Its hard to say precisely where the line lays, but I’m certain I’m well on the wrong side of it. I never notice lines as I pass over them but I can usually tell after I have because it feels suddenly liberating to leave reason, sensibility, and convention behind. I find them very restrictive – claustrophobic, almost. They force me into the same old way of thinking, always within a set of parameters of what is accepted. Parameters are a good thing, to be sure – especially for everyone else – but since I wasn’t involved in defining The Universal Limits of Reason and Sensibility, I can’t be sure they’re calibrated correctly so I prefer to roam freely and am quite satisfied to be considered crazy for the time being.
Just like most of us, I started down La Vie Velominatus rolling along on the wheels my first bike arrived with. I trusted them to be indestructible and always carry me about safely. Then one day while racing my friend, I locked up the back wheel coming into a corner too hard and destroyed it, the illusion of The Indestructible Wheel riding up the road alongside the friend I had only moments earlier been locked in shoulder-to-shoulder battle with. It was also at this precise moment that I faced the reality that a wheel is not only destructible, but a basic element facilitating productive locomotion aboard a bicycle.
I spent the next month shingling the roof of my family’s cabin in Northern Minnesota earning the money to buy a replacement wheel. And, having recently shingled a roof, I was suddenly a Shingling Authority, discussing in depth the merits of choice in color, material, and shingle pattern of every roof I passed by. Similarly, upon having been subjected to the myriad choices of replacement wheel, after purchasing my replacement wheel, I was a new inductee into the The Order of the Wheel and noticed (and commented upon) every bicycle wheel that passed me by. Due more to the volume of by observations than their merit, I was soon thereafter indulged by my Cycling Sensei – my father – to help him curate the wheels for his custom Eddy Merckx.
At the time, choices were more limited than they are today; quality of hub varied greatly, as did the rims, spokes, and tires. Everything was limited to an alloy of some kind, though you could have any spoke pattern you wanted, as long as it was 3-cross. At the time there was also a choice between tubular and clincher, which was a relatively new option. We labored over the choices and wound up having two wheelsets built – one clincher and aero; one box-section and tubular – a choice I stand by today.
That was my awakening, but nevertheless, I have throughout my life as a Velominatus had only one wheelset per bike. The lightest for Bike #1. Whenever Bike #n came into play, it received its own wheelset; as with all the other parts on Bikes #2…n; a hand-me-down from Bike #n-1’s upgrade. (Using the Hand-Me-Down Upgrade Methodology, a single upgrade improves not just one bicycle, but several – with the added benefit of filling a longer period of time moving bits from one noble steed to the next.)
It was only recently, during preparation for the 2012 edition of Keepers Tour over the cobbles of Northern France and Vlaanderen, that I took my own place in the realm of the Specialty Wheelset – which also afforded me another of those moments when I was strangely aware of having crossed one of Those Lines. After all, a big, fat Dutchman can’t be expected to ride over the pavé of Paris-Roubaix – unleashing the awesome wattage of his artillery – on just any old wheelset; certainly not any of those wheels which I already owned. This called for a set of wheels purpose-built for the occasion. Rims, hubs, spokes, and tires were selected with great care and assembled (four times) in a wine-enhanced rite.
Riding these wheels is a pleasure highlighted by the fact that I don’t always ride them. They hang on the workshop wall in a wheel bag, waiting for the Right Occasion to ride them. Those occasions are often anticipated several days – if not weeks – in advance and deliberated over carefully. Then, when the choice is finally made to pop them in for the ride, I wrap myself in the delta between my regular wheels and these. This contrast, like the negative space in a great painting, is the area in which I dwell while riding them. The difference in tire type, width, spoke pattern, weight. The way the wheel feels when the pedal is engaged. The way the wheels and tires flex over a bump in the road or hug the pavement in a corner.
I’ve since embarked on a journey to get each road bike in the house – mine as well as the VMH’s – on the same drive train in order to be able to maximize the wheel-swapping effect. Each wheel is a new language, each tire a new dialect, and inner tube a new turn of phrase. To paraphrase the nursery rhyme: one for sorrow, two for joy, three for hills and four for stones.
