cheap three, four, or five spoke wheels?
 

Anyone know where I can find cheap "low spoke wheels"? Don't really give a sh*t about weight.

if you dont care about weight, then why do you want a low spoke wheel? You are asking to taco an expensive rim. Unless you are talking about composite rims, in which case an aerospoke is the only one that comes close to cheap.

abeabe, he's referring to things like hed3's, aerospokes, spin's, etc., not the low-count spoked wheels you see roadies riding on (like a bontranger 20 spoke or something).

OP, the cheapest you're going to find new is an aerospoke for $300, otherwise you have to look at the used market and hope you don't get a piece of nearly-cracked carbon. it's not cheap to be a hipster (or buy a quality wheel like the HED3, for that matter).

why are wheels like the aerospokes what "hipsters" use?

the million dollar question

Because it's different. Everyone wants to be the same with their own brand of uniqueness.

THEY LOOK HOT AS ****!

but that's about it.... they're heavy as ****.

Because they are expensive and look different. Everyone can tell with a single look at your bike not only that you had a lot of money to blow on a poorer performing product but that you knew that those wheels are hip right now.

yeah the reason i want them is for my SS. want it to look unique.

Well, why you want it is up to you. People just like to bag on other people here.
As said, Aerospoke is about the cheapest. $265 here.
http://trackstarnyc.com/store/catalo...f59b30e33ee94f

You can get this from Cadence for only $800:

http://cadenceclothing.net/collection/images/hed/01.jpg

Deal!

I would take a set of Zipps over Aerospokes, et al anyday. But it's not cheap. OP, I think you should go used on CL or eBay for some Spinergies.

http://www.zipp.com/Portals/0/Produc...ck_524x250.jpg

$695 at trackstar

Not with obnoxious font size 2 billion "ZIPP" on it.

I have these carbon Spinergies in 26". Cheap on eBay if you can find them.

http://f.hatena.ne.jp/images/fotolif...0222135149.jpg

ZIPP = "I have more money than you."

He insults because he's jealous :P

DON'T GET SPINERGY! If you want to use them on the streets they are not up to the durability to handle for a long time.
Sample A
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/4...00f83a.jpg?v=0

I'm not a hipster. I bought A-spokes because, yes I liked the way they look. I wanted low maintenance but highly durable wheels and after doing alot of research and hearing some1 had theirs run over by a bus and still were usable, I was sold. It takes alot to beat them up, A guy I met had Spin (same type of material used in A-spokes) for 6yrs and still go strong and he was on a MTB bike. They are very strong even if they are heavy (6lbs) but they serve as a great workout(I accelerate much faster on a deep V wheelset now from the strength training). But I could really care less if ppl think I'm a hipster because I think its better to buy a tough wheelset of A-spoke instead of buying 1 front wheel(HED3) that cost more than the set (but if lightness is your thing go for it). I wouldn 't exactly call carbon fiber wheels durable enough for potholed cities.

From what I've heard, Zipp's aren't all that great in terms of durability and if you want to get some carbon deep dish rims that will actually stand up to city riding, the HED version is the (cheaper and more durable) way to go. I'd love to ride that style of rim atleast once to see how it is, I'm sure it's stiff as hell and turns your bike into a machine capable of highspeed highway riding :)

Someone should look up the term modesty.

The HED's version, the JET, uses the same carbon rim (they share the patent on them) so I doubt one is more durable than the other.

They are indeed very fast. I've ridden a pair and they spin up fast, but I would not call the difference HUGE. Its not like you are going from a 25lb MTB bike to a 15LB road bike. Just a faster wheel, albeit the fastest wheel you are ever to likely ride with current technology.

Wheter you go with HED's or ZIPP's, they are not meant to be beaten on. They are race wheels, and since the rims are a structural carbon rim rather than a carbon farring on an aluminum rim, they don't last that long. If you want something strong and looks different, get the HED3's as someone else mentioned. As long as you don't dump them in any potholes, you will get 10's of thousands of miles on them.

Not quite. The patent on torroidal rim shape is shared, but construction is entirely different. The Hed wheelset is made in China, whereas our wheels are engineered and made here in Indy. That doesn't necessarily imply anything regarding quality but should at least serve as a reminder that there's nothing in common with the wheels other than general rim shape.

If you have a 36 spoke wheel, you can just take 31, 32, or 33 spokes out. That'd be the cheapest way.

So to reiterate what I said earlier, there really is no cheap option for these wheels unless you can find a buddy to sell you one used, or get them at wholesale price. $300 for one Aerospoke could get you a full NJS track/tubular wheelbuild (price from my LBS :)), some Deep V's on decent hubs, or a variety of other wheelsets that are, in the end, lighter (rotational mass is the most important area to eye weight on a bicycle) and more practical (no crosswind problems, etc.) than Aerospokes. The only thing they really have going for them is the cool factor and the consensus from those that own them that you can punish the **** out of them and not have to worry (which is something you could say about handbuilt Deep V's from a qualified mechanic as well).

Point is, if you're going to mess around with these types of wheels, why not go all out and get the HED3...