Mavic XC717 rims okay for touring?

sparkplug

I've got a rigid mountain bike with some mavic XC 717 rims (only 32 spokes).

Going on a little 4 day tour with maybe 15 kgs (33 lbs) of kit in some panniers.

Will the wheels be up to the job (with them being cross country rims and all)?

(Only going on road...)

EmmCeeBee

Any well-built wheels can do the job. If they're true and tensioned, don't worry about it. Just in case, take a couple extra spokes and the knowledge of how to change 'em (this applies even if you were carrying 40kg on 48-spoke wheels).

The longer the tour, the more stuff you end up carrying, the farther you get from your LBS, the more you depend on your bike. 36-spoke wheels give you that extra confidence and lower the perceived risk of wheel problems. If 36-spoke touring wheels are at 99% reliable on any given day, 32-hole Mavic XC's are, what?, 98% ? Ride, and have fun!

-- Mark

Shazzer

Even Bontrager Selects (700c)? I'm thinking about purchasing a 2005 Trek 7500 FX but it comes with these wimpy looking wheels. Bontrager says they will handle fully-loaded touring (as does the dealer), but I think I'd be a heck of a lot more comfortable with a wheels that have a few more spokes...especially if I pop one while on the road.

The dealer thinks I'm crazy to want to switch them out for something else (and does not really want to do it for me anyway) but my options to buy elsewhere or even buy a different model are limited as I'm in Sweden where Trek is a somewhat "exotic" choice. I'm really uncertain about how to proceed...any advice?

EmmCeeBee

Not familiar with Bontrager Selects, but I just googled them to see what they're like... I should have said "any well-built 3-cross 32-spoke wheels".

Again, you just have to assess risk. All other things being equal (build quality, rim quality, etc.), a 36-spoke wheel is, say, 99% risk-free on any given day. A 32-spoke might be 98%. My sense is that a 24-spoke would be 90% or so. This is for loaded touring. I wouldn't be comfortable riding a 24-spoke wheel for more than a couple days -- it's simple math.

For the Bontrager Selects, it looks like the rear is 2-cross, 24-spoke. The front is radial, 20-spoke. Both these (especially radial) are not designed for load-carrying. This contradicts what the dealer told you, but without a bucketfull of testimonials, I wouldn't leave home with them (except on a fast unloaded ride). Their sense of "touring" probably means "riding far from home on a credit card".

On the other hand, if you weigh 120 lbs and your touring load is 15 lbs -- I take that back, you can tour on cardboard wheels.

-- Mark