Touring on 32h wheels

[quote=“mander”]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 rear wheel from this set, 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 write off the spokes or keep them as spares for a future build.

Did I overthink this? Probably… That’s my story though.[/quote]

I’m having this exact personal debate as I prepare my ride for a 1300 mile trip this summer. I dont want to get caught with a fucked wheel in the middle of camp pendleton in july when it’s 105 degrees.

how much is your loaded rig gonna weigh? remember also, spokes are way nicer than in Jobst’s heyday. rarely see a spoke broken these days.

There’s nothing wrong with 36h wheels if you’re building up a custom set. The weight of 4 spokes isn’t going to amount to much, and one could use lighter gauge spokes.

I’ve got a “Brick House” setup when I go tour- 36 in back, 24 up front, and 36 spare spokes just in case.

Oh, what a winnin’ hand…

Damn I wish I could say the same, I’ve broken a bunch of spokes on the back wheel of my Trek Drift cruiser. Granted, at 6’3" and 210, I’m no puny little bastard, but it’s a 36h wheel for crissakes… oh well, whatever. There’s a reason that bike new costs less than a nice wheelset.

were your wheels tensioned properly?
edit: why did you buy a trek?

[quote=“bold”]were your wheels tensioned properly?
edit: why did you buy a trek?[/quote]

  1. BTFOOM (beats the fuck out of me)
  2. I too ask myself this question. The main reason was because I priced out a new wheelset/tires/tubes for my old POS Schwinn(?) cruiser and realized I could get a new bike for just a little more money.

I have since learned the error of my ways, sort of. I bought a new bomber (and hopefully well built) wheelset for the old cruiser, and have lent the Trek to a “cyclist” friend who didn’t own any sort of decent town bike (just a beautiful Colnago Master X-Light road bike). He’s a lot lighter than me but has still managed to break a few spokes…