36 hole wheel option?

[jhcakilmer]

I was wondering what you guys thought. I have a couple options for wheels, and one is going with a 36 hole hub laced with light spokes like 2/1.5/2 like dt revolutions, or sapim lazers. I'm a big guy (200lbs) and produce a lot of power! What do you think? What combination hub, spoke, rim would you recommend? Thanks!!

[ergott]

I was wondering what you guys thought. I have a couple options for wheels, and one is going with a 36 hole hub laced with light spokes like 2/1.5/2 like dt revolutions, or sapim lazers. I'm a big guy (200lbs) and produce a lot of power! What do you think? What combination hub, spoke, rim would you recommend? Thanks!!

36 limits you hub options a little
Campy
Shimano
Tune
White Industries
(off the top of my head)

I would consider Cadence Aero (one name for the 30mm niobium) rims. They will be stiffer than box rims. With light gauge spokes you should be fine unless you are abnormally harsh on wheels.

[Too Tall]

What are you doing with these wheels? Training / riding or racing or touring?
I weight 200 lbs and am not hard on wheels and am very happy with properly built 32 spoke wheels. If I were riding a loaded touring bike I'd lace up some 36 x wheels fer sher.

[ChrisK]

I've been riding wheels like that for decades. My favorite are Campy hubs with Mavic CXP-33 rims. It doesn't matter which Campy hub because all the models from Veloce up use the same bearings, but I like Chorus best. I ride these wheels on dirt and gravel roads as well as pavement and they are just bomb proof. I'm a 6'3" 215 pound ex-sprinter.

My newest wheels are Maxi-car hubs laced to Rigida 1622 rims, but that's not a modern setup.

By the way, for most of a century 36 hole wheels were standard, then some manufacturers decided we would be a lot better off with four less spokes. How much do four spokes weigh? It was all about cost, not weight. But folks buy into stuff like this all the time. All you can do is shake your head and smile.

[Jeff N.]

Stick with 32. 36 is just not necessary, IMO, unless perhaps you're extremely heavy or into touring. Jeff N.

[Too Tall]

Chris, You live in Annapolis??? Holy cow, didn't know your business existed. Great stuff pal :) Come on down anytime. You need to hook up for one of the sat. rides with Smiley et al.

[ergott]

I've been riding wheels like that for decades. My favorite are Campy hubs with Mavic CXP-33 rims. It doesn't matter which Campy hub because all the models from Veloce up use the same bearings, but I like Chorus best. I ride these wheels on dirt and gravel roads as well as pavement and they are just bomb proof. I'm a 6'3" 215 pound ex-sprinter.

My newest wheels are Maxi-car hubs laced to Rigida 1622 rims, but that's not a modern setup.

By the way, for most of a century 36 hole wheels were standard, then some manufacturers decided we would be a lot better off with four less spokes. How much do four spokes weigh? It was all about cost, not weight. But folks buy into stuff like this all the time. All you can do is shake your head and smile.

Up until last year, Campagnolo internals were virtually the same from Record to Centaur, not Veloce. Veloce uses sealed bearings, not the cone and cup of the other models (not really such a bad thing). Starting this year, Campagnolo dropped Chorus and Centaur is not built with similar specs to Veloce. This means that if you want the much lauded cone and cup system of Campagnolo, you must get Record.

[jhcakilmer]

yeah, I'm not thinking about doing this out a necessity, but experiementing, and also just like everyone says go with 32.........the 36 hubsets can go for very good prices on the web. I just finished a graduate degree, and now I'm in medical school with a wife and two kids, and cycling is not the cheapest of hobbies......so I'm trying to be creative. But if anyone wants to help a poor student keep on riding, I'm open to any suggestions, or great deals on hubs, spokes, and rims :D .........Thanks for your suggestions so far!!

[ergott]

Correction. Cadence Aero is up to 32, not 36.

[93LegendTG]

yeah, I'm not thinking about doing this out a necessity, but experiementing, and also just like everyone says go with 32.........the 36 hubsets can go for very good prices on the web. I just finished a graduate degree, and now I'm in medical school with a wife and two kids, and cycling is not the cheapest of hobbies......so I'm trying to be creative. But if anyone wants to help a poor student keep on riding, I'm open to any suggestions, or great deals on hubs, spokes, and rims :D .........Thanks for your suggestions so far!!
I always search the auctions for Ambrosio or Colnago on Ebay. It seems that many of the new Colnagos come with 36 hole Campy Centaur/Sapim/Ambrosio Evolution or Record/Sapim/Ambrosio Excellence wheelsets. I've picked up two of these new wheelsets for a song as many of the owners change to a prebuilt low count wheelset and the 36 hole wheels don't gather a lot of attention. They are fantastic wheels.