bikebo

are paired spoke wheels any strong at all? havent really seen any feedback on em.

are they more high end? or just experimentation? whats a good price on this wheel?

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...STRK:MESELX:IT

thanks in advanced

prathmann

I don't see any need to deliberately create big gaps between spokes for squirrels and other critters to jump through.

logdrum

I do have a pair but the older Rolf Vector Pro and in tubular form. So far it has lasted me about 3450 miles and counting. I got it used late October 2008 and have used it until July last year and then occasionally on my Carbon bike but not as much. So far so good. I know it will be a pain to true it but so far I haven't needed to.

dabac

It's mainly design. Something to hang an upgraded pricetag on.
With a stiff enough rim it's basically a non-issue, the wheel will perform very similar to a wheel with the same number of evenly distributed spokes.

For high dish rear wheels it opens up a possibility to run more spokes on the DS than the NDS, which potentially can make the wheel more long-lived.
Very few people need to go there though, wheels can be built well enough in more common configurations.

ptle

I don't know much about paired spokes... I agree with dabac though.

I've heard all positive things about Rolf Vector wheelsets though. I also know a person with some and their set has lasted quite a while.

AEO

It's possible to get a good 36 holes in 700c rims rims and hubs. these paired spoke wheels use way less than that.

It's all about aesthetics. These things are more prone, compared to regular wheels, to go out of true or crack at the eyelets because of the uneven distribution of spokes across the entire circumference of the rim and the high spoke tension required to keep the unsupported sections in proper shape.


think of a bridge of the same length and same amount of supports. One bridge has their supports evenly spread out across the entire length, while the other has all its supports near the ends.
in order for them to be able to handle the same loads, the one with the larger open sections must be built stronger.
conversely, if both are built identical, aside from supports, the one with an even distribution will always be stronger.

rollin

I predict great things for this thread.

Homebrew01

Hey, you're not supposed to introduce fact based answers until page 2. That allows more time for rumors and wild guesses to take hold.

crhilton

My paired spoke wheel holds up fine, but I've yet to bust any wheel and the paired spoke wheel is heavy, so it's not exactly high performance.

I was told that it's a gimmick. Like G3.

Big_Red

I've got the Bontragers like on the first response (minus the squirrel), and have not had any trouble in the last 4 years of riding. We are putting Rolf's on our new bike's and have had no trouble with those either.

martinus

LOL, was this on the MUP going 8 mph ?

Staarkhand

I have about 6k miles on my paired spoke Bonty's that came with my bike. When I started riding I was 205 lbs and was commuting, meaning I was carrying more total weight (clothes, lunch). Above average road conditions. I broke 2 spokes in the rear wheel at about 4k, on back to back rides (maybe blame the lbs fix for the second one, but who knows) and was prepared to replace the wheels, but they've been great since. Stayed true.

When I upgrade these wheels I will make no effort at all to get paired spokes, but I wouldn't necessarily avoid them in an otherwise good deal.

urbanknight

Cue the picture of the squirrel that jumped through someone's spokes while descending, breaking the fork and sending the rider to the hospital instead of finishing his century.

mzeffex 

That picture is so sad. I don't get why you left the animal in the wheel.

prathmann

It's certainly not my picture - as I said, I don't see any need to switch to a wheel design that's subject to such suicide squirrels. It was just the first such picture I found on the web, but I've seen others and heard additional stories of quite serious crashes that resulted from incidents with wheels that have large gaps between spokes.

My wheels all have evenly spaced spokes (ranging from 24 to 48 per wheel) for maximum strength. The paired-spoke design has no engineering justification and is strictly for differentiated marketing and aesthetics.

AEO

G3 or triplet lacing is not a gimmick for the rear wheel.
for the front it's a total gimmick and that's why you don't see high end fulcrum and campagnolo wheelsets that have G3 on the front.
only the cheap ones have G3 for the front because campy knows it's all for looks on that wheel.

AEO

didn't we go through this same question a week or two ago?

Longissimus

Do actually think anything can beat the squirrel pic????

waterrockets 

There is no net advantage to paired spoke lacing. I think there is disadvantage when service time comes though. It's more likely to be un-ridable when a spoke breaks, and will require more work to replace the spoke (I believe Rolf likes shops to use their special fixture to detension the area you're working on while you install the spoke. Traditionally laced wheels with external nips can usually be repaired on the road side if you have a spare spoke.

bikebo

is there anyone in the forums that HAVE had a paired spoke wheelset and have something negative to say?

looks like all the negatives come from people who have never ridden it before, and all the positive comes from people who actually own a set.

waterrockets 

I've ridden them. I've replaced the spokes in them. I've trued and retensioned several sets of them. I've weighed them. They generally ride fine. Durability is on par with traditionally laced wheels in the same weight range, but you just have more to deal with when something goes wrong. There's no compelling reason to lace in pairs.

Do you have aerodynamic data, magical scales, or some wheelbuilding expertise you'd like to interject?

This isn't a new concept: paired spoking was tried back in the early 1900s but it added no value and vanished until fashion concerns took over wheel purchase decisions.

"Do these wheels make my Fred ass look fat?"

bikebo

oh no i have no knowledge of these wheels other than what i can find on the www. thats what this threads for.

i just wanted to know if anyone has actually had a set of paired spokes and can say all the negs ive seen above.

looks like ppl who never rode em call them death wheels, high speed squirrel catchers, etc.

does anyone who owns a set feel the same way?

jus wondering if i should disregard most of the negs due to lack of experience. or if they are valid and will indeed increase my chances of blow up/ taco/ critter catch and so on..

BarryJo

Seriously, who rides with a spare spoke?
Or am I missing something?
Power for instance.

BarryJo

And yes, this was discussed not more than 2 weeks back.

bikebo

what would be a good price for the wheel i linked? its a rolf vector front wheel.

or should i say, how much to make it a deal wheel?