radial wheels

(John Meerse) said:

I crashed in the Fitchburg crit this weekend, and broke a spoke on my front, radial-laced wheel.
The mechanics at the Mavic tent were discussing it, and one told the other that a radial wheel
generally held it's shape better when a spoke broke. Is this really true?

Since the missing spoke helped hold tension on those it crossed, it makes sense that there would be
a SMALL difference - but it's not likely to be enough to make a difference in terms of being able to
ride the wheel home.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Mark Hickey said:

Since the missing spoke helped hold tension on those it crossed, it makes sense that there would be
a SMALL difference - but it's not likely to be enough to make a difference in terms of being able
to ride the wheel home.

Hmm. I was able to ride a rear wheel the other day with 3 spokes missing just fine. 'Course, that's
a 36-spoke 3cross steel bugger that weighs a ton, and the 3 spokes were fairly strategically
positioned to not be too much of a problem. I've also had similar wheels on commuter bikes be
completely unusable with but two or three spokes missing, and on another occasion I had one that
went fairly wobbly when 9 out of 36 -- a full quarter -- were gone.

Jasper

John-<< I crashed in the Fitchburg crit this weekend, and broke a spoke on my front, radial-laced
wheel. The mechanics at the Mavic tent were discussing it, and one told the other that a radial
wheel generally held it's shape better when a spoke broke. Is this really true? >><BR><BR>

Not surprised that a bunch of Mavic weenies, that sell all fronts that are radial, would say this...

If it holds it shape, then the tension is not adequate, like a lot of mavic wheels...

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"