Touring on 32h wheels

I just picked up a used Cross Check that I’m planning on touring with over the summer. The stock wheels are still on the bike, 32h Alex DA16 rims laced to Deore hubs. I weigh about 150lb and probably won’t be carrying much more than 30lb as a base weight without counting food and water.

Anyways I guess the question is with well tensioned semi cheap 32h wheels should I expect to have any problems? Anyone have experience with these wheels in particular?

i dont think so.

You will be fine. The cross check, the volpe, the trek 520, and many other “touring” bikes have been sold with 32 spoke wheelsets. Keeping proper tension is of course a must, but there will be other things that you will want to spend money on. Have fun and take pictures.

you’ll be fine, yer a skinny bastard like me.

I definitely wouldnt worry about 32 hole wheels even if you were touring with a heavier load. If you were planning on doing some intense backroads touring you might be a little wary of them, but you should be fine, though I would bring a spare spoke or two and a spoke wrench in your tool kit.

Sound advice.

You will be fine. The wheelset on the CC is very strong. I was 165 or 170lbs with a 40lb rear load when I toured off-road for 2 days on a cheapie OLD 105 rear laced to Mavic rim. The wheel did fine as I had checked out tension before hand.

Err, once again anomaly posts while logged in as littlebear

They’ll hold up fine. The only difference will slight decrease in longevity.

No trouble, but learn how to true a wheel on the frame just in case (never a bad thing to know, touring or not).

I’m gonna be touring on 32h open pros.
I’m 180.
Am I gonna die?

Yes, but for other reasons. Probably bears.

Or angry southern militias.

With a rider and load all up weight less 200Lbs, I’d suggest that you can use any goddamned wheel you like including uber-light low-spoke racing wheels and you’d be unlikely to have any issues.

The main reason to ride with a higher spoke count rim for touring is that if a spoke or two breaks on a 32 or 36 hole rim you can almost always true it enough to get you to your destination. On low spoke count (28 or below) rims a single broken spoke can cause a rim to become so drastically out of true it becomes unrideable when loaded. Rarely are people so heavy or loads so big that you actually need the additional spokes. Hell tandems run 40 hole rear hubs not due to the weight but due to the amount of power two pedalers can generate.

^ My favourite part about being a skinny fucker is the selection in wheels that it gives me.

I hate you.

The main reason to ride with a higher spoke count rim for touring is that if a spoke or two breaks on a 32 or 36 hole rim you can almost always true it enough to get you to your destination. On low spoke count (28 or below) rims a single broken spoke can cause a rim to become so drastically out of true it becomes unrideable when loaded. Rarely are people so heavy or loads so big that you actually need the additional spokes. Hell tandems run 40 hole rear hubs not due to the weight but due to the amount of power two pedalers can generate.[/quote]

I concur. I’m not suggesting that it’d be a great idea to tour on a low-spoke wheel. I was just trying to draw a contrast. I would counter by suggesting that spokes usually break from loading stresses and as such, a lighter rider and load would be less likely to have broken spokes and thus would be less likely to need extra spokes… unless a pack strap gets caught in the wheel or something

:bear:

Sounds great. You’re probably fucked though rusty

this.

also: strength in a wheel largely comes from proper building and tensioning/truing. If it is built and maintained properly, you will have a strong wheel almost regardless of spoke count (as has been said). As a skinny dude, you’ve got LOADS of choice, because most wheels are built to hold up to dudes WAY heavier than you, probably even heavier than you plus a load. The advantage of more spokes is that you have a little more fudge room.
Another thing to take into account is spokes used. You will be less likely to snap a double butted spoke, as it is more likely to flex/stretch at the thinner inner section and dampen the forces, where a straight gauge spoke will be more likely to snap rather than stretch. Good spokes are far under rated.

I’m setting up my crosscheck with a generator wheelset. I have 32 spoke front and rear wheels built up (32 eyelet MA-2 rims, Ultegra rear, Shimano generator front). This ought to have satisfied me, but I read Jobst Brandt and worried enough about rear wheel spoke breakage in the middle of nowhere that I ebayed a 36 spoke MA2-9 speed Ultegra wheelset (£32). I’ll use the 36 hole rear wheel from this set and my 32 hole generator front wheel; ebay my 32 hole rear and 36 hole front hubs; keep the 32 and 36 hole ma2 rims as spares because they’re a bit hard to find; and either write off the spokes or keep them as spares for a future build.

Did I overthink this? Probably… That’s my story though.