Bicycles Network Australia - Australian Cycling Forums

by **albertgaleano** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:09 pm

Hi all, bought my wife her first road bike for commuting about two months back , Avanti Vitale 1.0. it came with Alex AKX-R1.0 Wheelset and Kenda Kontender 700 x 26c tyres. Was wondering what would be the best upgrade of wheelset & tyres be for everyday commuting, i was thinking fulcrum 5 or 3 's with continetal Gatorskin folding x 25c, any sugestions would be great THANKS.

by **BNA** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:51 pm

by **simonn** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:51 pm

To be honest... Wheels with 32 or 36 spokes are better for commuting. With the fulcrums if she breaks a spoke she's going to probably be stuck. With 32 or 36 spokes she might not even notice immediately.

FWIW, on my wife's commuter (not that she has commuted since being pregnant and then us having a baby) has 32 spoke Velocity Deep-V and low end hubs. About as tough as you can get.

Gatorskins are pretty good (I use them). Schwalbe Durano plus are good too, possibly better puncture protection, but expensive and not as durable as gators (IME).

by **Nobody** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 5:09 pm

simonn wrote:To be honest... Wheels with 32 or 36 spokes are better for commuting. With the fulcrums if she breaks a spoke she's going to probably be stuck. With 32 or 36 spokes she might not even notice immediately.

+1. A spoke may never break if a wheel with that many spokes is built properly.

by **albertgaleano** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:48 pm

so i had a look around and found some silver 105 5700 32 hole hubs from ribble, maybe some mavic or those velocity rims ???. I might just get the spokes from the lbs that i will go to do the wheels up.

by **Mulger bill** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:55 pm

albertgaleano wrote:so i had a look around and found some silver 105 5700 32 hole hubs from ribble, maybe some mavic or those velocity rims ???. I might just get the spokes from the lbs that i will go to do the wheels up.

Good hubs, wrap a pair of Velocity Fusion rims about them using db spokes and they'll last for years.

by **Nobody** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:20 pm

If you want hand built Velocity rims with Shimano hubs, then these may be helpful:
http://www.handspunwheels.com/
http://www.aebike.com/Pavement-Series_c_14270.html
http://www.aebike.com/Pavement-Series_c_14271.html

http://www.prowheelbuilder.com/

by **jasonc** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:46 pm

pro-lite como and schwalbe marathon plus (25c)

by **Dan** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:32 pm

I'm on mavic open pros with 25c conti gp4000s - can't complain there...

by **Tbird** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:53 am

Have been running Conti Top Contact since March and are bulletproof have just clocked 4500 Kms and still look and feel brand new very tough tyre.

Gator skins are also excellent as the puncture protection creates a very smooth ride prior to that was using Michelin
Pros which are very fast but super hard.

As for wheels I've used the Fulcrum 5s which feel very strong especially on rough surfaces and DT Swiss 1800 which are also excellent go for any name brands that you find on special don't think you can go wrong.

by **VRE** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:09 am

I've been using Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x28C tyres for several years now, and they're almost bullet-proof. My current rims are Dirtworks DT Swiss TK540 rims, which are nice and strong. And of course the Vivente tourer I use them on is a perfect commuter (and all-rounder) bike

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