Polo Wheels (Tyres, Spokes & Rims)

How are they holding up, John? I run Rigida Xplorers at the moment, but think about going lighter as well.. The Xplorers were working quite good on my bike so far and are really cheap (15€ per rim).

190 grams difference per rim. Does it really matter?

I've just built up a mavic 717 rear; light, strong and eyleted, i'm fbo so truness is less of an issue. Website says they can go down to 1'' too.

190 grams difference per rim. Does it really matter?

Well, with some very rough maths, you require between one-and-a-half and two times the energy to accelerate rim weight, compared to non-rotating weight, on a bike.

So save 190g per rim, and you've effectively saved up to 760g of weight in terms of other parts on the bike, for example that's roughly the weight of a set of front and rear disk brakes.

The next question is, do you care?

;)

The next question is, how much weight do I save if I take a dump before my games?

Considering typical polo "hydration" reigimes, I think going for a piss would be the expected marginal gain strategy.

190g per rim is HUGE. So huge I almost don't believe it.

Weight weenies haggle massively over +/- 10g at the rim. Tyres are most important though... Save weight on the front tyre (low as your dare but c200g is achievable) and bulk up a bit on the rear (Ribmo wired is about 400g) if you skid.

I'll add my voice to the praise of 521/721 rims. Mega strong. You can get premium alu, welded, rim-brake ready rims off ebay or retro bike for £10-20. Most modern rip-offs are pinned.

I do see the point of view of people saying how important rotational weight is but then you see them smoking and drinking all day.

It's like all those weight weenies caring about shaving 5g off a derailleur but still weighing in at 13stone.

Improve yourself before improving the gear.

5 grams saved is the same whether it's off your belly or your derailleur though.

It's not like buying speed (rims/nice frames/clipless pedals etc) means you *have to *lose weight.

You could spin it the opposite way: 'I'm too lazy to train/lose weight/get fitter, therefore I must buy some speed by lightening my bike'.

...still weighing in at 13stone.

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

I do see the point of view of people saying how important rotational weight is but then you see them smoking and drinking all day.

It's like all those weight weenies caring about shaving 5g off a derailleur but still weighing in at 13stone.

Improve yourself before improving the gear.

yeah but i drink the exact same amount of beers every time, so improvements have to be made where they can.
I don't really like light beer.

^^ 13st of speed is fine but when you can see the gut hanging out it's nasty.

I weigh in at 62kg so I can justify being a weight weenie on the bike :)

(as long as you don't count the chain smoking without filters and aversion to all physical activity that isn't on two wheels. In fact, I only got into riding a bike because it's more efficient than walking. Lot of work, walking.)

Padded cycling shorts have been making me lose the joust for weeks.

Having a gut at 13st and being a cyclist is an achievement. I was 12st3 when I was racing so to fit a gut into a 13st limit must mean that underneath you're built like Wiggo.

I haven't been 13 stone since I was 13.

I know 36h is sufficient when running 26", but is it stupid to go down to 32h and run a wheel cover instead?

You'll have to run a cover if you want to stop the ball. But then a ball can still go through a 48h.

but in terms of durability, will I lose a lot if I go down to 32h? got my eye on a cheeky hope pro 2 trials on xc717 wheelset i've seen on sale, you see

Not really, it's only 4 spokes. I ran a 32h galv spoked front wheel for a year and a half without problem. Had to true it more often than my 48h but that was expected

If that wheelset is cheap then go for it I say.

£180. Really shouldn't...

If you are spending that much, get Push to build you a brand new 36h...

But you so should. A Hope pro 2 trials rear wheel is £190 from CRC

A decent rim has more effect than 4 spokes in my experience. I have 32 front, 36 rear, mainly because that's what I could get for cheap. Both d521, both almost perfectly true with very little tinkering.

Both have wheelcovers though.

i ran a 32H 700c back in the days when we really really fucked wheels for nearly 2 years.