Hi Y'all,

I'm trying to build my dream bike which involves finding some five-spoked wheels.

Everything out there I've found is made out of carbon and more expensive than I'd like to spend.

I don't care what the rims are made out of, as this bike will just be for show, and I'd like to find something pretty inexpensive since I'm going to be spending an exorbitant amount of money on electronics for this bike.

Help on the matter would be mucho apreciado. Thanks in advance!

there are different meanings to "carbon"
for example, aerospoke is made of "carbon composite" which is just a fancy word for heavy plastic
where as wheels like Mavic IO five-spoke is "carbon fiber"

you can easily call something carbon~ your entire body is made out of carbon so its confusing to ppl when ppl shorten and say something is made out of "carbon" to be short for "carbon fiber"
because.. a wheel made out of "carbon" i.e. beef is carbon ;D, would be a very heavy wheel.
yea?

go find some used aerospokes.
ppl are spitting them out pretty quick because they quickly find how heavy they are.
you need patience and lots of forum browsing (i.e. your local fixed gear forums) but usually $200 used is a good average price to buy at.
and aerospokes being "used" is less important because aerospokes are overdesigned and are pretty bombproof even after extensive use.

good luck.

Bikes have electronics? Are you talking about Di2 or just something like a Garmin?

WTF does this mean?

You could weld couple thin metal plates to connect rim and hub. If you can't weld, you can drill holes and screw on. Use proper tools and it can look good ... sorta sci-fi look. I wouldn't ride it though. Alternatively, you could use duct tape, but that would be out-right trashy.

Just use a generic 32/36 spoke wheel and unlace all the spokes except 5 of them. LMK how it goes.

There's this option:


These taiwanese guys used to make these wheels in 700C, too, but I don't see them selling those, anymore.
Pros: Discbrake-ready. Cheap ($100 for a wheelset).
Cons: Heavy. Probably not as durable as traditional spoked wheels (but that's the same problem the Aerospokes suffer from, too).


I use one on my winter bike. It collects less snow than a traditionally spoked wheel, and I have it set up with a discbrake.


Another, similar option, is the Grimeca wheels:




You will find both on eBay: the first under the name no-spoke or "no spoke", the other under "Grimaca" - but right now only eBay.co.uk has them.

Since this is the SS/FG forum, I'll assume he's referring to Shimano's vaunted new Di1 system.
You press a button, and the bike stays in exactly the same gear!

I'm pretty certain he's not confusing anyone by saying carbon. In context, it's safe to assume he means CF.

Anyone want to take bets on the electronics? I am guessing it's going to be some mobile hipster dj thing with lights.

I have no good guesses as to just what those 'electronics' will consist of, but I'd love to see an Aerospoke made of beef.

tomagachi

get an aerospoke.. =) they look good, are durable.. stay true.. just a lil heavy... but hubs spin smoothly and i rock one on my nagasawa =)

One aerospoke weighs as much as my entire road wheelset...

@wroomwroomoops: When I was in Helsinki there was a guy who worked in metal fabrication... Jussi introduced us, but I forgot his name... He built his own bike and 5-spoke wheels... Maybe he's willing to build another pair and sell them?

Maybe electronics to photograph the bike instead of riding it?

I don't really need spokeless (few-spoked) wheels. I bought the Taiwanese ones off eBay because they were cheap for a disk-hubbed wheelset, and seemed suitable for winter riding. It's the OP that wants few-spoked wheels. Or did you mean the OP should turn to this guy in Helsinki??

By the way, these wheels which I got, as well as the Grimeca ones, are made from an aluminum-magnesium alloy, and are fairly light for that kind of build.
They're also less sensitive to humidity than an Aerospoke. (CF composites don't like humidity. It's all *****-dory until they get scratched. After the humidity starts creeping in, you're playing with fire.).

When were you o'er here, my friend?

Meant maybe you could connect the OP with the gent in Helsinki... Was there from September to December... Did some posting on Yksivaihde, hanging out at Nick's shop, and doing alleycats... The velodrome closed way too early though... Kept getting lost on the way to VPCX too. I was rocking my Koga Track.

what is the actual list of five-spoke wheels?

i can only think of:
1. Aerospoke
2. Mavic IO

help guys?

FFWD Five-T, the cheaper alternative to the Io

good list, keep going~ what else?

1. Aerospoke
2. Mavic IO
3. FFWD Five-T

Yes, "electronics" is lights and speakers, but I don't see why that has to be hipster. What I'm going to do will be more of an engineering/art project and will be pretty impressive to anyone who sees it, hipster or not, if I actually complete the project. I don't really see why it matters anyway, as I usually judge people by their personality and not by what clothes they wear or what projects they undertake.

Thanks to those who actually provided real feedback and weren't just looking for an excuse to be an internet bully.

To Mucky Mucky, thanks for pointing me in the direction of Aerospoke. I saw those before--I guess I just have to have more patience and wait for a pair of those to go on the market for fairly cheap. As for the comment about carbon, though, what you said is not accurate. Plastic is usually considered a 'hydrocarbon', which has quite a different chemical structure than straight-up 'carbon' and is usually an oil derivative, but you are right that there are different forms of carbon itself. There are even different types of carbon fiber (uni, woven for example) which are differently useful depending on your application. A cow is also not carbon, it is just carbon based. This means that carbon is the lynchpin element that can have up to four covalent (strong) bonds, whereas most other elements in a cow's body can have only up to three, and for some of those chemicals, the bonds are ionic (weak) at that. Maybe there are companies out there that are calling plastic 'carbon' on the technicality you stated, but they would be operating on a technical lie.

fsho~ but yea aerospoke would be one of those companies i think ;D lol~ dang i just finished my material science class too~ lol i guess i learned nothing fml =/ kekeke <3

what is this project for?
sounds interesting.
make sure to post back a new thread after you finished the project psy~ <3

****. I had a really long post prepared with the idea behind my project, but the forum was idiotic (or maybe I was) and lost it for some inane reason. Basically what I want to do is create what I'm calling "Daft Bike" that will have LEDs on the wheels and frame, speakers, an iPhone/iPod hookup, and sophisticated pre-animated programs and music visualizers. I imagine the project is going to take a little while. For those here who want to suggest Monkeylectric, I've seen what they have, and it isn't nearly to the level that I want. I also don't like the physical design of their unit since I want the light show to be entirely concealed until I turn it on. I wanna roll up to some event with just kind of a funky looking bike, maybe even get some condescending stares, and then flip on a switch and watch the jaws drop to the floor.

By the way, I'm looking for a bike frame that has very straight, thin tubes all around with constant-area circular cross-sections even on the chain and seat stays and fork (steel preferably). It will be easiest for me to attach a superstructure to this sort of frame. Does anyone know of anything like this, so I can narrow down my search?

ftw!

Craft an Aerospoke out of meat and cover your frame with crap (as I mentioned in your other thread). You'll win the tarck science fair for sure!