drew_8125

I'm looking seriously at buying a Cannondale R900, the only thing that concerns me is the wheels.
It has Gipiemme Parade wheels and they only have 16 spokes and that scares me since the roads here are bad. Those wheels do not look like they'll last long doing 6000 - 7000km or so a year of training on bumpy potholed roads.

So could any of you help me out? Do you have experience with these wheels or know someone who does? Are the spokes prone to breaking? What'll happen if they do? Will the bike still be rideable? I'm not concerned about weight or anything like that since they will be primarily for training. I just want a pair of big dumb stiff wheels that'll last.

Thanks,

Kennetht638

I'm looking at the R900 as well and am curious about those wheels. This article is the best that I've found. It's a review of a Fondriest that happened to have Gipiemme Parade wheels. I've heard that they're flexy and go out of true quickly, but I haven't heard anything about breakage.

JR_Sith

I have been riding grecal parade's on my r800 for about 6 months now. First off I ride in western PA which has horrible roads: pot holes, cracks, rocks, etc. I have had really no problem with them. I was skeptical at first, especially considering the wieght, but the rim really makes up for the lack of spokes. They roll fast and are extremely responsive. They also have a real solid feel to them. The fact that they are semi areo does help.
I've had them trued twice thus far, I hit a rather large hole doing 45 down a hill and put it just slightly out of true, but I made the mistake of taking it to shop that was incompetent with high end stuff. it quickly popped back. I then I had my friend true them and tighten them up and I haven't had any issues since then.

bandaidman

i bought my wife a r900 earlier this year...no problem with the wheels although she is quit light

the bike is great... but if it were my bike (i weigh 195-200lbs) .. i would get a stronger pair of wheels. perhaps some open pros or mavis cosmos. see if the shop will let you :trade up"

Grasschopper

Seems like this poster may have had other contributing circumstances but this startment still bothers me a little. Being a heavier rider and also in PA I can tell you that the 16 spoke Xero XR-3 front I had was needing trued every 2 months and not because of a poor true job. I just replaced that wheel with a 32 spoke for added strength.

If you are worried about the wheels then talk to the shop and see if they will make a deal with you to replace the wheels at the time of purchase. Most shops will do this and if they wont and try to tell you they will be plenty strong ask them if they will give you free lifetime truing on the wheels if they are so sure they will hold up (I am sure they WONT do this).

Ranzak

Just bought a R900 with these wheels and spoke at length with two competing shops about the wheels. One raved about them as strong and dependable, the other said he had had good reports but that he had not seen enough real life experience with them to give a valid answer. All I know so far is that in my first two rides I have gotten remarks on the "cool wheels" from other riders. [Not that thatis important! }

JR_Sith

for clarification I hit a rather large pot hole while descending a mile and half long downhill. This pot hole barely put it out of true, but I'm a perfectionist and wanted it perfectly true. I road that way for another month until I went home from college. Oh, and for reference I weight 180 pounds. Also, like it was said above wheels don't get much better looking.

Kennetht638

I weigh around 140 and I also do most (well, all) of my miles on a fixed gear, and I feel like I beat the crap out of my wheels (32h Velocity Aeroheads) because it's so much harder to unweight or hop over things at speed. Also, the roads in Michigan really suck, so that kind of maneuvering is necessary quite often.


According to Gipiemme's website, the wheelset is 1830g while Ksyrium Elites are 1732g. Not a huge deal, but the Gipiemmes are definitely heavier.

I forgot to mention earlier that when I test rode the R900, I noticed that the seam on the front wheel was extremely noticeable through the brakes. It clicked loudly on every revolution under braking and I could feel the feedback through the levers. Might have just been that wheel because I didn't notice it on the rear, but you may want to look out for that.

galen_52657

I have a set of T-30 quatro's that are complete junk. I will sell them cheap but you better be light!

LapDog

My wife has a set on her bike. There were a number of spokes that came loose during the first couple of hundred miles, but after that there has been no problems. I would say she probably has about 500 miles on them. Also, I borrowed them for a 85 mile ride last fall. I weigh 190 and didn't find them to have too much flex. They were very comfortable and steady.

ff_thompson

I am a 230 pounder riding a Cannondale R600 with the 24 spoke Techno. I have ridden approximately 2000 miles. Rear wheel was trued once after a short period. Broke one rear spoke later. Today I dropped off the rear wheel to be replaced the wheel tore and one spoke is about to come out of the wheel and all the other center spokes on the sets of three have cracked the wheel where they go through. Hope you get better life than I did!

galen_52657

I still have th t-30 quatro's sitting in my basement... brand new sealed bearing rear hub, both wheels trued and tensioned by a pro.... make me an offer!

mimis

my experience on Gipiemme techno: flexyyy! but then again i'm 200lbs... Don't give them much credit