Budget CX Wheels......?

[MadDad]

About a month ago I invested in a CX bike for my hack to work, and a bit of fun! I am over the moon with the bike, if I can’t make my mind up between a road ride and MTB outing the CX bike ticks the boxes! I can do an hour or so on the road followed by a bit of a blat along bridleways, towpaths etc – really good fun and keeps things fresh!

I opted for a CAADX, so far it has turned out to be a great bike apart from the wheels. It came with Formula sealed bearing hubs which seem smooth enough, and Maddux DRX6000 rims – which are soft as butter and not that impressive at all!

I want to replace the wheels as I am fedup with truing them up after a ride, budget of £200-ish. Campag seem to have some decent-ish looking wheels, and the Fulcrum Racing 5CX seems the obvious choice but I wondered if any of you guys have experience of CX wheels.

I am aware most road wheels would do the job but are unlikely to have an adequate seal around the bearings – and as I do actually use the thing off road I want to make sure I am not going to be replacing the bearings every couple of hundred miles!

[anonymous-user]

give derek at www.wheelsmith.co.uk a call and see what you can get for the money.

take std fulcrum 5s, but slightly thicker seals on them, call them cyclocross wheels.....

Personally I would want a few more spokes than 20 at the front and 24 at the back. i know cx racers use that many but they also have the benefits of a pitcrew and a spare bike.... to be honest, tiagra on open pros with 32 db spokes would be fine, the issue with wheel bearing failures is less the mud and grit on the road/paths but more the ham-fisted approach most people take to cleaning a bike!

found this which might give you soem ideas... http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cx-wheels
some good points ref nipples and spoke patterns

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 24th April 17:37

[Barbarossa]

Get some made. Wide rim - Velocity A23, high-ish spoke count 32r 28f.

[Burrow01]

Would similar advice apply to upgrading Hybrid wheels

I'd like to change the wheels on mine, but not sure what to go for, most advice / articles are either for pure road bikes, or dedicated mountain bikes.

I use my Hybrid on the road and on light trails, it definitely gets muddier than a road bike

[h4muf]

I use boggo Shimano R500 wheels on my 'cross bike.Had them a year,hard use in the Peaks every weekend.

Been great for £50 a pair brand new.

[shalmaneser]

I;m running CXP33s on my town bike and they have been bombproof. Really great rims, match them up to some 105 hubs and you're onto a winner.

The ride is great too, really smooth.

[MadDad]

Thanks for the advice so far. While my life has been ebbing away on conf calls I have had a chance to do some surfing/research.

I think I am probably going to opt for a set of Ambrosio Zenith hubs on Velocity A-23 clincher rims, 28 front and 32 back. Probably going to have to go a bit over my budget but I should get a decent set of hand built wheels at the end of it.

As long as it is not pouring down Saturday I might ride the Ridgeway from Goring to Avebury, my only concern is what state the current wheels will be in by the time I get to the other end. I want a set of wheels that mean I only have to worry about my ability to complete a ride, not the wheels!

[anonymous-user]