700c Wheel recommendations

[Kushan]

Hi all - 

I am looking for some 700c wheel recommendations for an Appaloosa build project. I plan to use it for everyday recreational riding and long weekend rides (50-100 miles). While most of my riding will be on paved roads, I don't want to worry if I hit an occasional dirt or gravel patch on the way (I currently ride a Roadini and off road riding isn't very confidence inspiring). I don't plan to carry much weight on the bike but I am a heavy fella (200+ lbs) so the wheel effectively will end up carrying some weight. I plan to set it up as tubed but, if possible, would like to try tubeless conversion in future as well (though this is not a dealbreaker). I plan to run 48 - 50 mm tires. 

Custom builds are out of budget so I am looking for some recommendation on full wheelsets (new or used). My current top contender is Velocity Cliffhangers. While this checks all the boxes above, my main concern is whether they are overkill for my mostly payment riding style. 

Best

Kushan 

[nus...@gmail.com]

I recently switched from A23's to Cliffhangers on my Toyo Atlantis. I had similar concerns that they'd be overkill. Perhaps I'm simply experiencing the weight savings going from tubed to tubeless, but my initial impressions is that the Cliffhangers feel faster, hold their speed better, and are nice stiff wheels. I run 50mm gravel kings on them. I would recommend them.

[aeroperf]

I use Velocity Atlas wheels on my Sam, and they’ve been good with any tire size I’ve tried up through 50mm. I’m 200 lbs plus, so I use 36 spokes.  They are possibly a bit of overkill for my typical 42mm tires, but they’ve been trouble free.
My touring bike has Velocity Dyads and they run fine with up to 42mm tires - I haven’t tried them with anything bigger, though they should fit 50mm.  Also 36 spokes since they carry me plus 35 pounds for a loaded tour, and also trouble free.

Cliffhangers probably are overkill, because a heavier wheel makes it a little tougher to do the hills.  Over time this matters - like going tubeless.  Your riding style isn’t as important as the ability to handle a wider tire, however.  A 50 mm tire on an A23 would be squeezing it.  A Cliffhanger, Atlas or Dyad should handle it just fine.
My recommendation for your riding style and tire size would be the Atlas.  Lighter weight than the Cliffhangers, and plenty strong.  They also come with eyelets to prevent cracking around the spoke holes.

[Philip Barrett]

Velocity are really good people & full of useful advice, sort of the Rivendell of wheels. You can reach out to them directly for input, their marketing guy (Ian) has been a huge help to me in the past.

[Brendan Willard]

I have a Shimano dynamo /Velocity dyad wheelset and a deore/ velocity synergy wheelset.  I really only need one, so if you’d like to work something out, contact me off list. If you happen to be in the bay area, you’re welcome to try either out. 

Thanks,
-Brendan Willard

Owner/Winemaker

Phantômé Cellars

phantomecellars.com 

Speaking in Thumbs 👍

On May 14, 2021, at 5:05 PM, Philip Barrett <philipr...@gmail.com> wrote:

Velocity are really good people & full of useful advice, sort of the Rivendell of wheels. You can reach out to them directly for input, their marketing guy (Ian) has been a huge help to me in the past.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4ede4d9b-3ef9-46bc-a974-bc2154b02084n%40googlegroups.com.

[David Person]

I run Dyads with RH Snoqualmie Pass tires (41mm actual width) on my Sam.  Great rims unless you are planning to run tubeless.  It that case I'd opt for Velocity Quill rims.

[Jeffrey Arita]

Kushan,

I am a very big fan of Velocity rims (A23s, Dyads, Fusions).  My latest wheelbuild used Velocity Quills (36H).  I use them on a monster cross bike and they are much more laterally stiff vs. the A23s (as Velocity so indicates).  Point and go and steering is dead-on.  Tough, I've taken them over rough off-road terrain.  Quills can handle tubeless tires in the range you are looking for (I am currently running 43mm Panaracer GravelKing SSs).

On another note I have found it very difficult to buy Velocity Quills (out of stock).  I resorted to purchasing what was available and I just received a pair of DTSwiss R460 rim-brake rims.  Dead-ringer for the Quills as far as profile goes.  Per the sticker on the rim, it says it can accomodate up to 56mm wide tires tubed or tubeless.  I paid just under $56 for each.  32 hole max only, though.  Have your local bike shop build them up for you - just another option.

Best regards,

Jeff 

[Bones]

I've used 700c Dyads, Atlases, and Cliffhangers on my 62 Appaloosa and 62 Sam. I'm a pretty lean fella. On the Sam I definitely preferred the Dyads, being more of a roadish bike and having 44mm tires. But for the Appaloosa (and my Clems for that matter) I pretty much swear by Cliffhangers now. The Atlas is an excellent rim but in my opinion you get more with the Cliffhanger. The weight difference as compared to the Atlas is really negligible, especially if you go tubeless on the Cliffhangers. And if you don't want to, well you can down the road if you change your mind. The Cliffhangers are stiffer and they also work great with the range of tire widths that I have found to be ideal for the Appaloosa (48-54ish). Bonus: you get some extra width from the tire as compared to the Atlas. Good Luck!

Bones

[Joe M.]

I’m running Dyads tubeless on my new Sam. Set them up with a double wrap of Gorilla tape. They seated about as easily as one could hope for when I set them up. So far so good! I have the ultralight Ultradynamico 42mm tires. Ran over some glass today and sealant started spraying all over from the rear tire. Stopped the leak with my finger and less than a minute later I was back up and riding. Made it home without needing to add more air to the tire.

[lconley]

Velocity will also make rims for you that are not listed - extra spoke holes, polished, etc. I am overweight and like 40 and 48 spoke rims and polished rims which they will happily do with the next batch of rims that make. No extra cost for the non-standard spoke hole drillings, you just need to wait for the next production run. I have polished 36 spoke 650B Quills, polished 40 spoke 650B Cliffhangers and polished 48 spoke 650B Cliffhangers.

Laing

[Garth]

Kushan, You can get custom builds straight from Velocity for $450 straight gauge/$480 double butted spokes with their ATB hubs(black powdercoat only if that matters). They offer off-menu(phone is best) the Cliffhanger in non-machined, non-polished silver.

http://store.velocityusa.com/c/wheels_touring

Also, email Rich @Riv and see what he can do for you with either Cliffhangers or whatever other rims he may have. You never know unless you ask ! With Deore hubs they're entirely reasonable.

I wouldn't bother with Atlas rims either as the wider rim is more beneficial for the tires you want to run. Cliffhangers aren't overkill for your purposes at all. I'd call a rim that weighs say 900g like a Ryde Andra 30 overkill.