Re: Mr. Skunk: Bikefanclub.com

One of my teammates had that rear hub problem you mentioned with his set of Topos. Rear hub was a bit wobbly and couldn't be adjusted right from the time he took it out of the box, and this particular rider is the best wrench around. He weighs 145, so it must have been pretty pronounced. Rear wheel to go back for replacement, so I presume it was a manufacturing defect, not an adjustability issue. As for my pair, the rear hub has been perfect.

The way I look at it, trick wheels are problematic, period. So you have two choices. (1) You can go with a not-so-light, not-so-aero, but smooth and totally bomb-proof wheel like the A.C. Deep-V and never have to walk home. (2) You can go with a stinko-light, superb-riding wheel, and realize you'll have occasional problems - so you've got to go with a company and a dealer whom you can call and get a helpful answer, reasonably-priced service, & spare parts. You've got to be realistic.

Or, finally, you can choose Spinergy and know you're getting a wheel that is guaranteed to fall apart, and when you call them, they either won't return your call, or on the rare occasion when you can get a human on the phone, they'll tell you to @&^% off.

I don't know of any clydesdale model of Topolino, but I did ask them to increase the spoke tension on my Topos when they rebuilt 'em. On my first ride upon getting them back, I first got run off the road onto the dirt going downhill at 40 mph by a senile old farmer who pulled his tugboat across both lanes and stopped, then about two hours later on another fast downhill, a guy in a Turbo Mini cleaned off his mirror on my elbow and I hit a big rock hard enough to blow out my front tire. They stayed perfectly true and round.

I think ZIPP has a great concept with their "Clydesdale" wheel. It's intentionally a little heavier for beefers like myself. American Classic has a similar idea, in that most of their wheels are available with higher spoke counts. With most AC models, you can go light if you're prepared to bear the consequences of pushing the weight envelope, or you can go conservative and not spew wheel parts all over the road.

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"I haven't failed. I've just managed to find 100,000 ways that don't work"

--Albert Einstein

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