aerospokes

SF is a mecca for track bikes. it is the heart of many trends that have swept the nation and/or world, for better or worse. "fixie kids" (i loathe this word, along with any other forms or plays on the word "fixie," but i'll save that for its own separate entry some day) in other US cities and even other countries look to our fine city by the bay for inspiration. SF was the first to release a track bike specific video, setting forth an explosion of "crews" and various other videos documenting riders and their locales. its great.

one of said often-mocked trends is the re-introduction of the aerospoke wheel. its a five-spoked, carbon composite wheel made for aerodynamics. messengers used to buy cheap old carbon wheels from roadies because they were cheap and cool looking. cheap because they were yester-year's technology. they look cool while rolling, and are easy to put a beefy NY chain lock through them when locking up. anyways, aerospokes are HEAVY. like 5 lbs per wheel heavy. any aerodynamic advantage gained is null and void compared to the extra weight you are bolting to your bike. but they do look cool rolling.

my shop has recently started carrying these candy-colored products. the weird thing is, most of the customers coming out of the woodworks to buy them are either out-of-towners (this is a dying trend in SF, it boomed in 2005), or weird roadies from god-knows-where. one roadie removed his ksyrium SL (suuuuperlite wheel) to bolt on a black composite colored aerospoke. why? "aerodynamics," he said proudly after scoffing at all the hipster track bike riders in the city who are rocking THE EXACT SAME PRODUCT HE JUST BOUGHT.

here is a snippet of a conversation i had with a hyper, excited intern the other day.

intern: "wow, cool! so what are those aerospokes are made of again?"

ken: "carbon composite."

intern: "so thats a carbon weave, right?"

ken: "well, sort of. its carbon, but not woven. its mixed with glue and made in a mold, like plastic. basically, its like plastic."

intern: "so its super light, huh?"

ken: "no."

intern: "its not? why not? i thought it was supposed to be light??"

ken: "here." (i grabbed an aerospoke and a 27" cheapo spoked wheel and hand them to him.)

intern: "WHOA, this is really heavy! (he hands them to another intern) so why do people want them, because they are aerodynamic?"

ken: "people want them because they look cool. if they tell you its because they are aerodynamic, its because they don't want to admit that they look cool. they are aerodynamic under certain conditions, but not just riding around the city."

intern: "so these don't have to be trued, right?"

ken: "its not that they don't have to be trued, its that they can't be trued. (i grab the aerospoke and lead both interns to the truing stand, put the wheel in, and spin it. the wheel is rubbing both arms of the truing stand, totally out of whack) does that look true to you?"

intern: "oh my gosh?!"

ken: "exactly."