Rim brake wheel replacement

[Nitram]

I’m not doing cyclocross, but want to be able to do occasional gravel roads without getting hammered to death !
Can anyone recommend a decent replacement wheelset for someone using rim brakes, and wanting to use 28mm tyres ? The rims I’m using now (American Classic 420s) are light, but only 15mm internal width (so the 28s look poorly supported) and are not tubeless ready.
Any suggestions of wheels that will accept 28s properly and are ok tubeless ? My mate just bought some Prolite Bortolas and they seem ok on the specs. But they’re no longer available it seems.
Any other suggestions ?
Cheers
Nitram

[10speedsemiracer]

I’m not doing cyclocross, but want to be able to do occasional gravel roads without getting hammered to death !
Can anyone recommend a decent replacement wheelset for someone using rim brakes, and wanting to use 28mm tyres ? The rims I’m using now (American Classic 420s) are light, but only 15mm internal width (so the 28s look poorly supported) and are not tubeless ready.
Any suggestions of wheels that will accept 28s properly and are ok tubeless ? My mate just bought some Prolite Bortolas and they seem ok on the specs. But they’re no longer available it seems.
Any other suggestions ?
Cheers
Nitram

Is there a budget?
Hunt wheels get a lot of love, and they ship free to Aus...

https://www.huntbikewheels.cc/collectio ... -ascending

[Thoglette]

The 28s are fine on 15mm internal width. And no need to adjust the brakes every time you swap rims.

From personal experience I can sky doesn't necessarily fall down with 28s on old-fashioned 13mm rims.

But don't let me stop you buying a new set of wheels.

[cynicalmike]

The 28s are fine on 15mm internal width. And no need to adjust the brakes every time you swap rims.

From personal experience I can sky doesn't necessarily fall down with 28s on old-fashioned 13mm rims.

But don't let me stop you buying a new set of wheels.

i suppose if you like that uneasy feeling of the light bulb effect as you corner! i struggled with 28c on 19mm internal width.

that said, i do have a solidly built set of rim brake wheels with a high spoke count i am looking at selling in the future. i'll post them in the future here but maybe a new set of hunt wheels would be a better option for tubeless specific.

[kb]

The 28s are fine on 15mm internal width. And no need to adjust the brakes every time you swap rims.

From personal experience I can sky doesn't necessarily fall down with 28s on old-fashioned 13mm rims.

But don't let me stop you buying a new set of wheels.

i suppose if you like that uneasy feeling of the light bulb effect as you corner! i struggled with 28c on 19mm internal width.
...

From the polarising Heine..
https://janheine.wordpress.com/2019/06/ ... wide-rims/

[thamete]

i suppose if you like that uneasy feeling of the light bulb effect as you corner! i struggled with 28c on 19mm internal width.

Possibly the reason you struggled was due to the 28c tyre being borderline to narrow for the rim. The ETRTO tyre recommendations for a 19mm internal width rim range from 28 to 62 mm. Alternatively, the ETRTO approved rims for a 28mm tyre are 15C to 19C. When the rim is to wide for the tyre the beads are pushed wide deforming the tyre shape and tread design. This can decrease cornering control, and impact absorbing ability I suspect that there are 28mm tyres out there that are not recommended with a 19C rim.

My Mavic A719 rims with a 19 mm internal width recommend a tyre range of 28 to 47 mm. I normally ride 35C tyres but have used everything from 28C to 42C on them without any problems.

The 15C rim that the original poster was asking about should be fine with a 28C tyre as mentioned above. However, the combination with rim and tyre tubeless may have some issues. I have been considering converting my A719 rims to tubeless with a Stan's kit and run my new 42mm Specialized Sawtooths tubeless. I ended up deciding that it was not worth the mucking around and will continue to use inner tubes.

[cynicalmike]

i don't know, i find that if i go with 28c on a 17mm internal width (not 19 as i said before, i think that was external) when i corner it's either a slight flex in the sidewall or a shift in the air based on the lean. the more i've ridden with 28c tyres on these rims i've come to accept it but it feels to me like something is happening and it can be distracting for some people i guess.

it's very pronounced on a fat bike tyre with lower pressures as an example.

i think the wider the rim and if the tyre is too narrow or very narrow the main risk is hitting the rim as you lean around a corner.

i don't have such feelings with 23c tyres on this same 17mm internal rim, 25c is ok and i feel it sometimes in the 28c (which I am currently running anway as i've learnt to put up with it). i've also got some 23mm external (so probably 21mm internal) and i put 25c tyres on them and never felt any of those symptoms.

this might all be as a result of weaker sidewalls as well so i wouldn't rule that out either, or me just not liking weak sidewalls (i swear some of them are like paper)

the article linked is very much an opinion piece with a few unscientific tests that i could do as well and talk about how i 'feel'.

dare me to try 28c road tyres on some 30mm wide 29er MTB rims? I'll do it!