Best rims for 700X30/32 tires

[CNY rider]

I have a certain something that should be coming in May; I'm anxious to try out some nice 700X30 or 32 road tires on it.
I'm going to get a new set of wheels for this and have not ridden tires this wide on the road much.
My dirt road bikes have Mavic OP's and handle the 700X32 cross tires just fine.
What wheels and rims do you fat road tire riders prefer? Any in particular to avoid?

Thanks.

[Pete Serotta]

Send a note to DBRK and Smiley... DBRK (aka Douglas) has been riding them for years along the wonderful roads of upstate NY> Also Steve Hampsten, Curt Goodrich, MiKe Barry would be others to talk to .

[palincss]

In the Mavic line, the Open Sport is probably going to be better for a 32mm tire than the Open Pro.

[maunahaole]

Velocity Dyad.

[bicycletricycle]

i think that the width of open pros is great for 30-32 tires. i currently have a bike with panaracer Tserv 700x32s on open pros and they ride great.

[palincss]

Mavic recommends tire widths ranging between 19-28mm for the Open Pro.
http://www.mavic.com/road/products/open-pro.323926.2.aspx

They recommend 19-32mm tires for the Open Sport.
http://www.mavic.com/road/products/open-sport.323975.2.aspx

[acorn_user]

The 23mm wide rims are #best# for that width of tyre. I have a set of the DRC version, and others have recently come out from Velocity, C-4 and HED, and I think Exxal makes one too (not that they have distribution or anything). Anyway, the DRC and Exxal rims are the ones the audax guys in the UK recommend. Otoh, I have run huge 37c Panaracers on an Open Pro....

[paczki]

I have DRCs and I run 56s on them.

[sjbraun]

I've had no problems running 32mm Paselas or 33.33 Jack Browns on regular Open Pros.

If you want a wider rim, this one from C-4 looks interesting.

http://fairwheelbikes.com/c4-vr22-p-2463.html

[weaponsgrade]

Mavic recommends tire widths ranging between 19-28mm for the Open Pro.
http://www.mavic.com/road/products/open-pro.323926.2.aspx

They recommend 19-32mm tires for the Open Sport.
http://www.mavic.com/road/products/open-sport.323975.2.aspx

Is the width of the rim the only difference b/w the Open Pro and Open Sport?

[dwightskin]

I think the Open Sport is single eyelet? The Open Pro is double eyelet. I'm not 100% sure -- the MA-3 which was the predecessor was notorious for having eyelets pull through the rim.

Peter White has a nice listing of rims here:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/tourtand.asp

Another rim to consider is the Alex Adventurer Rim. Not sure if it has a 36 spoke in 700C, though.

I ran 32mm Paselas on Open Pro's for years.


Dwight

[topher]

I really like my set of Mavic A719's - I have them on my touring bike, and also use them when I ride on fireroads, etc.

[acorn_user]

I looked up the Exxal model number, and it is LX17. I'd forgotten about the Mavic A range. I used Mavic A319s for ages ('til they got stolen in fact), and they were great rims. I even did my first race with them, complete with 23c road tyres :)

[that guy]

I have a pair of Salsa Delgado Cross rims on my cross bike. A little bit burly, perhaps, but more proportional for 32-35c tires.

[echelon_john]

HED C2 rims

or any of their C2 pre-built wheels

[Rueda Tropical]

Velocity A23 (lightweight racing) or Synergy (heavier) both 23mm wide.

[Smiley]

Send a note to DBRK and Smiley... DBRK (aka Douglas) has been riding them for years along the wonderful roads of upstate NY> Also Steve Hampsten, Curt Goodrich, MiKe Barry would be others to talk to .
no go on the Open Pro silvers as Palincss said and Jeremy grabbed me some NOS Campy Motreal rims in Silver if you can find them. Did my homework on this subject before I bought the tires. Good luck

[sc53]

Eric--check out Velo Orange's PBP rims for those wider tires. Only one sticker, very silver, and ride very nicely! I just got a set of wheels from VO made on these rims.
www.velo-orange.com

[SamIAm]

HED C2 rims

or any of their C2 pre-built wheels

+1 on this. Just got a set build up by Troy at Ligero Wheels for the incoming Bedford. Very nice.

[Marcy]

Velocity Dyad -- have these on my cross bike & love them.

Would like to try the new A23, supposed to be a bit lighter.

The Synergy is only a 19 (someone suggested it) -- checked on Universal.

