Stupidest Bike Accessory Ever?? (you be the judge ...)

[Cataboo]

hrm. I'd say carbon spokes are pretty stupid... but I still ride on a set of old spinergy rev-x's that can collapse catastrophically. I just pretend it's okay because I'm not that heavy and I don't warp/twist them like heavier riders did - and I don't ride with groups of people where someone's pedals gonna get caught in my wheel.

However, they're not really light wheels - they've very fast, but the main benefit to me is that they really do just absolutely soak up road vibration. I can go down chip seal on them and not feel a thing. Very nice on my wrists.

[Becky]

IIRC, R-Sys wheels use tubular carbon spokes, rather than solid bladed ones, and compression rather than tension to hold the wheel's shape. Neither of which helps their durability.....

Then again, I'm not fast enough to ever benefit from carbon wheels or spokes, so it's sort of a moot point from my perspective.

[aicabsolut]

IIRC, R-Sys wheels use tubular carbon spokes, rather than solid bladed ones, and compression rather than tension to hold the wheel's shape. Neither of which helps their durability.....

This is the key. There are plenty of great wheels that use (not tubular) carbon spokes under tension. Works fine. I think the wagon wheel construction idea is a good one, but in practice, if you have one spoke fail, you have total wheel failure.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So creepy!!!

[ny biker]

Mavic's response:

http://www.velonews.com/article/9324...llapse-article

[Cataboo]

Mavic's response:

http://www.velonews.com/article/9324...llapse-article

I'm not sure exactly what they're trying to say - if your tire comes off the rim or your innertube bursts or the valve shears off... your wheel should still not implode & have all the spokes shatter.

The same.. if your carbon frame breaks, your wheel shouldn't implode either.

And whether or not the frame or tire/inntertube damage occured as a consequence of the crash...

I don't think innertubes bursting or tires coming off rims should have caused him to go over the handlebars like that - I think that's sort of a characteristic crash that happens when your wheel implodes - least from what I was reading yesterday.

I'm not sure what kind of crash main tube on frames breaking causes.

[aicabsolut]

I'm not sure what kind of crash main tube on frames breaking causes.

A friend of mine broke his (aluminum) top tube in half crashing on (or off of) a steep downhill switchback. His bike was totally trashed, but the wheels didn't explode.

[jobob]

"Carbon acts differently in a crash situation than steel or aluminum, but all bike components can be pushed to failure with enough force."

Right.
I suppose if you dropped a car on a steel-spoked wheel you'd get the same kind of failure seen on the carbon-spoked wheel discussed in the article.

[Biciclista]

I wasn't impressed with their response. I think I'd rather take my chances with something a little sturdier than carbon spokes!

[Zen]

I don't ride with groups of people where someone's pedals gonna get caught in my wheel.

But a stick might.

You go ahead, I'll catch up

[Cataboo]

But a stick might.

You go ahead, I'll catch up

*rolleyes*

Did I tell you about the time I drove to ocean city during a thunderstorm and a stick went through the air scoops of my subaru and stabbed & took out my radiator?

Sticks have it in for me.