spoke patterns and rims on a bent



J

John Duval

Guest
I faded out of cycling temporarily about the time when
paired spoke patterns made their appearance. Old school says
that few spokes are bad news unless you are a feather
weight, but they seem quite popular on road bikes.

So is old school correct, or is there new technology that
makes these OK? Do the newer aero rim profiles make that
much difference?

In spite of my size (6'-6" 200+ lb) and high mileage, I have
never used anything resembling a tandem wheel on my retired
DF bikes, on or off road. In fact, they would more
accurately be described as "race day wheels" by smaller
riders than me.

On a DF I naturally used supplesse to spare my wheels, but
not an option on my Phantom II. Even the smooth clean roads
I ride now have the occasional pothole. The side loads are
nothing (compared to DF anyway), the 20" wheel is stronger
(so I have read), the frame has lots of passive suspension,
and I am thinking of a Pantour up front too.

Given all this, the Phantom II comes with wheels suitable
for a tandem for elephants. Overkill by a big margin I
think. But how far should I consider going for better
performance?

John

(remove 'spam' from my email address)
 
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Duval" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent
Sent: Saturday, May 01, 2004 3:10 PM
Subject: spoke patterns and rims on a bent

> I faded out of cycling temporarily about the time when
> paired spoke
patterns
> made their appearance. Old school says that few spokes are
> bad news unless you are a feather weight, but they seem
> quite popular on road bikes.
>
> So is old school correct, or is there new technology that
> makes these OK?
Do
> the newer aero rim profiles make that much difference?
>
(carved off with a dull knife)

They are OK for some folks. From an old school heavyweight
(240#), like myself, I'd say less spokes are an invitation
to more trips to the shop. However, carrying extra spokes
and a wrench might be an option.

Henry

---- email address is non-functional. use my site's
feedback form. ---

My homebuilt recumbent mountain bike:
http://comptune.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=214#214
 
I like watching American Chopper (humor factor when it comes
to warped priorities) building rims; but why mess with a
tried and true spoke pattern?

Someday I will try a wild pattern of Mylar- covering the spokes-
maybe cut with a dull knife...

Chris Jordan Santa Cruz, CA.

"Henry" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:<[email protected]>...
> ----- Original Message ----- (carved off with a dull
> knife)
>
> They are OK for some folks. From an old school heavyweight
> (240#), like myself, I'd say less spokes are an invitation
> to more trips to the shop. However, carrying extra spokes
> and a wrench might be an option.
>
> Henry
>
> ---- email address is non-functional. use my site's
> feedback form. ---
>
> My homebuilt recumbent mountain bike:
> http://comptune.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=214#214
 
"John Duval" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I faded out of cycling temporarily about the time when
> paired spoke patterns made their appearance. Old school
> says that few spokes are bad news unless you are a feather
> weight, but they seem quite popular on road bikes.
>
> So is old school correct, or is there new technology that
> makes these OK? Do the newer aero rim profiles make that
> much difference?
>

You'll find that the rims on those minimal-spoke wheels are
massively heavy-duty. In general, the paired-spoke wheels
are heavier than their more conventional counterparts.

I've built wheels with rims that are 2/3 the weight of the
the tall paired-spoke-style rims (400 grams vs. 600 grams)
and they've held up great despite my being your size (I'm
6-foot-4, 220 pounds). A 36-spoke wheel built with a Sun
M14A rim and double-butted spokes should be lighter and more
durable than a minimal-spoke wheel.

Jeff
 
Good enough for me, but the choice of rims for 20" size
(either) seems pretty limited, so it may be a bit of a mute
point. Narrow 26" are a little better.

How about tire width vs rim width? any formula there? At the
moment, my stock rear tire looks like it belongs on a much
narrower rim (the rim is almost wider than the tire).

"Jeff Wills" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "John Duval" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<w7Wkc.8962$Ut1.268328@bgtnsc05-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net>...
> > I faded out of cycling temporarily about the time when
> > paired spoke
patterns
> > made their appearance. Old school says that few spokes
> > are bad news
unless
> > you are a feather weight, but they seem quite popular on
> > road bikes.
> >
> > So is old school correct, or is there new technology
> > that makes these
OK? Do
> > the newer aero rim profiles make that much difference?
> >
>
> You'll find that the rims on those minimal-spoke wheels
> are massively heavy-duty. In general, the paired-spoke
> wheels are heavier than their more conventional
> counterparts.
>
> I've built wheels with rims that are 2/3 the weight of the
> the tall paired-spoke-style rims (400 grams vs. 600 grams)
> and they've held up great despite my being your size (I'm
> 6-foot-4, 220 pounds). A 36-spoke wheel built with a Sun
> M14A rim and double-butted spokes should be lighter and
> more durable than a minimal-spoke wheel.
>
> Jeff