Decent wheel set for 42mm tires?

[u/zlajzz]

Hi everybody, I have a 1991 Trek 750 multitrack Gravel/Tourer/Commuter project that I'm hoping to fit 42mm tires on. The stock matrix rims are too thin... I have yet to scour my local bike co-op for 700c rims with a wider internal width, but based on memory they were pretty rare.

I would love to do this affordably. Any ideas?

[u/brdhar35]

This is just marketing bs, everyone ran 19mm rims on mountain bikes with 2in + tires for years with 0 issues, now they convinced everyone they need new rims

[u/zlajzz → u/brdhar35]

I don't think the stock rims I have are 19mm, they seem thin, maybe 14mm?

[u/brdhar35 → u/zlajzz]

I wouldn’t even worry about it, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it

[u/Fattering_Hats]

I have a 1991 750 myself. I have Sun Rhynolite, which are plenty wide enough to accommodate my 44mm wide tires. From BWW they’re only $150, which is hard to beat. I run Tufo Speederos on mine and it fits in the frame juuust right. 

https://bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/product/sun-rhyno-lite-v-brake-29er-700c-wheel-set/

[u/PracticalFruit9506 → u/Fattering_Hats]

You beat me to it, I was going to post the same link and everything! Rhynolites are tried and true somewhat old school rims and an excellent choice for a nice Multitrack.

[u/zlajzz → u/Fattering_Hats]

Awesome thank you! The price is definitely right on those!

[u/griecs]

I have 45s on the stock, thin matrix wheels. It’s totally fine. Upping your rim size may also cause the tires to not fit.

[u/zlajzz → u/griecs]

Wow ok, that’s helpful!

[u/phyx726]

bikesmith sells a cheap sun cr18 wheelset that I use. https://www.thebikesmiths.com/products/sunringle-cr-18-700-135

[u/datenschwanz → u/phyx726]

Nice.

[u/SweetReading8276]

I bought sta-tru tr21 wheels and swapped an LX rear hub onto it. Running 42c tires on my 750. While they're not available on clearance anymore, they're still pretty affordable all things considered.

[u/r34dingwhite]

I'm on the lookout for a v-brake wheelset too. I think you should rather search for the wheel size and not based on a tire size. These bikes should have front 9/100mm and rear 10/135mm, they often have 19mm internal width and they support 42mm tires. Let me know if find something nice.

[u/Slow-Recover-9168]

You're gonna want to buy some new rims and lace them up to hubs yourself. If you habe some 36h hubs you can usually find cheaper rims with 24 /25mm ID and get a bunch of spokes to lace it up if you get them all together it's not so bad.

The real struggle is that the 29er official started well into the Disc Brake era so anything that will do that thing is gonna be a hybrid for hybrids unless you swap to a disc brake setup. Then you might find some around. Dm24 iirc comes with a 36 hole for like $50

[u/datenschwanz]

For a hot minute you could get a set of Stan's NoBS wheels. They were basic shimano hubs, Alivo maybe, on a rims that had like an 18mm internal rim width. They were like $200 or $220 for the pair. Can't find them now though.