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Nice one, Frank! Only recently did I get an extra pair of wheels that I can employ when needed, like when new tires are in the mail & I still want to head out cross riding. An extra set, whether for certain conditions or just as a backup is awesome. And, having a few bikes with interchangeable wheels is also awesome. My #1 and #2 road bikes are Campa 10, with slightly different wheelsets/tires. My cross bike is SRAM 10, my commuter is Shimano 10. Now I just need to get my third road bike in line & everything will be alright in the "unified Campagnolo 10 speed universe," as Gianni put it.
Also have a wheelset upgrade/swap in mind for the near future. Projects are always fun. Have some black Record hubs with silver spokes and one black Open Pro rim, one silver (I didn't build them!). Then some nice Shimano 600 hubs with silver spokes and black rims that are beaten up. Thinking of one all black, one all silver wheelset.
Nate - I think you mentioned you're a big fan of...black rims, silver spokes...and was it silver hubs? I'm in the deliberation mode so matters of style are still open to steering.
"Negative space." Ha! Read a profile last week of an artist and she went on and on about herself and...negative space! Kind of made me want to punt her into space.
Welcome back, Frank! I'm not deep enough into my journey to have experienced many different wheelsets. I really like posts like these and the community as a whole because they act as guideposts or a map for the newly formed Velominatus. I learn about tubs, 23 v 25c, handbuilts, etc. Even something as simple trickling down your bike parts is a good tip for me going forward as the stable gets increased.
@Ron
hah! That's a completely understandable sentiment.
And since this topic is at hand, I can't help but open this can of worms. Contemplating a wheelset upgrade for #1. Part of me wants something like Cyclops' Reynolds carbon clinchers. Part of me, as I don't road race, just wants some awesome, classic wheels, like Golden Tickets tied to Record hubs. I love the contrast of low profile alloy wheels on modern carbon. Training rides and fast group rides are something I do, but wheels aren't going to be what holds me back in them.
So, if you were a non-racing roadie with a nice carbon bike and simply wanted a durable, all around wheelset, what might you chose. Modern carbon clincher or something more classic? (Not interested in tubulars, at this time.)
Spot on with the timing, Frank. Maybe it is the end of the road season sales or just the idea of the long winter ahead but I have just started looking for my next set of wheels. I have the bombproof HED C2 tubs and a set of Mavic Ksyrium SLR's clinchers which I bought three years ago. Love both sets but now dreaming of getting another wheelset specifically for climbing/racing as there are so many hills around here and I am looking forward to doing some more racing next season.
Not sure if I really want to go the carbon rim route, though. I have never had carbon rims and worry about the durability and the cost as well. Good to hear cyclops' experience.
Anyone with any ideas on the subject of a solid climbing and racing wheelset?
I'm a broke son of a bitch, so I only ride budget wheelsets, but I've got to say, Easton's EA90 aluminum aero wheels give you a heck of a lot of bang for your buck. I can't remember the exact weight of my set but when I swap my training wheels for my Eastons, my bike drops about 800g overall. They definitely make me faster, and they're not crazy expensive by any means.
@frank just like your n+1 bike theory, I have an n+1 wheel set theory, being that you should have one more set of wheels than bikes. I currently have 2 road bikes with aluminum clinchers (Mavic Ksyrium for bad weather), carbon clincher (Boyd 50mm for everyday baddassery), and Carbon Tubs (Easton EC90 Aero for racing and ultimate climbing and, more importantly, descending). Built up with a variety of gearing I can accomplish any type of ride/terrain at any time, as they're all interchangable on both bikes.
And yes I like to buy lots of expensive bike shit.
(Pee-wee Herman voice) "Ah... I love that story."
My LBS spotted my stolen bike on Craigslist, less so from the bike and moreso by the wheels. i.e, hey, I build that wheel. Wait a minute.
@Ron
@Buck Rogers Depends very much on the available budget, of course - but for what it's worth, I must say that I have rarely seen a wheelset receive more unanimous rave reviews than the Shimano Dura Ace 7850 C24 - and deservedly so, IMHO. To the best of my knowledge, you could pick a pair of these up on Ebay or similar for anything between 600 and 800 USD. Not cheap by any means, but these wheels are truly the shit. They're not super-featherweigths, but the distribution is spot-on, especially for climbing and accelerating: lots of weight in the hubs, relatively little of it in the rims and spokes.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-dura-ace-7850-carbon-laminate-clincher-wheel-set/
By the way: nice write-up, Frank (as usual...)