The 2x up front should be just fine. On the rear, go with a 3x on the drive side.

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http://www.wheelbuilder.org

I am planning on building a wheel around a Powertap Pro hub and I was hoping to get some opinions. I am a heavy rider (~90kg) and I plan on using this wheel for training and the odd race. I want it to be as stiff as possible but if the difference in stiffness is negligible then I will obviously go with the lighter option... I am planning on using a Stan's Alpha 340 rim.

My first question is round or bladed spokes? Which is stiffer?
Should I consider brass nipples or will alloy nipples be sturdy enough?
How many spokes should I use? 28? 32?

I apologize if this topic has been covered already...

DT Aerolites or Sapim CX-Ray . Both are pretty similar.

Alloy nipples are "strong enough" when new, but I have broken some just through corrosion at the nipple base if they get exposed to water and road salt within about a year and a half. So for a heavy guy, I would strongly consider brass.

at your size, i'd shy away from the relatively elastic aerolites and cx-rays unless you are going with 32 spokes. i'd also opt for the new alpha400 as a small precaution.
round and bladed spokes are the same stiffness, apples to apples. bladed spokes have a bit longer fatigue life due to essentially being forged twice. bladed spokes are also easier to control from wind-up near the max tension.

At 90kg you should not use a light flexy rim like the Stans 340. Pick something stiffer, like a mild "aero" rim of 27-30mm depth. Or a wide rim (but then you may want a wide rim on the front to match).

A powertap wheel should be made durable. The PT hub is already heavy so you're not making a light wheel out of it. And if it's your only power meter you will want to use it all the time, so it needs to be strong.

Bladed spokes wind up just as much as the round spokes they're made from. It's just easier to see the wind up with the bladed spokes.

Hi guys,

One quick question:

Which would be a stronger wheel for CX-training purposes (fire-roads, semi-technical trails) with the rim, hub, nipple and spokes being the same between the two options?
-Rear Hub 24h with 16 DS 8NDS drilling, lacing would be 2xDS 1xNDS
-Rear Hub 28h ... 2x DS, 2x NDS

Thanks.

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Exp001

The later 28 spoke build would be stiffer as there are more spokes especially more NDS spokes. Triplet laing is good for evening tensions which is a useful trick on rims which cannot handle high tensions and for campag 11 speed compatabile hubs.

Of course if you use a 30mm deep V rim then the 24 spoke rear maybe sufficent (you are quite light from previous posts I think) in which the stiffness lost from less spokes will be made up by the extra stiffness of the rim.

Drocspoke. If you take Eric's suggestion of a 30mm v rim such as Kinlin XR-300, Velocity Deep V or the DT Swiss RR585 then CX-ray spokes would be fine especially with the RR585. You should also be able to get away with a 28 spoke rear wheel with a stiff V rim (RR585 is the stiffest I believe). I have a couple hanging on the rim rack and they do feel stiff.

For lower profile rims there is the Hplus sons Archetype (it 23mm wide too, 25mm deepand 450g) or the Velocity A23 (23mm wide, 19mm deep and 440g). The A23's I have built with 28F and 32R with race spokes and that more than stiff enough for a rider of your weight. So thinner CX-rays could be used and adaquate siffness would still be present. The archtype rims I think would be best on paper with CX-rays. They also look fantastic in silver

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Thanks bm0p700f.

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Exp001

Having just built a wheelset using Tune Mig 70 / Mag 170 hubs, advise is sought on how they should be best maintained, e.g. what and how often to lube/grease, etc.
I typically ride 1000 km per month on sealed roads, sometimes wet.

thanks

A question about nipples...

On one of my wheelsets (1.5 years old) one of the alu nipples recently failed spontaneously, by fracturing. I replaced it but when I attempted to true the wheel, another failed, and then another. This wheel has been ridden in rain and through the winter, so I guess corrosion is likely the issue.

My question: is this problem a given for year round use? Should I just rebuild with brass nipples because alu isn't suitable?

I would say, typical for alu nipples ridden in such conditions and the period (more/less).
My ones started cracking in the 3-rd season of use. But I was trying to avoid wet.
Recently rebuilt this wheel with the alu nipples again. I don't mind doing it every 3 years, ish

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Cervelo R5 VWD 5637g/12.43lb
Cannyon Ultimate slx 5592g/12.33lb
Pronghorn XC SW Race 8284g/18.26lb

I've yet to have an alu nipple break, even on the wheels that are on my rain bike.

But if I had a wheel that had nipples breaking like you describe, I'd replace them with brass.

Quite excited to see this new asymmetrical Velocity A23 with tubeless compatible rim bed.... Should be good for 11 speed builds. Velocity and Stans really seem to support wheel builders with helpful releases.

http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/10/07/int ... m-profile/

Dinged my rear alpha 340 on the brake track. Replace or can I bend it back to place ?

The OC A23 is good news but not essential for some 11 speed builds as A23 happily takes the tensions required for a stable wheel build. Did one recently with a Miche hub but these have decent flange spacings for an 11 speed compatible hub.

Still good news, I will be using this new rim.

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