Off Road Wheels for Novara Safari

[iwstamp]

BYW - 1st time here... I can't wait to go through all the content! Here's my question.. I primarily ride road long distance on my Novara Safari. I upgraded the wheels and tires and have a very sweet strong and smooth road ride. I was considering another bike (CoMotion Divide!) to run both road and off-road. Ultimately I'd like to have a rig to do some hardcore off-road touring. In the interest of fiscal prudence, I have decided to get another pair of wheels that I can throw on the Safari and do some limited off-road riding (hardpack, gravel, some single track). My problem, I haven't been able to find wheels (700c / 29 inch) that allow for relatively wide tires (2 inch plus), are spoked to accommodate my fat ass and gear (I weigh 225lbs) and can work with my standard cantilever brakes?? Of course - if it is not to be, I'll be happy to buy the CoMotion Divide!

[dgjessee]

Not sure what year Safari you have, but assuming it's from the last couple years...Full disclaimer: I work at REI. But I believe in buying the bike that's right for the riding you do. Which is why I have a Niner, Ritchey, Lynskey and Marin (3 of which you cannot get at REI). Anyway, now that I've tried to convince you of my unbiased opinion, I think you have a bad ass bike for a fraction of the cost of the CoMotion. It's definitely set up for long touring on any surfaces out of the box, but you can do anything you want to it. Add some BB7 brakes and swap out the mustache bars for flats or drops and you've essentially recreated the CoMotion for half the price. I'm not sure why you're having trouble with the tires and wheels though.... You should be able to get some reasonably large knobbies on there without too much trouble. The only thing the Safari is a little lacking in is clearance (compared to the Karate Monkey, for example, which has more of an s-bend in the rear stays. Those wheels that come on it are pretty dang durable, and are designed for fully-loaded touring. If I was going to go on a full-on biking expedition, the type where you literally carry a kitchen sink in your front panniers, the Safari would be my choice for cost effective reliability. What sort of problems are you running into putting knobbies on your current wheels?