“RE: They're Talking About Me”

On 5/27/04, Chris said:

>I've been a PMC road mechanic/medic for going on 9 years. and ran
>the mechancic crew on the Boston->New York AIDS Ride for several
>years. I've seen it all out there. One of the things you should
>avoid is fancy wheels. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a
>broken spoke on one of the ultra light wheels that we simply can
>not repair on the road and the rider ends up sitting around until
>we get him a standard replacement wheel.

To be honest, I don't even know what's a "fancy wheel" and what isn't. The wheels I have on the new bike weren't particularly expensive, so I don't think they're "fancy," but they are Tandems.

>I have to admit, Cool Wheels are nice to have and some people can
>get the aero advantage. (Chances are you can as you seem to be a
>lot stronger than most) 

I have to be strong to carry this big frame (and all the meat attached to it) wherever I go. ;-)

>But, for ease of repair, nothing beats standard spokes.

I do have standard spokes.

>Heck, I usually find myself relacing whole wheels at Mass Maritime
>about 11pm and the rider is ready to go with a better than new
>wheel in the morning.

Very cool. (Just reading this gets me excited about the ride this year.)

>I'm not a tall person, but I'm heavy at 230lbs.

Oh yeah, you're *so* heavy. Go look at my stats, wise guy. ;-)

>It is amazing how 'light' you can be on the equipment though. My
>road bike is a 32 spoke rim on Campy Record hubs with DT butted
>spokes.

What I have on there now: the rims are Mavic A719, and the hubs are Shimano Ultegra.

Guess that's not really the best setup, by what you've said.

(If I can afford it) I'll get another set of wheels around mid-season, and I'll try what you've suggested.

>Light and strong. I build my own wheels, and handbuilt wheels are
>simply MUCH better in both strength and true.

I didn't build mine myself, but I did watch them build the wheels at my local shop (where I bought the bike).

>Even my Mountain Bike is a 32 spoke front wheel. My Recumbent has
>36 spokes only because there is no way to unweight anything and you
>slam the ruts. Still, that wheel is perfect.
>
>If you are like me and can power the pedals (I have snapped KMC
>chains just riding) then I HIGHLY recommend a 4-cross lacing in the
>rear, especially on the drive side. A 2-cross on the non drive and
>the front is fine.

Sheesh, it's like you're speaking a foreign language. :-) I really don't know much about wheels, that's why everybody was trying to "help" a couple months ago when this was first being discussed. Of course, no two people recommended the same things.

>The science behind the wheel is tension. Your weight releases
>tension, not adds. So, most big guys and Tandems have wheel
>failures not due to the weight, but because the spokes below the
>hub reach a 0 tension and the wheel loses it's structure.

That was very interesting, and seems obvious now that you've said it. My weight produces downward force that tries to deform the rim, essentially squashing it from a circle into an oval. Where it is deformed (like when you hit a pothole or a rock), the tension on the spokes is reduced because the distance from the center of the wheel to the edge of the rim is shorter. When the tension is decreased to 0, there's no longer anything holding the spoke in place. When the force on the wheel returns to normal (the moment after you hit the rock), and the spoke is gone, the wheel is no longer being pulled evenly by the spokes and so is deformed.

I think I get it! ;-)

>Buying a strong flange hub and reinforced eyes in the rim and then
>using good spokes (I love the butted DTs) with a standard brass
>nipple will allow the wheel builder to crank up the tension and
>give you a very strong wheel.

Hmm. I think I need to make sure I wreck my wheels near the end of the first day so I can get you to build me a new set at the MMA. ;-)

>You don't need Tandem rims. In fact, if you are good at 'unloading'
>as you travel over rough road, you can likely ride a 32 spoke wheel
>with no trouble at all.

Not sure what you mean by "unloading." Using legs/arms as shock absorbers when hitting rough spots? "Hopping" over the rough spots? Something else entirely?

>The trick is finding the rim that can take the tension. Many of the
>really light rims deform as you crank up the tension and are only
>designed for lighter riders. My road bike has the old Mavic Reflex
>(non-anodized as the coating weakened the sidewalls) which make for
>a light and strong combination.
>
>Hubs? Phil are great, but heavy. I have Phil on my Recumbent for
>the shock loads and towing a trailer. I have Campy Record on my
>road and Shimano XT on my Mountain. Find a hub you like and go with
>it. Just make sure that if the flange is aluminum, it is a THICK
>aluminum so that you can tension the wheel a lot.

But how can I find a hub I like without buying and trying everything? A big part of the problem here was the limited budget and having to get something decent the first time around. (Thus the need for recommendations from experienced riders.)

>This will be my 1st year actually riding the PMC. Because of the
>distance, I have to ride the Recumbent. (Carpel Tunnel causes my
>hands to go numb after about 40 miles on an upright) My job this
>year is to ride at the end to both keep track of the last rider,
>and offer mechanical and medical support for the end of the ride
>allowing one more van to patrol. My training this year has been to
>learn to go slow. Actually had to pull off the Campy rear
>drivetrain and install a Shimano Mountain Bike setup so that I can
>go slow enough. (^_^) One thing about Phil Hubs is that it's an
>easy change! (^_^)

I think it would kill me to have to make sure I was last. Some people ride so darn slow it would just drive me nuts.

On the other hand, when I do half centuries with the local club, I don't have to try to be last. Those little guys really climb hills a lot faster than I do. ;-)

>See you in August! (or perhaps, hopefully not) (^_^)

Well, hopefully not on the route, anyway, but I'd love to try to meet up at the MMA afterwards.

>Now if I can convince them to keep some food so that I have a
>chance to eat something this year at MMA. 

I was done eating and out of there before most of the riders had even shown up. (My wife picked me up, and I slept almost non-stop until it was time to head back for departure on Sunday morning. :-)

There was so much food, though! It's hard to believe even a crowd of 4,000 cyclists could eat it all. (They should let my wife cook for them. She'd have everybody stuffed and food left over to feed everyone again on Sunday.)

Hey, thanks for writing. Your whole message was very interesting, I'm sorry it took me a week to write back to it.

Seth