2x non-drive. If you want something "stylish", the Sapim CX-ray spokes are outrageously priced, cool looking, compatible with any hub but will offer compromised longterm durability. They're strong (tensile strength) but brittle and fatigue prone. If one fails, it's usually a quick and easy repair plus with 36 spokes/wheel the wheel generally can be ridden home. Most low spoke count wheels cannot be ridden home if a single spoke fails.

The Topolinos should be avoided for this very reason. These wheels are actually only 2 "spokes"/wheel. A single composite serpentine string per side, if it fails (Spynergy's have had a very suspect service record using similar materials), the wheel must be sent back to factory for repair. No problem for sag supported racers, big problem for recreational rider.

If you have DA10 hubs from your gruppo, use these. If not, the Phil Wood hubs are nearly same price as the new DA10 hubs. I'd choose Phil's for longterm durability and better flange design everyday of week, twice on Sunday's.

If no hubs, pre-builts may be a consideration. I am big fan of the Bontrager Race Lite/Race XLite series as well as Campy's prebuilts. These 2 lines have taken measures to reduce rear wheel dish, something all users of 8+ spd rear clusters should consider, particularly those in your size/weight class.

Lastly I'll make my pitch for the best wheels you can buy, sewups. You'll notice far better feel, ride and performance simply by using sewups, than you will ever notice using any clincher wheel and any wire-on tyre. Handbuilt sewup rims are redaily available on Ebay for ridiculously cheap prices. I personally favor the old Campy rims (avoid the newer Barcelona model), but Ambrosio Synthesis Durex, various Wolbers and the Mavic GP4 and SSC models were great as well. Avoid the lightweight Mavic GL's, GEL's and any Fiamme's for your size/weight. Among the current production sewup rims, Mavic's Reflex is fine, I personally prefer the FIR (pronounced fear) rims. They had a prototype assymetric drilled sewup 2 seasons ago which I suspect may be in production by now. FIR rims are tough to find in States but worth the search given their superior quality for less money than Mavic.

Among the prebuilt sewup wheels, the Campy Nucleon is a very nice wheel with good hub and assymetric drilled rim. The Bontrager Race XLite is also available as a sewup rim, it's a bit higher priced than Nucleon but also a bit stiffer laterally. I'd call it a toss-up. If you would just take a small leap of faith into sewup world, I promise you will not regret it. Your buddy Flydhest I'm sure could educate you on tire mounting, its far easier than most folks realize. You'll flat less, ride smoother and turn more confidently. You and your Ottrott desreve the best, sewups are just that. Wishing you well, keep on riding good man.

Ride on!