..Stuff
(reprinted from Mountain Biker Magazine)

Dave's Wheels

How cool! We have a set of rims to try from Velocity, and a pair of hubs from Nuke Proof. What to do? Let's send them to Dave!

Dave? Yea, Dave's Wheel Designs. Gee, I did not know there was any designing to be done when building wheels. Boy, was I wrong.

We sent the rims and hubs off to Dave to see what he could come up with. Specifics? We told Dave that the wheels would be used by Elaine, our fearless editor. We told Dave her weight (we had to guess since she wouldn't tell, spouting something about it being her prerogative). We also told Dave that we would be installing said wheelset on her one-and-only Ted Wojcik really rigid retro rocket and that it would be used for everyday trail riding and occasional racing.

I called Dave up on the phone to see what was up, but he went over my head in the first minute of conversation. So I asked him to write something down.

Dave Writes: "Velocity rims are light and pretty but these are no simple rolled down road rims. Wider than their road model, they have a concave braking track to prevent pad dive. They also build easily, being manufactured to a high quality standard (and I love all those color options).

Ritchey Logic 15 gauge butted spokes are used on front and non-drive rear in a one cross, heads out pattern. Made by DT, these spokes are 25% lighter than standard 15 ga butted spokes owing to the longer thinner center sections. At 4 grams per spoke, they are only 1/4 gram heavier each than titanium spokes. Gold colored alloy nipples come standard with them. Standard 15 ga DT spokes are used on the drive side rear, in a special 4 cross, heads in pattern which leaves them together a bit near the hub. Although still light, somewhat heavier spokes are necessary for greater tension requirements of the drive side due to "wheel dish" or offset.

Since nonstandard spoke patterns require nonstandard spoke lengths, why go to all the bother? If you noticed, I mentioned "heads out" or "heads in" on the patterns. This means all the spokes are on the same side of each hub nange, which offers more uniform spoke tension. A standard 3 cross, which alternates spokes on both sides of the hub flange, means that outer spokes have a 5mm greater width to pull from, than inner spokes.

In the case of the drive side, the outer spokes could be 25% looser than inner spokes and will give a mushier ride. Add that to the fact that fixing heads in and heads out on the rear wheel takes about one third of the wheel dish away and you'll have a dramatically stiffer and stronger tear wheel! This is also true on front wheels with one cross heads out spoking. More even tension and more direct loading of spokes makes a stronger and stiffer wheel. There's also less stress on spoke elbows because they don't have to bend as much at the hub. One cross is used instead of straight radial spoking to be less destructive to the hub nange. (Many manufacturers void the warranty with radial~ spoking.) Too much stiffness is avoided by using the superlight spokes which are more elastic but you can really feel the extra response! Of course, in order to have all those advantages the wheel must be built in a skilled fashion by an expert. The lighter the wheel, the more important this aspect is."

Dave said a mouthful, but the result is one really sweet wheelset that is still going strong after a whole season untouched by a spoke wrench. And Elaine could tell the difference immediately. She was faster. I remember her spouting something about going too fast for her own good. We can think of no better upgrade to give your bike than the best wheelset you can get your hands on.

Contact: Dave's Wheel Designs at 800.275.5031; Nuke Proof at 616.676.2400, Velocity at 616.538.5900 and Ritchey at 415.368.4018.