Twisted spoke wheels
 

Like the rear wheel in this pic http://www.chubhub.com/photo.php?loc=photos/photo_5.jpg

Where can you get them built? I have to admit I just love the look.

You might want to ask Upgrade or Yojimbos on this one (they are both chicago) shops, and very good too!

Another of my babies... Hopefully, I'll be giving her to a friend of mine who wants to try fixed gear on the cheap.
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/b/torrin.htm

who built the wheels T?

Unknown, but I love them to death! The local wheelbuilding celebrity at 'Gravy Wheels' won't build them because of supposed strength issues, but I've got many thousands of miles of popping curbs and getting hit by cars on them with nary a problem. Hell, they're still true.

at least the wheels, right? When are you going to stop breaking yourself?

In The Art of Wheelbuilding, Schraner first warns about how weak twisted spokes are and then writes something along the lines of "it's better for kids to roll spokes than to roll joints."

I had a big :rolleyes: over that.

I would think it's the other way around, being much more productive to roll joints than mess with these goofy (though eye catching) spoke patterns.

It's a good idea for a useless lowrider show bike. A silly idea for a bike that is actually ridden. Especially one that's ridden hard, as I suspect many SS/fixies are.

*gack* That bike would be an awful ride. The Chub guys went to enormous lengths to prove that 'larger flanges are better', yet still end up with a hub heavier than a regular hub WITH a cassette freewheel mechanism, and provide no other benefits other than decreasing and dissipating the forces the hub sees under load.

Still, not a bad option if you want to plop 190 bucks down for a simple rear hub I guess.

Not sure what the benefit of twisted spokes are. Never heard any arguements for them that were even vaguely convincing.

what's wrong with that bike? i think it looks like it'd ride pretty damn nicely.

Change the back wheel and it would. Chubhubs and twisted spokes are pointless gimmicks; gimme a Phil high flange laced three cross (keep the Shamals though :) ).

please to be buying that frame for me please.

twisted spoke wheels are a bad choice in my opinion unless you are riding trials. they have no benefit for a road or track bike. the twisting adds a HUGE damping factor which is only beneficial in large wheel impacts, as seen in trials. for a road/track not a good idea bc you get zero road feedback

my trials bike has a 4x wheel in the rear.

mine does too!

Allston MASS is a great place to drink and ride bikes and be loud. I never saw that Merlin there though.

Did anybody save the pic? It looks like the link to the pic no longer work. Thanks.

Does anyone have any info on building twisty wheels? Specifically - calculating spoke lengths.

I can't find anything online - and I'd like to make a front like yours lucklust.

I'd like to do it myself - but I don't want to go through multiple sets of spokes to get it right.

Makes me wish I had a phil wood spoke cutter.

I read something somewhere by someone who made twisted spoke wheels that they just added something like 3mm to each spoke as calculated for x3 or something. I'm no expert, but seems like you would need more.

I may be wrong, but it looks like Lucklust's wheels there are 2x, twisting a full turn at the upper cross. Maybe you could size your spokes (with a calculator) for 3x then do 2x with a twist?

Spoke length for rims and hubs + 1mm = twisted spoke length.

1mm doesnt sound like enough to me, but then again ive never done it.

although i think that twisted spokes have their place in cycling as i stated earlier in this thread, i will agree that they looking damn cool while spinning. no disrespect BOOYYYEEEEEE

Really? What exactly is this damping factor? And can you point to some evidence that twisted spoke wheels do indeed have it.

only persons I know running twisted spoke wheels here are downhillers and freeride guys that build there own wheels

I believe Reload has them on their site. If not them, they may know people.