Using track wheels on the road
 

I recently saw an LBS selling an American Classic 420 Aero Track for a pretty decent price. Thinking of putting it on my bianchi pista (everyday commuter bike). I've always wondered how riding a track wheel on the roads would be like. Can they stand up to the abuse of commuting? Is it recommended? If not, why so?

Thanks :)

Spoke count? Your weight? If you weight too much 20/24h (from website) may be a bit fragile for commuting on bad streets. Otherwise there's nothing inherit in calling wheels "track" wheels besides the OLD (most times 120mm) and the fixed hub that makes them application specific. All other considerations regarding wheels and appropriateness apply.

It won't be any different than the track wheels on your pista now but I'd also be a bit worried about the low spoke count.

What is up with the rampant fear of anything less than 32 3x wheels on this forum? With a high flange hub and 34mm rim, that wheel is more than strong enough. Its overbuilt compared to most road wheels.

on the road again...
 

depends on the roads.

plenty of 20/24 road wheels being used every day.

What's the decent price? 1585gr/pair has my ears perked up...

Price is around SGD700.. So it's around USD550.

I weigh around 59kg/130lbs. Roads here are pretty ok, except for the occasional mini pothole and irregularities here and there.

You can build lighter wheels (1350g) for cheaper (+/- $300). Search the forum.

The roads in Singapore are relatively smooth and you're not very heavy at 130lbs. Those wheels will be just fine for ya.

Off-topic: where do you ride in Sinapore? I go there for work on occasion and have been wanting to wrangle a bike and ride around the next time I'm over there.

^ what he said. Not fair, at ~190 I can't play with race bits on the street.

I would also go with custom built wheels are that price, just as lighter and arguably stronger.

I think i forgot to add one little detail, i am using handbuilt wheels right now. I got my lbs to laced a pair of mavic cpx 22s to token track hubs. It was pretty cheap coz my girl got it for me online and all i had to pay for was the wheel labour. He didn't charge me for the spokes. It's a solid wheel, no doubt. But i can really feel the weight at the rear end, esp when accelerating fast.

Sometimes i wonder if i should just get a road bike instead.. Haha.

Well there's many places to ride, east coast park for some beach cruiser action, changi coast road for a 4km straight stretch of road parallel to the aircraft landing strip. Punggol waterway park. ThOmson road if you wanna ride with a group of roadies