I had a first today on my ride to work – 2 spokes snapped on my $50 Amazon spoked wheels (that might be the problem there). I put about 2,000+ miles on the wheels and recently switched to Tannus Airless Tires because I was tired of getting flats (my commute forces me to ride through a construction site). I think the Tannus Tires, being so hard, lead to over fatigue on the spokes. I feel like switching to Mag wheels might make my commute more reliable (no spoke stress problems or rim alignment issues). I know Mag wheels are heavier but I'd take the hit on commute time over being late to work. Does anyone here commute with mag wheels?
by Record-Boring
6 Comments
Mag wheels don’t require any maintenance but the weight on them is a huge deterrent. They are heavy enough to change how the bike rides. I would honestly just get a standard brand name wheel from your local bike shop. Doesn’t have to be anything amazing, just a regular wheel from a reputable brand.
$50 for a bike wheel is crazy low
I’d never trust an Amazon purchase for anything safety-critical
Honestly, If you take your Amazon wheels into the bike shop and have them properly tensioned, they will be stronger than the mags
Good god, that would be the most awful ride. Airless tires plus rigid mag wheels. Plus it would be heavy as heck.
Get some well built spoke wheels, fight some Gatorskins or Marathons onto them with Slime self sealing tubes. And then try not to ride through that construction site if you can avoid it, even if it means going a half mile out of your way.
Spokes.
Spokes need very little maintenance as it is, what little they do need is easy as long as the wheel was built/tuned right originally. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve had a broken spoke.
Mag wheels add a lot of weight and if anything goes wrong the whole wheel is toast.
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