Ride safe! :-)

-- Marc

[Tobias]

I have a certain something that should be coming in May; I'm anxious to try out some nice 700X30 or 32 road tires on it.
I'm going to get a new set of wheels for this and have not ridden tires this wide on the road much.

How certain are you that you won't go down in tire size with these same wheels? For instance, any chance you may go down to 25s at some point?

If so, I wouldn't go wider than 23 or 24 mm rims.

[palincss]

Jan Heine sent this notice out today:


After many years when it looked like classic box-section rims with a
polished aluminum finish were going to be a distant memory, we now
have more and more exciting rim choices.

Grand Bois just offered their latest, a "double-wall" polished rim
that is 23 mm wide, 700C and 650B, 32 and 36 holes.

The new Grand Bois rim is based on a custom extrusion. Why a custom
extrusion? Most makers of limited-production rims use existing
extrusions, and just have them rolled to different diameters,
sometimes adding a nice polish as well. That means that there is only
minimal tooling and setup cost. However, all existing classic rim
profiles are only 19 mm wide, as they are intended for narrow racing
tires. That is narrower than is ideal for the 30-40 mm wide tires
many of us prefer. The wider rims are intended for mountain or hybrid
bikes and often have facetted shapes that are heavier and don't look
as nice. So Grand Bois commissioned a custom extrusion for a 23 mm
wide rim.

The new Grand Bois rims are remarkably light, without compromising
strength. The 650B version weighs 488 g, making it the lightest 650B
rim available today. (The Velocity Synergy weighs 502 g, so the
difference isn't great. You begin to reach a lower limit, and to make
the rims lighter, you either compromise strength and durability, or
you make them narrower.)

Available in 700C and 650B, 32 and 36 holes. Because of the custom
extrusion, these rims aren't cheap, but worth every penny at $89
(650B) and $96 (700C).

For more info, see

http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/whatisnew.html

[CNY rider]

How certain are you that you won't go down in tire size with these same wheels? For instance, any chance you may go down to 25s at some point?

If so, I wouldn't go wider than 23 or 24 mm rims.

These wheels should be wearing 700X28 and up at all times.
I'm still not going to go wider than 23 mm rims.

Palin-pal, very interesting, thanks for the heads up!

[palincss]

You know, if this is for that exquisite Mariposa I saw in the parking lot as the rain storm came rolling, it's exactly the sort of bike those Grand Bois rims were made for.

[Ti Designs]

I had no idea the rim made that much difference. My only suggestion is NOT to use Weinmann Concaves...

[CNY rider]

You know, if this is for that exquisite Mariposa I saw in the parking lot as the rain storm came rolling, it's exactly the sort of bike those Grand Bois rims were made for.

A "Curt" should be joining the family in the next few months....... :banana:

[retrogrouchy]

Ooooh, please let us know how you plan to build up the Goodrich. I have one that I'm trying to build 'in the manner it deserves' but I'm waffling on a lot of the details....

[veloduffer]

These wheels should be wearing 700X28 and up at all times.
I'm still not going to go wider than 23 mm rims.

Palin-pal, very interesting, thanks for the heads up!

I'm trying the Mavic Open sports on my cross bike and put 700x35 tires on them. So far so good but I don't have enough mileage to attest to durability.

[MarleyMon]

I really like my set of Mavic A719's ...
my choice as well

[khjr]

The Synergy is only a 19 (someone suggested it) -- checked on Universal.
-- Marc

Velocity Synergy is 24 mm per the Velocity website (linked)

http://www.velocitywheels.com/default.asp?contentID=590

although their rim cross section diagrams show it as 23 mm.

http://www.velocitywheels.com/default.asp?contentID=563

What is Universal?

[khjr]

Anyone have any experience with these DT TK540 rims?

They're 23.6 mm wide and have double eyelets, which would appear to have superior resistance to spoke pullout than the single or non eyeleted options. I've heard good things about the the DT rim quality too. Only penalty is weight, at 540g.

http://www.wheelbuilder.com/store/dt-swiss-tk-540-rim.html

[FierteTi52]

I may be the minority here but Open Pros are fine for the 28-30mm road tires you want to run. I run 37MM Paselas on my cross bike with Open Pros. In addition, if all you other wheels are Open Pro, all the more reason to stay with a rim the same width so you can swap around wheels. Now if you are looking for a sturdier more heavy duty rims, it's a different story.
Jeff