Bikepacking / Bike Touring wheels?

[siranachronist]

Hey all,

Does anyone have recommendations for wheelsets with higher spoke counts (>=28h), suitable for light bikepacking / touring?

Seems like there are not many hubs which are suitable (>=28h, centerlock, non-boost, XDR/HG-11, ideally ratchet-based), and I haven't yet found anything price-competitive with, say, Hunt 35s (https://us.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-35-carbon-gravel-wheelset-1)

[dsveddy]

Go zone on aliex sells mtb wheelsets that can be configured to match your spec. Only possible hang up might be that they are hookless

[Pedaldancer]

Novatec has at least one hub that is 12x142 and has an 32H option

https://www.eshop.novatecwheels.eu/eshop/hub-rear-d982tsb-cl-x12-11s-alloy-centerlock-anodized-black-32h-14g-crmo-12x142-with-novatec-360-logo-d459-rl-2sb-bearings-loose-balls-freehub-s5-type-w-9-speed-15-spacer-without-thru-axle-oem-not-for-e-mtbs-cn/p-5317947.xhtml?srsltid=AfmBOoqSQzUPcGdce0Ju9wOtuAzWQQGjrB5qqwz0jp1axwqqmGfbrDW9

Also DT Swiss has an 12x142 32H hub

https://www.bike-discount.de/de/dt-swiss-350-classic-mtb-cl-12x142mm-hinterradnabe

There are still some non boost mountainbike used , so that's probably the reason the 32H hubs work 12x142 can be found.


I know a hub is not a wheel.. but only if the right hubs exist, the wheel can be created

[Sebastian]

Off the shelf, you can probably only get a set of 29er XC wheels with that kind of spec.

I built a custom set of wheels with 32 spokes front and rear. I used Novatec‘s 791/792 hubs which are not the lightest but absolutely bombproof and convertible to literally any standard you could want. Rims are 30deep/30wide/25 internal hookless and superlight at 315g. Seems to be an open mold rim that has been around for a number of years from various sellers. It exists in a symmetric and asymmetric version. I built these wheels as a true do it all set. Brass nipples because this bike gets ridden all year round and a lot in wet and awful conditions. Sapim CX Ray spokes to keep the weight down. The set weighs 1380g despite having 32spokes.

It’s plenty fast, feels very comfy and I‘ve used it for Bikepacking as well. I‘d trust these wheels to take me anywhere. But looking back, I think that 32 spokes are probably overkill. 28 would have been enough.

[Scott1234]

I've researched this and came up mostly empty.

Every single link in the Bikepacking.com article about bikepacking wheels is now dead. Road and gravel wheels seem almost exclusively 24h rear, and typically 20h front though at least there are 24h front available.

However I found Light Bicycle, available in the US and Canada I believe, who offers custum wheel-builds with the Industry Nine 1/1 hub, which has 28h rear as an option. Price is still lower than western brands.

Looks like Light Bicycle, or put up with 24h/24h from other brands.

[siranachronist]

Yes, I contacted light bicycle as well, and they will also do DT Swiss 240s with 28h options. I suspect 28h systems will continue to decrease in popularity since straight pull vs j bend and boost vs non-boost has bifurcated the market.

I ended up going with a 24h/24h carbon wheel that is relatively deep + wide, with the rationale that such a rim in practice is going to be much stiffer and stronger than rims that were popular when higher spoke counts were the norm. Still doesn't help when you need to limp onwards after breaking a spoke, but maybe it's just time to start carrying around fiberfixes. For context, I have a Salsa Cutthroat for truly multi-day unsupported bikepacking, which accepts MTB (boost) wheels, so the intent with this wheelset + bike is to have a more rugged bike for travel/winter/daily gravel, but generally not be out of reach of civilization.