i'm wondering why i never see any wheels with 16 up to 20 spokes on fixies, i see them all the time on road bikes, could it haveto do with stress? and they must go out of true all the time??

I am sometimes running my Shamals (older model) on my fixie. 12 bladed spokes each, radial front, radial non drive side rear, single cross drive side rear. They have yet to come out of true. The thing might be in overall construction - at 2600 grams a set (tubulars, weighted with 10sp Chorus casette, not my fixed adapter) they are not exactly my lightest despite light, Record based hubs.

For the rear, some of it I think is stress, but I think for the most part it's where the bikes are ridden. Road bikes are going to be on smooth trails or long shoulders in the country, whereas fixies tend to see a lot more urban, high traffic/pothole/whatever areas. That would be my guess anyways.

I'm running 36 front and rear right now, and it's great. I don't worry about anything that I might run over.

Got my 20 hole Racelite out of a dumpster, and while a little untrue lately has been great and looks HOT.

My front wheel is 16 spoke and despite much abuse has yet to go out of true.

My Fillmore has 20 in the front and 24 in the rear. Never had a problem.

Poor availability of hubs is probably a large factor.

Along with that, if you consider why people use low spoke count wheels, it might not apply much to riding fixed. In the road world, they are usually boutique wheels that are designed to be more aero and/or lighter than standard-built wheels. I opt for reliability on my fixed.

Speaking of... I think the new Mavic Ellipse has 20 spokes front and rear. It is a strange wheel- a bit heavy and clincher only? And they run about $450/set.


For many of us, that would cost more than the rest of the bike, in the fixed world.

I tossed a 20 spoke radially laced front on one of my bikes- no problems, but I think twice before riding off curbs, etc.