forward for the morning:

someone somewhat politely made the assertion that there is no way in hell that I can feel spoke wind up on a wheel with 34 tubulars inflated to 30 psi. Maybe I can't. But I do actually feel like I can tell the difference between wheels. Could be all in my head. But from the first years selling bikes at the Pine Street Pro shop back in Seattle, one truth has been overlooked by salesmen and test riders. Wheels. Someone will go ride a bike, and say it soaked up the bumps amazingly. Someone will ride a different bike and complain about getting beat up. Frames often are so similar that the only explanation is the wheels. Tires both equal in size and pressure. But hey. Maybe it helps sell a more expensive bike. I don't know. What I have noticed is that like frame flex that some people don't notice, others do. Wheels have a distinct feeling. Sure the ultra low pressure in a tubular can affect how it feels.

I've been on a few different wheel combinations, recently and on my time on bikes. One of my faults is overly aware senses. It causes me to go into self protect mode too early in racing. It makes the slightest noise or tick distract from my focus. if the car hiccups when I'm driving I've been known to be thrown into an anxiety attack. it is part of who i am, why i'm so damn slow (well besides the obvious lack of a consistent structured training plan).

I like those grammo tubolari CX wheels. They might be 1690 grams. And that's heavy compared to a nice light carbon wheel set. But they are also strong. No weight limit (nice for a 200+ pound guy). And they look good. Are easy to glue up. and you know how you can look at a wheel and get a feeling if it is strong? well these have that look. I like them.

I no longer have to be worried about continuing to grind away the already well thinned down sidewalls on my vector pro clinchers. I don't have to worry about riding around a low profile front rim with double butted spokes. Why? Worry about that? Colin demonstrated what happens to low profile rims at MRC. Would a deeper rim section have survived that? I tend to believe that it would have. Why? I dunno, call it a gut call based on experience. Maybe he'd have broken a fork or something else more catastrophic, or maybe he'd have been able to ride the bike. We don't know, can't know. But it just seems that given an equal number of crashes compared to the old days when a box section rim was standard issue, people are chipping their wheels less frequently now.

I might be wrong. Hell I'm often wrong. And I'm ashamed sometimes for making people think my writing is something akin to gospel. It is entertainment. For me. Gets the sht out of my head. If it is wrong, I'm sorry, it reflects a feeling. Point it out if you want. Doesn't bother me.

My NoHo feelings about grip and tires are based mostly on pre-riding and maintaining position through the corners and technical sections. The other sections, you know the power sections and what not?, well those i discovered that my legs wouldn't pedal. No amount of mental oomph was going to push the virus and strep infected body to hang in. I was going backwards so fast it wasn't funny. But i wasn't going backwards in the corners, for a change. A big change.

-g