fiamme red
03-19-2010, 10:40 AM
http://www.rivbike.com/blogs/news_post/216
Dead Squirrels Scrolls III
(a letter received)
Grant:
There's another cautionary tale in the dead squirrel scrolls, and it fits right in with some of your other warnings about the suitability of high-tech racing gear for recreational riding.
Note the front wheels on both of the squirrel-downed bikes with sheared forks. One wheel appears to have 20 spokes, maybe 24 max, while the other front wheel has one of those goofy "8 pairs of spokes" (or six trios of spokes) lacing patterns.
What do both of those front wheels have in common? Huge gaps between spokes that allowed a very large squirrel to get his head INTO the wheel before his nose got knocked by a spoke.
Look at the biggest space between spokes on the 32 spoke wheel, and you'll see that once the bike is moving at even 10 MPH, Mr. Squirrel has a very narrow window and chances are his nose will get clipped and he'll be deflected. Sure, the bike rider may still go down, but it won't be a hard front-wheel-stops-cold & over-the-bars-you-go disaster.
Anyone who has tried to replicate the "Breaking Away" frame-pump-in-the-spokes trick, hopefully just for fun, has probably learned how hard it is to jam even a stick into a 32 spoke wheel when it's spinning. With a 36 spoke wheel, it's even harder. Easier with a 28, or course, but compared to the wheels shown with squirrel heads in 'em, even a 28 spoke wheel aids your chances of survival when something, or some squirrel, tries to cross to the other side of the road when you and your bike are in the way.
The wheels with huge gaps between spokes are asking for trouble, as puppies, chickens, radio-controlled cars, not to mention squirrels, are given a bigger target, easier to hit. Even with a steel fork, it's gonna hurt. The few extra ounces and wind-tunnel drag that comes with 32 spokes is cheap insurance, especially when you don't have a team support car only seconds away.
Richard Johnston
Dead Squirrels Scrolls III
(a letter received)
Grant:
There's another cautionary tale in the dead squirrel scrolls, and it fits right in with some of your other warnings about the suitability of high-tech racing gear for recreational riding.
Note the front wheels on both of the squirrel-downed bikes with sheared forks. One wheel appears to have 20 spokes, maybe 24 max, while the other front wheel has one of those goofy "8 pairs of spokes" (or six trios of spokes) lacing patterns.
What do both of those front wheels have in common? Huge gaps between spokes that allowed a very large squirrel to get his head INTO the wheel before his nose got knocked by a spoke.
Look at the biggest space between spokes on the 32 spoke wheel, and you'll see that once the bike is moving at even 10 MPH, Mr. Squirrel has a very narrow window and chances are his nose will get clipped and he'll be deflected. Sure, the bike rider may still go down, but it won't be a hard front-wheel-stops-cold & over-the-bars-you-go disaster.
Anyone who has tried to replicate the "Breaking Away" frame-pump-in-the-spokes trick, hopefully just for fun, has probably learned how hard it is to jam even a stick into a 32 spoke wheel when it's spinning. With a 36 spoke wheel, it's even harder. Easier with a 28, or course, but compared to the wheels shown with squirrel heads in 'em, even a 28 spoke wheel aids your chances of survival when something, or some squirrel, tries to cross to the other side of the road when you and your bike are in the way.
The wheels with huge gaps between spokes are asking for trouble, as puppies, chickens, radio-controlled cars, not to mention squirrels, are given a bigger target, easier to hit. Even with a steel fork, it's gonna hurt. The few extra ounces and wind-tunnel drag that comes with 32 spokes is cheap insurance, especially when you don't have a team support car only seconds away.
Richard Johnston