Exal LX17 wheels with LX hubs

[cavasta]

The 36 hole Rigida Sputniks with LX hubs I'm currently running on my Dawes Galaxy are ready for replacing and I was looking for something a little lighter without compromising on strength. On the face of it 36 hole Exals with LX hubs seem to fit the bill (Spa Cycles sell them: http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s178p223 ... Shimano-LX)

My Galaxy is a real workhorse and is used for my daily commute, the weekly shop, day rides, general running around, and fully loaded touring. I tend to run 28mm Conti Gatorskins all year round and 28mm Schwalbe Marathons when touring. I weigh about 140lbs. Are the Exals a good choice or would something else be a better choice?

[belgiangoth]

Open pro?

[irc]

I weigh about 140lbs. Are the Exals a good choice or would something else be a better choice?

I weigh north of 200 pounds and have a set of Spa built 36 spoke hubs (Tigra I think) and LX17 rims. They stand up to me and light loads. It's my everyday bike so only one loaded tour on them so far but no issues. The rear is a road width hub as well. Still been OK. I wouldn't worry about the strength of them. Whether you want something lighter again? Another question.

[fatboy]

I have an LX17 rim on the back of my tourer and it's fine. I run 32s but 28s will be fine. When my front rim needs changing I'll get another lx17

[cavasta]

Thanks for the replies. I'd all but decided to go with the Exals but wanted some sort of feedback before I made the purchase. I had contacted Spa via their website and I've just received the following reply:

"Althought the Sputniks are strong and very durable, they are heavy. I think that the LX17 is a good rim and we fit them to our own brand Touring bikes. You can go down to a 25mm tyre if you wish and up to a 40mm, so I think that they would be ideal for your purposes."

Exals it is then.

[yostumpy]

for those that use them, what are they like in the 'Schwalbe tyre fitting' dept. (or any other tyre as it happens.) compared to say....chrinas.

[robc02]

I've got 36 LX17 rims on LX rear and SP dynamo front hubs and also, like the OP, I weigh just over 140 lbs. Thy are on my LHT and have proved fine for general riding and for touring with a lightweight camping load.

They get fitted with 38mm Vittoria Hypers or Schwalbe Winters depending upon the time of year. The Vittorias go on and off with light finger pressure, the Schwalbes need tyre levers but are still quite easy to fit.

Initially, I had one rim with an uneven width that caused brake pulsing. I confirmed the width variation with a micrometer. I got a replacement and it was OK.

[531colin]

for those that use them, what are they like in the 'Schwalbe tyre fitting' dept. (or any other tyre as it happens.) compared to say....chrinas.

Deeper well than Chrina....hasn't everything?

[Brucey]

if they were my wheels I'd rebuild them with new rims. I think it is OK to re-rim using the same spokes; if the old wheel was reliable the rebuilt one ought to be too.

If the sputniks are too heavy, LX17 rims will fit using the same spokes because (IIRC) the ERDs of both rims are almost identical.

One option is to use a Sputnik at the rear and an LX17 at the front; or an LX17 at the rear and something lighter again at the front. I think that a rim that is strong enough for the rear wheel will result in a wheel that is probably much stronger than it needs to be at the front.

cheers

[mercalia]

what would the weight difference be between the sputnik and the LX17?

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
https://balancingontwowheels.blogspot.c ... heels.html

I have just rebuilt some wheels with sputniks.

Compared with my old mavics T261 which I thought were up to the job, the sputniks are an overkill on a tourer at 690 grams, And the spoke offset is non existant, so nipple seat is not good with the nipple at an angle in the rivet.
Lx17 at 575 grams looks nice, I have some mavic equivalent on my mtb.

[irc]

I have Brucey's suggestion on my Long Haul Trucker. Sputnik rear and lighter rim on front. The Sputnik may be overkill but rear spoke failure is one of the commonest problems with long distance touring. Some places in western USA you can be hundreds of miles from a bike shop. The extra 100g on the rear rim is a good insurance policy. I'd rather save a few grams running lighter tyres.

Of course I'm talking 17 stone weight at the start of a tour and at times carrying 30-40 pounds on the rear rack. Lighter riders can probably be pretty safe on a lighter rim.

[PH]

the sputniks are an overkill on a tourer at 690 grams

Their weight does seem to vary depending on where you look, the manufacturer has the 700 size listed at 745g
http://www.ryde.nl/sputnik

My Audax bike has LX17 rear and Open Pro front, haven't noticed any difference from when it was OP both ends.

[alexnharvey]

Is the exal lx17 still a good budget choice rim? I will be building it into a rear wheel, Shimano hub (xtr-m750) with 32 holes, probably single speed as the bike currently had a 8 speed nexus. Rider weight is 75kg. Tyre size 32 or 38 mm. It's for commuting and short rides with light additional loads in panniers (change of clothes and laptop). Front wheel is a rigida zac2000 and Shimano dynamo wheel.

I'm falling down a rabbit hole of overthinking the spokes. I was considering sapim strong on the drive side as often recommended here, with double butted on the NDS. However I have had my head turned by triple butted spokes for drive side, sapim force/dt alpine 3. I could buy force as custom cuts from an eBay seller for the same or slightly lower price as strongs from spa. I'm wondering if this is possibly less good than factory threaded spokes? I suppose it depends how well it is done!

[andrew_s]

The Exal LX17 is a good rim, though £7 more expensive than when I got the ones I'm using.
I usually use 35 or 38 tyres.

I'd use factory spokes unless the cost was a problem, not so much because home rolled threads are any weaker, as because I'd expect a better consistency in the distance between the end of the spoke and the end of the threads. This makes DIY wheelbuilding easier, IME.
Of course the eBay seller may be using a Phil Wood machine, in which case I wouldn't worry.