Cycle Touring on Mavic Askium Race wheels... mmm...

update: 09.10.11:

Well I've recently returned from another fully loaded continental cycle tour. This time with 4 panniers to keep the bike more balanced. I had about 20k on the back and about 10k up front. I rode over some very rough roads and hit more than one pot hole. My Mavic Askiums are, to my continued surprise, still in mint condition. The shimano hubs are still good, and I havn't yet, after over 2000 miles fully loaded cycle touring, need to tighten any spokes or make any adjutments. What can I say except, yes, it is possible to cycle tour on these wheels.

any questions?

original post:


Having trawled the internet looking for some information about how strong the wheels on my bike are, I still cant find what I need to know. The chap in the bike shop says they are strong wheels, and they 'should' be ok for my next cycle tour, but could present trouble if they break - which they 'shouldn't'.

The wheels on my touring bike are not typical 32 ,38 or 48 spoked super strong touring wheels. My Mavic Askium wheels are fairly skinny racing wheels with only 20 aero dynamically shaped [flat] spokes.

When I cycled through France in May, I was carrying roughly 15 to 20 kg on the back of my bike, and only a bar bag up front with no more than 3 kg inside. Although the back wheel did visibly flex whenever I leaned the bike over (against a tree or wall), I got back in one piece with no drama at all, despite hitting a couple of potholes en route.

The question now, is do I tour again on these somewhat unsuitable (and possibly weakened) wheels, or shall I buy super strong touring wheels with standard spokes? (Having 'standard' spokes is an advantage because most bike shops around the word stock them.)

Well, I cant really afford to splash out on new wheels now, and I set off in just over a week, so I am going to tour again on the same wheels complete with special speedy spokes.Worst case scenario? I get a cracked rim or spoke break when I am 50 miles away from the nearest bike shop, and it's raining hard. A broken spoke with these wheels will undoubtedly mean a buckled wheel too. My only option in that case will be to try and fix it. Never had to fix a wheel before so hope that doesn't happen.

Surely, I can't be the only person fool enough to cycle tour on wheels designed for racing?

Cycle route from St Malo to Santander

I'll be setting of with good friend and seasoned explorer, Emma, on 7th Spetember, aiming to arrive at Santander in northern Spain 13 days later in time to catch the 24hour ferry back to Portsmouth. W'ell be camping on route and hoping for strong tailwinds to help us up the 200 miles of hills in Spain. Here is the planned route:


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Life is short

Remember as a child, how the summers used to last forever, and how far away next year always seemed? Remember waking up feeling free and excited about the day ahead with a sense of optimism that maybe you can only get when you are young - when so much is unfamiliar and responsibility is something your parents have.

And now, all grown-up, how the years fly ever more speedily by and how my childish naive optimism has become charred by responsibility and consequences; and the freedom that I think I still have is actually chained up like a wild dog frothing at the mouth. These grown-up days are filled up with routines, clocks, facts and cynicism. I see the same things over and over, hear the same sounds day after day and every smell is so familiar, I don't even notice.

Maybe life isn't too short - it just seems like it is because the daily tastes, sounds, sights and smells don't really change much from day to day.