This week i returned my thrid set of Spinergy Tilium SS wheels due to failure. My first set died when the carbon rim fractured around the spoke area. My second set went back when the front was strangely imbalanced. My local shop kindly replaced this with the titanium coloured 2004 SS. These went back last week with a vertical fracture of the carbon behind one of the decals and the spokes appear to ‘bulge’ behind the rim and this had fractured in one place as well. I had used these 6 times and 2 of those were hillclimb TT’s. No crashes were causes with any of these replacments. One failure is possible but three times !!!
Spinergy’s warranty replacement and service was flawless but I see to have found some serious flaws with their design. The spoke design and configuration seems to overtly stress the rim (probably due to the tolerances involved) and maybe my 86kg frame is too heavy for their wheels. In the end I’ve switched to my reliable mavic and corima wheelsets.
I was lured into a set of new Spinergy Tillium SS’s by the price; but it hasn’t been worth it. I’ve used them maybe 6 - 8 times and after each ride they are way out of true. To do any trueing on this rim you must remove the tire and tube… a big pain in the ass. …Should of gone for the zipps.
My tiliums are still in pretty good shape. Nice and true. They are the 2004’s with the improved nipples. I had some 2003’s, and they came out of true frequently - they were destroyed in a wreck.
I also have a front Tilium SS (2004) and have about 300-500 miles on it. It is perfectly straight, true and round. I am 155lb (70Kg), which could have something to do with it. But I’ve hit some pretty big ruts, potholes and other crap during races and never worried about them. Are the 404s better? Yep, but also 2x the price.
I will keep this brief because I have complained a countless number of times about Spinergy. My situation:
Rev-X wheel collapsed going 53 kph around a slight turn → many bruises and banged up bones → resulted from hub failure → Spinergy admitted fault but would not replace them → They “offered” me a new set of wheels at wholesale price but oddly enough wholesale was the exact same price as the retail price at local stores.
Could have been a legal suite but that is not my style - however, I will never buy another Spinergy product and I will continue to spread the word because of the way I was treated.
I ended up sending back the collapsed wheel and the non-collapsed wheel and told them to put the wheels where the sun don’t shine.
Yeah, I wouldn’t use a carbon wheel for everyday riding either. But I do ride my race wheels for a bit before each race to make sure everything is working well and I am used to the handling characteristics. Definitely worthwhile, as if you are used to a low-profile and switch to a 50mm rim on a windy raceday you might be in for a surprise!
I have nothing bad to say about Spinergy wheels. I weigh 170. I put about 24,000 miles on my rev-x set before the rear began to delaminate. Spinergy gave me a deal on a set of Tilliams with the PBO spokes. I’ve put about 5000 miles on them with no problems other than the rear spokes creaking where they rub against each other. I have to lube that area periodically. For years I’ve been hearing about Spinergy’s poor products, but you can’t prove it by me. Now I could tell you a story about Mavic Cosmics…
