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Just looking at some new road wheels which have an upper weight limit which is my exact actual weight. Presumably they mean a fully kitted up rider which will make me slightly over the limit. I am a steady rider and rarely break stuff but how much leeway is reasonable if indeed any at all?
The weight limit is usually system weight isn’t it? So you plus bike, which sounds like you might actually be a chunk over it
I’d say stick to the limits for all-up weight.
I weigh 90kg, I bought some new wheels and first use was bikepacking with 13kg luggage. It was all on-road but they were quite ‘country lane’ (grass in the middle type). By the end of the weekend they were playing tunes each time the road turned upwards, and they were doing an impression of being made out of cooked spaghetti.
I was quite disappointed. When I went back to the shop website to complain I reminded myself what I’d bought and realised there was a max weight limit of 100kg. They're fine now as I re-tensioned them, and I use them simply for road riding without any additional bags etc.
I think it would depend on the type of riding, mtb wheels (in my mind) would probably have a fair safety margin built in to allow for landings etc.
Whereas TT wheels probably wouldn’t.
I have no evidence for this opinion, and it’s worth exactly what you paid for it 👍👍
It'll depend on how hard you ride them but most weight limits have quite a bit of margin built in. For road wheels as long as you're not smashing them into potholes or cobbles then they have an easy life.
I stick to them. My wheels have a maximum rider weight of 80kg and I'm 64 so no issues there.
I had a pair of Hope wheels with a weight limit, I was slightly over the limit by about 3kg, they needed straightening after every ride.
I put them on my partners bike and have had no further problems.
Depends on you TBH, i have a couple of sets of nice shiny handbuilt wheels where i am over the weight limit, in one case by about 20-25 kilos (system weight).
They've been perfect for about 10 years, including several years of racing.
I 've had more issues with factory built wheels where i'm under the weight limit...
If, for example, the wheels have a 100kg weight limit and you weigh 100kg, choosing a pair with a 120kg weight limit will probably add bu99er all weight to you/bike/wheels all-up weight.
Or lose 10kg to be on the safe side 🙂
The only time in 35 years of riding bikes I've ever had snapped spokes is when I've ridden on wheels where I'm over their weight limit.
I'd be wary but purely because I've seen a wheel explode as the rider was over the weight limit and he bottomed out in a dip, it made hell of a bang. Having said that it depends how you're going to ride on them and how over the limit you will be.
I've raced a tandem which was well over the weight limit for a racing wheel.
Did get a nice bang and a couple of broken spokes when we hit a pothole at racing speed, but if it had been a single I'm sure it would have thrown me off the bike. New hole on familiar road so took me completely by surprise.
Given how few spokes it started with, it was a little worrisome. We were only a few mins from the end so sort of cruised home at won't-die-if-it-folds speed.
A couple of kgs, I wouldn't bat an eyelid at. There's a decent margin of safety.
Back when I was over the weight limit for everything I just accepted that things would break more often.
Based on that experience I’d go maybe 10% over a limit, but ride carefully.
Look at touring wheels if you want to up limits.
You don't want twangy wheels anyway, find a different set instead.