Not worth it. Get the right tires (your choice of RH is good), and more importantly, find your ideal pressure for them, with an accurate means of measuring it. A difference of 5-10 psi will make more of a difference than your suggested changes in a wheelset. If you aren't currently using RH tires try them out first, they may make the difference you're looking for.
That being said, if you want to sell your current wheelset and replace it, that might make more sense. Unless you weigh over 200lbs or carry touring loads, a velocity quill rim is plenty durable. I use them with 36 spokes in the back and 32h in the front, and carry some absurd grocery loads, and have yet to true my wheels 2 years in (hand built by peter white). I imagine I could go 32 in the rear and 28 front without issue. Your deore hubs are also fairly hefty, something to consider. If you're willing to burn the $$$, and if your expectations are set appropriately low, go for it. On Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 7:40:46 AM UTC-7 Brian Turner wrote: > I can't recall the member's name, but there's a guy in this group who did > PBP on his Sam a year or so ago. Perhaps if he's reading this he can chime > in one how he equipped his Sam for that? > > Brian > Lexington KY > > On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 10:26 AM Bill Lindsay <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Vermont Overland is marketed as a 55 mile gravel race. Are you going to >> ride it as a race? Or are you going to ride it as a ride? >> >> Let's see what the whole build looks like, and we can try to describe >> what you can do to curate your Hillborne for the event. In its bones, the >> Hillborne is a country bike, not a race bike. A thoughtful build can make >> a Hillborne lean somewhat more racey, if that's what you're after. But >> it's still a country bike in its bones. Country bikes can definitely feel >> ploddy in to those who want their bike to feel racey. >> >> Bill Lindsay >> El Cerrito, CA >> >> On Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 8:44:38 AM UTC-7 Davey Two Shoes wrote: >> >>> I'm going to ride my Sam Hillborne in the Vermont Overland this year and >>> as such I feel compelled to convert from tubes to tubeless. My current >>> wheelset is the 36 spoke deore/dyad setup so many of us know and love(?). >>> I'm considering the following options; either replace the rim with a >>> Velocity Quill and reuse my 36 spoke hubs or having a 32/32 or maybe 28/32 >>> spoke wheelset built up with Velocity Quills. I plan to run 48mm Rene Herse >>> tires. I'd like the bike to feel quicker and more inspiring with this >>> wheelset, I've often thought that the "ploddy" feeling my Sam has is down >>> to the uninspiring wheelset. >>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7fd83544-38c5-43a5-8324-7944a2ae6b52n%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7fd83544-38c5-43a5-8324-7944a2ae6b52n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/cae2f3e2-f17a-49c6-9208-d1d9738edd58n%40googlegroups.com.
