I fully admit it. I fixate on wheels the way girls buy shoes. I think they are the sexiest accessory to add to your bike (with aerobars being a distant second). So now, a question:
Has anyone ridden on Spinergy’s PBO spokes that can verify that they ‘feel’ any different than steel spokes? Are they noticeably more comfortable?
I am researching wheels for my new 700c Caliente. My other bike is a 650c Softride so I am starting over again with wheels. I live in mostly flat to rolling hills, with moderate winds. I am strongly considering a Renn disc. I was going back and forth between an H3 or Alps for the front, but with all of the recent posts about Spinergy I am leaning towards the Tilium. These will be wheels I will race in and use for 50-75 miles group rides on the weekends. I’ll keep the stock xaeros for my weekday riding. My only (perhaps irrational) criteria are deep rims.
I concur with your wheel fetish. My associate, the late Michael R. Rabe, was heavily afflicted by wheel fetish. when he passed, his house was replete with wheels in all state of assembly and disassembly, wheel beuilding tools, a truing stand on his coffee table, strange fluids for treating spokes prior to assembly and an absurd collection of rims, spokes, hubs, tubular tires and assorted wheel accotriments(sp?).
I have ridden the PBOs. I had a Cannondale IM2000 with them. I thought they rode very well.
I rode a pair of the Xaero-Lites last year and found them to be supremely stiff, yet still VERY comfortable. The road buzz was definitely reduced vs other high tension metal spoked types of wheels. I never had a problem with loose spokes or with the wheels going out of true. Some others with the carbon rimmed versions of Spinergy’s wheels had a few complaints. I would highly recommend the Xaero-Lites as an all around wheel. Reasonably light, comfortable, and durable. I like the black and white graphics as well.
Fetish? You only have a fetish? Must be nice. My wife swears I have a bonafide wheel addiction (where is Betty Ford when you need her). On any given day even the most plain of bikes can be made sexy again with a new pair of wheels. Trouble is…manufacturers keep coming out with never, lighter, sexier wheels. Current list includes: Ksyriums, R535 (haven’t ridden them yet…supposed to be for wifes bike), Renn 575 (does it get any sexier than a disk?), Falcon Trialist 650 (for sale if anyone is interested), RevX’s, SpoxR2’s, and the piece de resistance (the french will cringe at that spelling…sorry) a set of 2003 404’s. I’d buy more if I had the room…hard to justify a bigger house because you’ve run out of space to put your wheels. PBO spokes…are the more comfy? IMHO yes. Durable? Being a 180lb gear masher who has ridden his R2’s a lot…yep. Haven’t ridden any of the newer Spinergy stuff (see point about storage space) but what I have is both tough and comfortable. I can’t imagine there being a better IM race wheel spoke material. If they could only make them bladed (swoons). Why did the new issue of triathlete have to make a nice neat list of all the wheels I don’t own yet? Now I need to cut it out and make it into a shopping list.
I had a pair of XAero for about 3 month. By far the most confortable wheel I ever rode. Too bad that the wheel could not stay true more than 2 rides and the rear hub exploded after a few hundred miles.
I have a pair of Spox R2s. They have been my primary training wheels for three years now. I think pbo is a little comfier than a steel spoked ultegra/mavic setup. The only downside to pbo spokes is that if they ever break it is a bitch to fix them. They use special wrenches, the spokes and nipples are not widely available and spinergy treats end users needing parts like a baby treats a diaper. If I had never broken a spoke on my spox or if spinergy had treated me better when I did, my next wheels would probably be pbo. As it is, they will not.
I to have a fetish with wheels. 5 race wheels, a wheel for the bike on the trainer b/c changing a wheel is easier than changing a skewer and then 6 more training wheels for my bikes.
But you to can heal your self as I did. I sold a wheel a few months back and no longer do I have that problem. I’m healed of that fetish. now to go exercise other fetishes on the wife!
