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[i]a friend of mine[/i]is looking to splash out on some carbon wheels for his Cannondale SS Evo and I suggested going down the Light Bicycle route for rims and having them laced to his hub of choice as that's what I did and it worked out okay.
He's coming in at around 15st on a fat day and 14.5 on a thin one, should he go for 20/ 24 front and rear spokes or maybe 24/ 28? I suggested Hope RS4 hubs for choice/ price/ quality/ durability/ easy to service and obtain spares etc
Anyone got any better ideas???
What they for? How deep a rim? If they're all rounders then 24/28 with dt swiss hubs (240 or 350 depending on budget).
I'm very old fashioned with my wheels. I'd be going 32 spokes myself.
Cheers fellas, just for general Sunday morning road rides and the odd sportive. No serious racing and no mud. Not sure about depth, probably 45 or 35.
I'm no racing snake and I'm waiting on a set of Mr Hope's new wheels
[url= http://www.hopetech.com/product/hope-rd40-carbon-rs4-s-pull-centre-lock/ ]RD40 Wheels[/url]
24/28 for normal every day wheels.
And as above 240s if you have the money
My rear 240s is about to have rim number three and still on its original bearings , road bike
Hope hubs are probably a bit more user friendly for home service as you can just about get away without special tools
Far more crucial than 20/24 or 24/28 spokes is who is going to build them...? Do they have experience building carbon wheels? Do they have a spoke tension meter? Do they know the optimum and maximum spoke tensions that can be used with said rim and hub combos?
Basically, what I'm trying to say is... A good wheelbuilder could build a 20/24 combo up for your friend at 15st and it would last ages. A poorly built set of wheels even with more spokes would consistently go out of true. I've seen carbon wheels come from reputable factories that have needed a lot of attention before going to the customer as their spoke tensions have been well out from their own recommendations.
I'd echo above on hub choices. DT Swiss if you can afford them, Hope if not. Rim wise, no reason not to go for 45's unless all you're doing is riding up and down 6%+ gradients all day long. Aero trumps lightweight in almost every case, though there's very little aero gains past a certain profile depth too... general consensus is that for most road riding 40-50mm depth is about optimal.