My wife has a set of wheels built by Brian Pagel, Stoic Wheels. They are 700c wheels with 36 spoke Dyad rims, Shimano Ultegra hubs, and butted Wheelsmith spokes She has over 28,000 miles on the rims, and they have never needed any adjustments.

I have two touring bikes set up with 36 spoke Dyad rims, also built by Brian. One set has Shimano105 hubs, and the other Shimano XTs. Both have Wheelsmith butted spokes.

We were just outside of Medicine Hat, Alberta descending toward the bridge crossing the South Saskatchewan River. I was riding my Bianchi with the 105/Dyad wheelset, and approaching 30 MPH when I hit a large piece of metal in the road. It blew out my front tire, but I was able slow down on the bridge and bring my fully loaded bike to a stop. I got off the road, and started to put a new tube on the front wheel. Removing the tire, I saw a large bulge in the sidewall of the rim. I put the new tube in and saw that the wheel was still true and round.


I could not use the front brake, but the bike rolled easily into medicine Hat. I called the guy who built the wheels, and asked him about pounding out the bulge. He recommended getting a new wheel if I could find one. The bike shop in Medicine Hat had one wheel that would work. It got me home.

I almost cried when the bike mechanic cut my hub out of the wheel. My Bianchi with a new front wheel is on the stand behind the mechanic.


The bulge is at the 09:00 position. This is one of the few times I wished I had disc brakes. I'm sure my wheel would have made it through the rest of the trip. If a new wheel was not an option, I would have ridden using just the rear brakes until I found a wheel or was home.

__________________
"I knew I had a 50/50 chance of failing; but if I didn't climb on that bike and take the first pedal stroke, I had a 100% chance of failure." Nancy Sathre-Vogel
Last edited by Doug64; 04-14-24 at 08:47 AM.]