# Rim choice for gravel/dirt road riding with up to 38mm tires



## BluesDawg

I have a 2009 Salsa Casseroll that I use for (among other purposes) exploring dirt and gravel roads. These roads range from smooth to rutted with stutter bumps from erosion. I am presently running CXP-33 rims on Ultegra hubs with 32 DT Competition spokes front and rear with Continental Contact tires 37mm nominal which measure 34mm actual as mounted. It looks like up to actual 38mm tires would fit within the frame, fork and long reach caliper brakes. I want all the tire volume I can get to smooth out the bumps. I weigh about 170 and tend to ride softly over bumps.

I plan to use these wheels on a road bike I am building up for my son and get new wheels for the Casseroll. Although the wide tires have worked fine with the CXP-33s, I think something a little wider would be optimal. I am not as concerned with wheel weight as with strength and reliability, but I don't want to go for overkill. Maybe 32F/32 or 36R DT Comp spokes.

Rim options I have considered are Velocity A23 or Dyad, and Mavic A319 or A719. I also might consider the Pure Tour rims from BWW. I would probably go with Shimano 105 or Ultegra hubs to keep the cost down. 

Comments or suggestions? Thanks in advance.


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## BluesDawg

I guess I'll look elsewhere.


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## GRAVELBIKE

My commuter is equipped with Dyads, and my "fun" bike runs Sun/Ringle Equalizer 23s. Both work fine with tires up to 40mm wide. The commuter has rim brakes, and is laced 32/36, whereas the other bike is 32/32 and has discs.


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## m_s

Dyads are great rims but maybe burlier than you need. I imagine the A23 will still be really solid but a lot lighter. I've used both FWIW. Dyad is a good choice for loaded touring or heavier riders, A23 for everything else in my opinion.


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## TomH

I liked my set of A23's. Your other options are using 29er rim brake hoops, I believe theres more than a few around the 500g mark. My A23's were ~455g, more than advertised. Doesnt seem like anyone gets A23's close to advertised weight.

Id take tiagra hubs over even ultegra hubs. They're just not that different. 105's are damn near identical. The tiagra hubs are really pretty great, and a steal at ~50 bucks.


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## BluesDawg

Yeah. I think the A23s are going to be the best choice without going into overkill. The BWW Pure RT might be the lower cost option for $275 with black DT Comps. Bicycle Wheel Warehouse - Pure RT 700c road wheel set


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## carlosflanders

Salsa Delgado are great rims and very well-priced. I've been running them on my MTB with 2.3" tires and in CX races with 35 mm with no problems. Nice and wide with good braking surface.


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## 251

I've had a pair of Salsa Delgado Cross rims on my CX bike for the last five years and they've been great. I believe they're 22-23mm wide, and I've had everything from 25mm road tyres to 38mm knobbies on them. My wheels are 32h buit up with XT hubs and the only possible downside is that they're quite heavy at 2090g, though I'd assume you could cut some weight with some nice road hubs. 

For the sake of comparison, I have a pair of 36h Open Pro / Ultegra 6600 wheels on my roadie that weigh 1960g.

Here are some 38mm WTB tyres (actually measured 38mm, too) on the Delgados:


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## ergott

I use Stan's 29er rims with Michelin Jet clinchers setup tubeless. For gravel/dirt road riding I ride them @ 40psi and it's a very fast setup.

-Eric


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## BluesDawg

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm checking prices online and with my LBS for components to build 32/32 A23s on Tiagra hubs with double butted spokes.

Is tubeless a possibility with A23s and a Stan's kit? Running low pressure w/o worrying about pinch flats would be nice.


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## valleycyclist

BluesDawg said:


> Thanks for all the feedback. I'm checking prices online and with my LBS for components to build 32/32 A23s on Tiagra hubs with double butted spokes.
> 
> Is tubeless a possibility with A23s and a Stan's kit? Running low pressure w/o worrying about pinch flats would be nice.


Tubeless is a possibility. For high pressure road tires you just need Stan's tape or Velocity VeloTape. For low pressure fat tires you probably need a tubeless conversion kit.


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## Mootsie

251 said:


> I've had a pair of Salsa Delgado Cross rims on my CX bike for the last five years and they've been great. I believe they're 22-23mm wide, and I've had everything from 25mm road tyres to 38mm knobbies on them. My wheels are 32h buit up with XT hubs and the only possible downside is that they're quite heavy at 2090g, though I'd assume you could cut some weight with some nice road hubs.
> 
> For the sake of comparison, I have a pair of 36h Open Pro / Ultegra 6600 wheels on my roadie that weigh 1960g.
> 
> Here are some 38mm WTB tyres (actually measured 38mm, too) on the Delgados:


I run these same tires on my Dyads on my cross bike. Love 'em.


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## 2silent

A23 or HED belgium rim

Although I'd argue that regular width rims are fine.

I run the same 29x1.8s on my commuter on both older sun tandem rims (wide) and circa 2005 zipp 404s (narrow) and for gravel/road use they work great. I would change my tune for cyclocross use, but also run 32s for cyclocross.


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## BluesDawg

2silent said:


> ...Although I'd argue that regular width rims are fine...


Quite possibly true. But I have been curious about the claims about the benefits of wider rims, both for wider tires and also for 23mm road tires. Since I'll be getting new wheels anyway, this is a chance for me to get some first hand experience.


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## TomH

Narrower rims are definitely fine, in the sense that they wont cause problems. Much in the same way that old 80's steel frames are fine and get the job done  

I really dont like the wide tire on a narrow rim feeling. It just feels sloppy.


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