Originally Posted by
kimokimo
I commute on a Specialized Sirrus Sport. I had been breaking spokes on my real wheel and out of frustration bought a Chukker rim with a Shim 105 hub and had it triple laced.
I rode today and found that either my fitness level shot way up or this hub and wheel have made a real difference. I was 3 MPH average faster and heart rate was 10-15 bpm lower on average.
my other wheel and hub were ofm.
Makes me wonder if I should change the front.
I actually had a similar experience with a wheel I have on which I was breaking spokes on the non drive side (tubular Mavic reflex rims with 105 hubs). After about 5 spokes breaking and being replaced, I finally just went and bought a new wheel set I had been looking at for a while - HED Belgium C2 tubular rims with DT Swiss 350 hubs. I saw a significant improvement in speed and ride quality and I still can't figure out why but the training data doesn't lie. My wife agrees (we often ride together) and says that I'm definitely faster than before. My current thoughts are that the bearings are better and that there was probably some flexion in the rim that was causing issues, but I don't know. Anyhow, let's just say I'm really happy with my new rims.
J.